Stick to the Script. (Failed Cuban Trade Embargo is extended for 1 more yr.)

 In order to give you some perspective on how Cuba remains the last country affected by the Trading with the Enemy Act, lets take a brief look at the tempestous relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.  After all, fifty years is a long time. 

For those who need a quick refresher course on Cuban American relations, I have provided the easy-to-follow guideline:

 

1)  (1959) Fidel Castro and his merry band of revolutionaries overthrow Batista. (Although Batista was largely supported by the US, he wasn't exactly a great ruler.)

 

2)  (1960) Fidel nationalizes US owned businesses and runs them out of the country. In response, the US cuts off all relations with Cuba and eventually imposes a trade embargo.

 

3)  The Soviets during the Cold War see a grand opportunity and a strategic pawn in Cuba. They immediately filled the financial void left by the US' departure.

 

4)  (1961) The Bay of Pigs is a huge disaster and further sours the relationship even further. The quasi-US government supported failed invasion of Cuba makes the US look very bad on the world scene.

 

5)  (1962) The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the Soviets and the US to the brink of nuclear war. (The US had missiles in Turkey that they had to eventually remove as well.) Since Cuba did not have any direct involvement in the negotiations between the US and the USSR during the Cuban missile crisis, it is safe to assume that Cuba was merely a pawn in this high-stakes superpower showdown.

 

6)  (1976) The bombing of Cubana Flight 455, was seen as a US state sponsored terrorist act by many Cubans. Mainly because the US govt had foreknowledge of the attack, and at least two involved were hiding out without punishment in the US. (CIA trained asset Luis Posada Carrilesand Orlando Bosch)

 

7)  (1980) The infamous Mariel boat lift, where Fidel emptied his jails and sent a swarm of undesirables to descend on Miami. (Made famous by the movie Scarface)

 

8)  (2000) Last but not least, who could forget theElian Gonzalez debacle in Miami.

 

9)  (2001) Conviction of the Cuban Five in Miami for spying.

 

10)  (Dec. 2009) Arrest of U.S. contractor Alan Gross for allegedly working with dissident groups in Cuba.

 

So when you digest those ten events, you can see that gripes exist on both sides.

 

But the Cold War is over. The Soviets left Cuba in 1989 after the Berlin wall fell. Fidel Castro is no longer ruling in Cuba. The reintroduction of tourism to the island of Cuba has resulted in not only a better way of life for all of its people, but also many personal freedoms as well. I saw men and women equally serving in all types of occupations, including police and military work. I saw tourists from all over the world enjoying themselves in Cuba. I was able to keep up with the debt crisis on CNN and other news outlets like the BBC. I had uncensored use of the Internet. They even had Bill Maher's irreverent HBO show (Real Time) uncensored in Cuba.

 

But here's the humdinger, I even saw capitalism alive and well in Cuba. Thousands of entrepreneurs lined the streets of Havana, competing with each other for business. Cuba even has a double currency system, one for Cubans, and one for tourists. Most Cubans pay for their services with Cuban Pesos. (24 of them = $1) The tourists use what is known as CUC's or Convertible Pesos. (chavitos) (1CUC= $1).  None of these changes had anything to do with the Helms-Burton act.  Even if you claimed that restrictive policies have forced the Castro regime to make changes, don't you think it's time to do away with the trade embargo?  Even with the embargo, the U.S. is still Cuba's 5th largest trading partner. (mainly agricultural products)

 

Most of us living here in the states only get information about Cuba from what we see on the news, TV, and movies. When I touched down at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, I expected to be venturing into a harsh, strict, and Draconian communist dictatorship. Instead, I saw a poor third world country, moving in the direction of at least a second world country.

 

Let me be very clear: I am not advocating Communism, Socialism, or any form of government.  I am not an advocate of the Castro regime.  I just realize that the Cuban Trade Embargo is a lose-lose for everyone.  U.S. businesses lose due to increased costs of certain exports.  US taxpayers lose because of the added costs of checking for Cuban cargo.  And of course the biggest losers would have to be the average Cuban on the street.  So who wins?

 

Most recent polls show that a majority of Americans want to be free to travel to Cuba, as well as engage in unrestricted business with Cuba. All of the reasons for former restrictions on US involvement with Cuba have either become outdated, or blown away with the sands of time. The U.S. trades with Russia, China, Japan, Germany, and many other former enemies of the state. Time has healed those wounds. Don't you think enough time has elapsed to heal the superficial wounds of the U.S. And Cuba? After all, if you were to compare the World Wars and the situation with Cuba, one would be an open deep gash to the bone, and the latter would be a small boo-boo. But don't take my word for it, go to Cuba and see for yourself.