Cuban Travel Held Hostage

Let’s put this into context. You can travel to Iran–and I have–and check out the ruins of Persepolis and other remnants and artifacts of ancient Persia. For good reason, most Americans don’t think that’s inducement enough. I totally get that. But the point is, you can still travel there, even though Iran, which had been Persia until the1930s, is a geopolitical outlier and potential nuclear menace.

But unfettered travel to Cuba is illegal for Americans. It’s been that way since 1963. Cuba hasn’t been a threat since its Soviet-proxy role in the missile crisis of 1962. The Cold War has been over for a generation, and our enemy is international terrorism.

But you can travel to Iran because people-to-people travel is the easiest way to transcend stereotypes and illustrate that global citizens typically have more in common than their politicians do. That was my experience.

Over the years, American Administrations have waxed and waned on the travel ban to Cuba– periodically opening it up for more licensures. Then last year the Obama Administration reinstituted people-to-people exchanges, a hopeful sign. But a year later, licenses for renewal are in limbo, the victim of bureaucratic hell.

What happened? Florida’s own Marco Rubio, among others, happened. Late last year the exile-pandering, Cuban-American senator called the “people-to-people” travel program a “charade,” one that bordered on “indoctrination” of Americans by the Castro government.

“Indoctrination?”  Rubio, presumably, wants to protect Americans from morphing into mojito-sipping Manchurian candidates.

He and others determined that people-to-people exchanges were fronts for tourism. He wanted them discouraged if not ended. He held up Senate confirmation of a key diplomat until the Administration tightened restrictions on the people-to-people licenses. And that they did.

In all fairness, there surely were some exchanges that were no more than beaches- and night-life excursions. But, so what? Americans shouldn’t be permitted to visit Cuba unless their itinerary is top heavy with seminars and workshops?

I attended zero seminars and workshops while in Iran. I did frequent my share of mosques and bazaars and had countless conversations–from street vendors who wanted to talk about the World Cup to female college students who were increasingly fed up with mullah rule.

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