U.S. activist Medea Benjamin says that the United States government is losing its mind with its shameful war against Cuba and that it is time to end its failed policies on the island.
“Every week a new sanction, a new restriction, a new way to punish the Cuban people and limit the right of Americans to travel to the island and meet with whomever we want emerges,” said the co-founder of the pacifist organization Code Pink.
Americans can only travel to Cuba under categories approved by the US government, Benjamin explained in an article published this Saturday.
While it is true that numerous categories are available—from visiting family to delivering donations to the Cuban people—if one wants to go and relax on the white sand beaches of Varadero, that is prohibited, she added.
Our own government dictates to Americans where they can and cannot stay during their visit to Cuba. The State Department’s ridiculous “List of Prohibited Accommodations in Cuba” includes more than 400 hotels that, according to the United States, have some kind of connection to the Cuban government and are therefore banned, she noted.
If someone wanted to stay at Havana’s iconic Hotel Nacional — a place that has attracted tourists from all over the world for decades — they could theoretically face fines exceeding $91,000 for violating U.S. sanctions, Benjamin illustrated.
This week, new sanctions were announced against organizations in Cuba, including the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), which helps organize trips for groups from around the world, facilitating access to Cuban hospitals, schools, organic farms, and institutions, she pointed out.
Amistur Cuba, the travel agency that manages transportation and logistics for many international visitors, was also sanctioned, added the journalist and writer.
“With these new restrictions, Washington is dictating to Americans not only where they can stay, but — increasingly — who they can and cannot meet with during their visit to Cuba,” Benjamin denounced.
The U.S. activist warned that “these sanctions are part of a much broader and crueler campaign aimed at further strangling the Cuban economy” in its attempt to “bring down the government.”
Medea Benjamin stated that, regarding Cuba, Washington’s policy is “vindictive, hypocritical, and cruel. It harms Cuban families, but it also undermines the bonds between people and deprives us—American citizens—of our fundamental freedom to travel.”
It is time to end this failed policy, Benjamin demanded, calling for “Leave Cuba alone. And let Americans decide for ourselves where to travel, which hotel to stay in, and whom to talk to.”
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
