US senator urges rethink of ´failed´ Cuba sanctions (24/02/2009)

AFP

Cold War-inspired US sanctions on Cuba have failed to spark democratic change in the communist-run island after almost half a century and should be reviewed, a top Republican said Monday.

"After 47 years ... the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose of ´bringing democracy to the Cuban people,´" said Senator Richard Lugar in comments attached to a report released on his website.

Indeed the harsh sanctions "may have been used as a foil by the regime to demand further sacrifices from Cuba´s impoverished population," the top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee argued.

The report, entitled "Changing Cuba Policy - In the United States National Interest," was drawn up by a member of his staff, and is likely to frame debate on overhauling US policy after almost five decades of seeking to isolate Americas´ only communist country.

But the report and Lugar´s attached comments stop short of recommending an end to the US embargo.

Instead the report supports lifting Bush administration restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba, reinstituting formal bilateral cooperation on drug interdiction and migration, and allowing Cuba to buy US agricultural products on credit.

It comes one year after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro stepped aside after almost a half century as the island´s president, though he remains from all appearances an important behind-the-scenes player in the island´s politics.

US President Barack Obama has pledged dialogue with all foreign leaders including the country´s traditional foes, in sharp contrast to successive US administrations which have sought to isolate Havana.

But so far he has offered few details on how far he might be willing to go in reaching out to Cuba.

While "current US policy has many passionate defenders, and their criticism of the Castro regime is justified ... nonetheless, we must recognize the ineffectiveness of our current policy and deal with the Cuban regime in a way that enhances US interests," Lugar wrote.

The United States and Cuba do not have full diplomatic relations and Washington slapped a full economic embargo on Havana in 1962.

But after a hurricane cost Cuba much of its food crops the US sanctions were tweaked slightly in 2001 by former US president George W. Bush, who allowed Cuba to purchase US food, as long as it was purchased in cash.

Since then US food sales to Cuba have surged, but US farm producers would sell vastly more if Cuba could get credit for its purchases. Cuba still calls the embargo crippling, though US farmers now are among their top food suppliers, with the embargo still formally in effect.

Separately the report urged that US migration policy toward Cubans should be reviewed by the White House.

Under current "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans picked up by US Coast Guard vessels at sea are returned to their country while any Cuban who makes it to US soil, even illegally, gets to stay, work and obtain residency.

It is a policy the United States does not have for nationals of any other country; Cuba complains that it fuels dangerous illegal emigration by sea.

"The review (of wet foot, dry foot) should assess whether this policy has led to the inefficient use of US Coast Guard resources and assets, as well as the potential to redirect these resources to drug interdiction efforts," the report says.

During his campaign for the presidency, Obama said the Cuba embargo had not helped bring democracy to the island, led by Fidel´s younger brother, 77-year old President Raul Castro.

But so far Obama has said only that he would end some sanctions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the island, and eliminate limits on their remittances to relatives in Cuba.

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives earlier this month introduced a bill to permit US citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba.

The separate "Freedom To Travel to Cuba Act," which would overturn the 46-year-old US policy strictly limiting travel to the Caribbean island, will be subject to debate after being referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Enlaces: Solidaridad Española con Cuba

Las Damas de Blanco

Viajes a Cuba

Vuelos baratos a Cuba

Travel to Cuba