BlogWood: MT Archives

Davis wants to overturn Cuba travel rules.

Jim Davis is taking advantage of the Bush administration’s mishandling of Cuba. Yeah, like most other things they have touched, they have managed to screw things up there too. New travel restrictions designed to make W look tough against Castro have actually created a rift in the Cuban exile community, which traditionally votes strongly Republican. See, family members would like to be able to visit with and send medicine and other goods to their relatives on the island, but Bush’s new rules prevent that.

Traditionally, any politician who dared to suggest a relaxation of even the most insignificant of Cuba trade rules would be rudely hounded out of office. Now, though, Davis is able to suggest some baby steps in normalizing relations with our close neighbors. Very small little baby steps, but it’s nice to see an indication that the tide may turn at some point.

Daisy Carbonell arrived at her neighborhood shipping company this week on a mission of mercy for her relatives in Cuba.

She lugged a garbage bag bulging with goods, including a dozen pairs of girls' underwear, three ladies' dresses, four men's pullovers, two packs of disposable razors, five cans of roll-on deodorant, two tubes of toothpaste and five bars of soap.

She also packed allergy medicine, vitamins and vials of vitamin B, D and C in injectable form.

She tries to send such items every month to three cousins and their families through what is known in Spanish as an envio company.

That's on top of the $50 a month she sends.

``I promised them I would send them help every month,'' Carbonell said.

New government restrictions, which take effect Wednesday, will make that harder for her to do.

Those restrictions sharply limit what Cuban-Americans can send to relatives on the island nation.

The regulations outlaw shipment of clothing, shoes, personal hygiene items, seeds, fishing and soap-making equipment.

The restrictions come on top of previously announced regulations restricting travel to Cuba by Cuban-Americans and limiting how much they can spend when they get there.

Under the new rules, Cuban-Americans can visit their family members in Cuba only once every three years and spend no more than $50 a day.

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis introduced legislation Thursday aimed at overturning the tightening of travel restrictions and spending limits. He also will seek changes to what family members can ship.

``Having been in Cuba 18 months ago, I know how terribly families are suffering under that regime,'' Davis said. ``One of the few sources they have for support are their families in the United States that provide them basic necessities.''

In the past, families could send monthly shipments to individual relatives. Beginning Wednesday, it's one shipment per month per household.

Backers of the new restrictions can only keep singing the same tired old tunes that got us into this mess in the first place:

``I think they are doing the right thing,'' said Luis Ribo, 83.

``This is the only way they are going to get rid of Castro. All of the cash and aid people send to Cuba lines his [Castro's] pockets and keeps him in power.''

Enrique Cotera, 66, put it like this:``Everything that is done against Castro is a good thing. Castro is a dictator that has ruled by fear and intimidation for 45 years.''

In the Miami area, about 60 percent of the exile community still feel an invasion of Cuba is warranted. This is actually good news, though, as these numbers are down from previous years, and as the older generation, the folks who fled Cuba as Castro took power, dies off, and the more reasonable attitudes of their offspring become the norm, we may actually be able to have a civil discussion about Cuba policy without veering off into insults and violence against our neighbors.