The Bill that will end travel restrictions to the island is already in the Congress. The President's advisors are confident of its speedy approval.Lissette Bustamante, Miami
(from Publico, Spain, 15 February 2009)
Obama isn't wasting time. This is perhaps why Cuba is no longer a taboo for Uncle Sam. And what has now descended upon the White House "is a doses of realism on the subject of Cuba", said to Público Frank Sánchez, Obama's advisor on global affairs.
The proposal from nine congressmen from the Foreign Office Committee in the Congress to wholly liberalise US tourist access to the Pearl of the Caribbean is the perfect epitome of the new atmosphere as brought by Obama's administration. In The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, as previewed by Público, submitted to the Congress on Feb 4, it is explained that "not only will those Cubans domiciled in the US be allowed to travel for family reasons, but also every American tourist". The President, according to the Act, "may not regulate or prohibit travel to or from Cuba, except in the event the two countries are at war with each other". As such, the Americans will be free to visit the island for the first time since 1963.
The democrat William Delahunt, promoter of the initiative and historic opponent of the embargo worked on all details. The Bill will first reach the Senate and in March it will be voted by the Congress.
The situation has never been as promising. The Democrats control both chambers and President Obama has expressed his intention to revise the travel policy to the island. Obama's advisors consulted by Público seem certain that the Bill will be approved.
Unlocking travel from the US is effectively a time bomb for the Castro brothers' apparatus. A study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that between 3 and 3.5 million Americans a year will visit Cuba. The huge access of dollars, in the view of many analysts, may signify the beginning of the end for the communist regime.
The democrat Joe García admits that "it will all depend on how freedom of travel and consignment will be taken". "Within three months - he says- academic exchange programmes will begin". Allowing tourism may only be the tip of the iceberg. For instance, sociologist Ted D. Henken, author of Cuba: a Global Studies Handbook, expects Obama to lift 2004's restrictions in his first 100 days in office.
What is undisputed is that Washington under the new administration is bustling. And the Cuban affairs are no exception: work is underway to cross Cuba off the lists of country accused by the US of supporting terrorism (a political hot potato in the hands of Hillary Clinton). Despite the fact that Obama's government has no plans to repeal the embargo, it "it will trigger a debate amongst its supporters in the Congress on the start of a reversing process", says journalist Louise Bardach, writer of Cuba Confidential.
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