Lawmakers reintroduce measure to lift Cuba travel restrictions

Lawmakers reintroduce measure to lift Cuba travel restrictions
Fecha de publicación: 
26 May 2017
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More than half the Senate has signed on to a measure lifting restrictions on American travel to Cuba.

The bill, introduced Thursday by Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), would end restrictions put in place in 1996 and 2000 that bar U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents from traveling to the long-embargoed island nation.

“Recognizing the inherent right of Americans to travel to Cuba isn’t a concession to dictators, it is an expression of freedom," Flake said in a statement. "It is Americans who are penalized by our travel ban, not the Cuban government."

The measure, so far, won the support of 55 senators, who have signed on as co-sponsors.

An earlier version of the bill introduced in 2015 similarly had a bipartisan mix of co-sponsors, but ultimately never made it to the Senate floor. 

Former President Barack Obama began easing some trade and travel restrictions with Cuba early on in his presidency, and announced in 2014 that the U.S. would re-establish diplomatic ties with the island nation.

But under the Trump administration, the future of U.S.-Cuba relations has been less clear. On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump suggested that he could undo the steps toward normalization taken by Obama, and has remained quiet on the issue since taking office in January.

The U.S. has long maintained an embargo on Cuba, because of its Cold War ties to the Soviet Union and its oppressive communist regime. The country's longtime dictator Fidel Castro died in November, though his brother Raul Castro has been in power since 2008.

A Pew Research poll released in December showed widespread support for normalizing relations with Cuba, and nearly three-quarters of Americans – 73 percent – said they favor lifting the embargo against Cuba.

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