Still waiting for Cuba libre

Still waiting for Cuba libre

Barack Obama has begun lifting travel restrictions to Cuba. The Castro
government should allow Cubans to travel freely as well
John Keenan
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 26 July 2009 16.00 BST

Let's imagine you're a top-flight sportsperson. You decide that you
don't want to play in your league anymore. Perhaps you want to test your
skills in a foreign arena. No doubt your old fans will feel let down.
But if you are a star pitcher for the Cuban national baseball team, the
disappointment of your fans will be the least of your problems, as
Yunieski Maya Mendizula found out recently.

Mendizula was arrested on Cuba's southern coast as he attempted to leave
the country with members of his family. He has fallen afoul of Cuban
penal codes, which state that any person who attempts to leave the
country without the permission of the government can be fined or
imprisoned for up to three years. The baseball player is just the latest
of thousands of Cubans who have been arrested for this crime.

The draconian law leads to weirdly desperate measures. This week, two
Cuban specialists on Dengue fever failed to arrive in Sri Lanka where
they were due to help control an epidemic on that island. It is widely
assumed that they defected en route.

In the interest of balance it should be noted that any American baseball
players or medics who get it into their heads to try their luck in Cuba
should think twice.

While citizens of the United States are technically allowed to travel to
Cuba, they are prevented from spending money there without authorisation
from the US Treasury's office of foreign assets control. Unlicensed
American travellers to Cuba face fines of up to $10,000.

There are moves to change this situation. Last week, a federal lawsuit
filed in Brooklyn, New York by the Centre for Constitutional Rights
challenged the constitutionality of the US policy on the grounds that it
forces those travelling to Cuba to incriminate themselves.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama spoke of a "new beginning" in
his country's relations with Cuba, and his administration lifted
restrictions on travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans to their
homeland. A bill that would lift the ban on travel to Cuba for all
Americans is pending in Congress.

Is it too much to hope that the Castro government will follow suit?

Still waiting for Cuba libre | John Keenan | Comment is free |
guardian.co.uk (26 July 2009)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jul/26/cuba-travel-obama