Two Senators and two member of the House of Representatives visiting Havana agree that bipartisan support is growing for an end to travel restrictions and expansion of relations with Cuba. Speaking with the press May 27, the four agreed on the need to end the blockade and continue moving forward in the process of normalization of relations between the two countries.
“We need to end this prohibition (the blockade)” and find a “pragmatic way” to interact which would benefit both peoples, said Congressman Raúl Grijalva, from Arizona, a member of the delegation which arrived in Cuba May 21.
New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, who is leading the group, recently introduced a bill to open the way for U.S. telecommunications companies to operate in Cuba.
“I’m optimistic”, he said, but did not believe that measures to eliminate the blockade would be approved “tomorrow.”
Minnesota Senator Al Franken said that the majority of the population supports a change in U.S. policy toward Cuba, even in Florida, as recent polls have indicated.
The stated objective of the visit was to promote interaction between the two countries during this first stage of the normalization process, via trade, tourism, telecommunications and cultural exchanges.
The legislators highlighted their productive meetings with officials at the ministries of Foreign Trade and Investment, Foreign Relations and Agriculture, as well as encounters with self-employed workers, members of cooperatives, and international investors.
(Granma)