Editorial. Published Friday, July 27, 2001 in
The Miami Herald
Lawmakers said they were trying "something different.'' It wasn't
different, and it was just as wrong as when they tried it last year: The House
upheld the U.S. embargo of Cuba this week -- a position this newspaper has long
endorsed. But it voted to block federal enforcement of the embargo's
restrictions on Americans traveling to the island.
Do representatives really want to encourage Americans to break the law?
That's what this legislation does. Spending money in Cuba would still be illegal
for most U.S. tourists -- there just wouldn't be any funding to catch and
prosecute those who did. Besides, doing so only benefits the regime.
This isn't to say that travel to Cuba should be barred. We advocate lifting
travel restrictions to stimulate more people-to-people relations and information
sharing. Whatever hard currency would be gained by Cuba's totalitarian
government would be offset by the benefits of open communication. Let Americans
go and by their presence give lie to the regime's propaganda.
Technically, Americans are allowed to visit to Cuba but are barred from
spending dollars there -- which makes it virtually impossible to rent a hotel
room or buy meals legally. A few U.S. citizens are exempted from this spending
prohibition -- among them academics, clerics, journalists, those on cultural
exchanges and Cuban Americans with relatives on the island.
It would be better if Congress lifted the travel ban in a direct manner,
after broad and deliberate debate -- not in a piecemeal, backhanded fashion that
ties the hands of those in the executive branch who must manage day-to-day
relations with Cuba.
Meanwhile, the Senate should end this foolishness by voting down the
provision.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 
