On Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016, the Obama administration announced that two Cuba embargo restrictions would be relaxed, allowing easier travel to Cuba and more commerce between the countries. The first of the new rules allows Americans to travel to Cuba...
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On Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016, the Obama administration announced that two Cuba embargo restrictions would be relaxed, allowing easier travel to Cuba and more commerce between the countries.

The first of the new rules allows Americans to travel to Cuba without a tour group for one of the twelve approved categories: family travel; official government business; journalistic activity; professional research and meetings; educational activity; religious activity; public performances; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities for educational institutes; exportation, importation, or transmission of information (specifically for the film, music, and publishing industries); and export. Previously, US citizens could only travel to Cuba in tour groups. Americans still will not be able to visit Cuba for vacations or tourism. The United States and Cuba signed an aviation agreement on Feb. 16, 2016 that allows commercial airlines to fly between the countries beginning in the fall of 2016. 

 (via Some Cuba Embargo Restrictions Eased ahead of Obama’s Visit - ProCon.org)

Source: procon.org

US Government Outed for Secretly Creating Social Networking Site for Cubans

imageThe US Agency for International Development (USAID), a government organization that promotes economic development and combats poverty abroad, secretly created asocial networking site designed to stir unrest and undermine the Cuban government, according to an Apr. 3, 2014 investigation by the Associated Press (AP).

The program, known as ZunZuneo (the sound of a Cuban hummingbird’s tweet), drew nearly 40,000 subscribers and lasted more than two years. Cuban users were unaware of the American origins of the program. According to AP, the plan was to stoke political unrest and undermine the Castro regime by secretly hiring writers to supply the social network with texts critical of the government. ZunZuneo was able to bypass Cuba’s strict restrictions on internet use (including the use of Twitter) by using text messages as the primary means of communication. 

Cuban officials allegedly and unsuccessfully attempted to trace the text messages and hack into ZunZuneo. USAID told AP that ZunZuneo ceased operations in Sep. 2012 when a Congressional grant for the program ended. Congress has given USAID more than $200 million in funding for “democracy assistance” programs in Cuba since 1996. According to interviews and documents obtained by the AP, USAID and its contractors established shell companies in Spain and the Cayman Islands to disguise the funding for ZunZuneo, and recruited contractors to work on the project under false pretenses. It is currently unknown where the idea for ZunZuneo originated or whether President Obama knew about it.

Should the United States Maintain Its Embargo against Cuba?

imageFebruary 7, 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the ongoing US embargo against Cuba, an island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The embargo, known among Cubans as “el bloqueo” or “the blockade,” consists of economic sanctions against Cuba and restrictions on Cuban travel and commerce for all people and companies under US jurisdiction.

Proponents of the embargo argue that Cuba has not met the US conditions for lifting the embargo, including transitioning to democracy and improving human rights. They say that backing down without getting concessions from the Castro regime will make the United States appear weak, and that only the Cuban elite would benefit from open trade.

Opponents of the Cuba embargo argue that it should be lifted because the failed policy is a Cold War relic and has clearly not achieved its goals. They say the sanctions harm the US economy and Cuban citizens, and prevent opportunities to promote change and democracy in Cuba. They say the embargo hurts international opinion of the United States. Read more…

Cuba Embargo Debate Reignites After Beyoncé and Jay-Z Trip to Havana - ProCon.org

beyonce and jay-z in cubaBeyoncé and Jay-Z traveled to Havana, Cuba for three days last week for their fifth wedding anniversary, angering some proponents of the Cuba embargo that was enacted on Feb. 7, 1962. 

Travel to the island nation for the purpose of tourism is prohibited by the US government. The US Treasury Department approved the trip as a “people-to-people” cultural visit without knowing that the famous pair would be part of the twelve-person group. The cultural visit was approved through the non-profit Academic Arrangements Abroad, which stated that the couple received no special treatment. All twelve members of the party carried letters from Academic Arrangements Abroad and required affidavits stating they would not vary from the approved itinerary. 

One year after the embargo was signed, on Feb. 8, 1963, all travel to Cuba was prohibited by the US government. People-to-people cultural visits were instituted by President Bill Clinton in 1995. President George Bush suspended the cultural visits and enacted harsher embargo restrictions and penalties, up to 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines for a violation. People-to-people visits were re-instated by President Barack Obama in 2011. Since then, more than 220 licenses have been granted to groups that organize trips for American citizens to Cuba. The organizations are required to submit itineraries and affidavits that the citizens on the trip will adhere to the itineraries to OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control). 

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s itinerary did not involve meetings with Cuban officials or activities such as beach trips. The couple toured Old Havana with an architecture historian and saw private performances by a children’s theater group, a contemporary dance company, and popular musicians and singers, including La Charanga Habanera, a popular timba dance band who has been barred from some Cuban venues and censored from state television for provocative lyrics and dancing….

The Cuban Embargo

Cuban Embargo
February 7, 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the ongoing US embargo against Cuba, an island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The embargo, known among Cubans as “el bloqueo” or “the blockade, consists of economic sanctions against Cuba and restrictions on Cuban travel and commerce for all people and companies under US jurisdiction.
Proponents of the embargo argue that Cuba has not met the US conditions for lifting the embargo, including transitioning to democracy and improving human rights. They say that backing down without getting concessions from the Castro regime will make the United States appear weak, and that only the Cuban elite would benefit from open trade.

Opponents of the Cuba embargo argue that it should be lifted because the failed policy is a Cold War relic and has clearly not achieved its goals. They say the sanctions harm the US economy and Cuban citizens, and prevent opportunities to promote change and democracy in Cuba. They say the embargo hurts international opinion of the United States. Read more…