Should we repeal the sanctions on Cuba?

[hope4dopes]

But would removing the sanctions really have much of an effect? Aren't we the only ones who DON'T trade with Cuba?

I did hear something today that may shed some light on why the U.S. sanctions are still in place. There are numerous corporations and private individuals who owned property in Cuba before Castro took over and nationalized everything. He simply confiscated all private property - regardless of ownership. Many of those U.S. corporations and individuals have made claims for compensation - and some of them go back 50 years! If relations are normalized, does that put our gov't on the hook for compensating these parties? If so, that's a very good reason why the sanctions are still in place.

The U.S. is Cuba's 5th largest trading partner the only people who do more bussiness than us with Cuba is China, Venezuela I think Russia and Canada.From what I understand Cuba doen't want trade from the U.S.it wants lines of credit, I also heard Cuba has one of the worst debt records in the world, and is one of the reasons she can't get lines of credit.The argument is that giving these lines of credit will help prop up Castro's dictatorship,freedom for the people before the credit lines are given.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Stupid, stupid embargo. Especially now, when we could use the export demand more than ever.

IIRC, there were talks in the latter-bush43 days about possibly warming up to Cuba, and repealing the embargo. Like I've been saying....continuity.

[shelshor]

At this point there is no real purpose for it. The Cold War is long gone and at this point it would be instructive for many Americans to visit the people's island paradise....and enjoy some Cohibas rolled by Cubans.

If you want the quality Cuban cigars, go to Spain--that's where the prime ones get shipped
And now days, there is no guarantee that a "Cuban" cigar was even grown in Cuba--they have to import a great deal of tobacco from Nicaragua & Honduras

[Red Hawk #21]

I wish the embargo could be removed. Im half Cubano and have never been able to meet my family in Cuba. I hope Obama removes it, my family and many other Cuban families here and back in Cuba would greatly appreciate it.

[RandomGuy]

Our informal poll has repealing the sanctions by 23 for to 4 against.

Low priority for a lot of people, but it seems that we should probably think about revising the strategy.

This is one of the things that Obama has said he was going to work for, if memory serves.

[ChumpDumper]

(CNN) -- A new poll shows that two-thirds of Americans surveyed think the U.S. should lift its travel ban on Cuba, and three-quarters think the U.S. should end its five-decade estrangement with the country.
Fidel Castro led Cuba's communist revolution in 1959 and recently handed over power to his brother Raul.

According to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted April 3 to 5, 64 percent of the 1,023 Americans surveyed by telephone thought the U.S. government should allow citizens to travel to Cuba.

And 71 percent of those polled said that the U.S. should reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba, while 27 percent opposed such a move.

Both questions had a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/10/poll.cuba/



One might think Cuban-Americans oppose lifting travel restrictions for all Americans, but the evidence suggests otherwise. A December poll by Florida International University showed that 67 percent of all Cuban-Americans support unrestricted travel to Cuba by all Americans. This is a substantial increase over the 55 percent who favored removing such restrictions when the same question was asked by the university in March 2007.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...t-travel-bans/

[coyotes_geek]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Monday will ease limits on family travel and cash gifts from the United States to Cuba and allow U.S. telecommunications firms to bid for licenses on the communist-ruled island, a U.S. official said.

The decision does not lift Washington's trade embargo with Cuba though it does open a crack in the bulwark set up more than four decades ago and maintained by successive U.S. administrations.

The move also fulfills one of Obama's campaign promises to allow Cuban Americans to travel more freely to Cuba and increase financial help to family members there, and could herald improved ties between the two longtime foes.

Supporters of easing U.S. sanctions against Cuba welcomed the move, which will affect an estimated 1.5 million Americans who have family members in Cuba, as "ground breaking".

They said they hoped it would lead to even bolder steps by Obama to dismantle the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the communist-ruled island, which critics argue is an obsolete policy that has failed to foster change in Cuba.

Cubans living in the United States are currently allowed to travel to the island only once a year and are limited to send only $1,200 per person in cash to needy family members in Cuba.

Obama's gesture appeared intended to signal a new at ude toward both Cuba and other Latin American countries that have pressed Washington to end a trade embargo that has sought to isolate Havana for more than four decades.

It also comes ahead of Obama's attendance at a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad later this week.

Cuba is among the U.S. foes Obama has said he would be willing to engage diplomatically, instead of shunning them as his predecessor George W. Bush did.

Under the policy shift to be unveiled on Monday, Obama also planned to announce that U.S. telecommunications companies would be allowed to apply for licenses in Cuba. It was unclear, however, the extent to which this restriction would be eased.

Obama could face some resistance in Congress, especially from opposition Republicans.

Representatives Frank Wolf and Chris Smith last week urged Obama to insist that Cuba release all political detainees before the United States moves to relax trade and travel restrictions.

During last year's presidential campaign, Obama favored easing of some U.S. limits on family travel and remittances, but said he would not eliminate the trade embargo until Cuba shows progress toward democracy and greater human rights.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Editing by Anthony Boadle)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090413/...s_obama_cuba_4