U.S. Congressional delegation in Cuba

Representative Barbara Lee of California is head of a Congressional delegation that arrived today in Havana to discuss tourism and trade, as well as other U.S.-Cuba exchanges (health, cultural and academic). She expressed before departing: “America’s harsh approach toward our nearest Caribbean neighbor divides families, closes an important market to struggling U.S. farmers, harasses our allies, and is based on antiquated Cold War-era thinking.”

Yet the argument against lifting the travel ban and trade embargo—the former under consideration in Congress and the White House now—is important. Critics say that allowing U.S. tourism could strengthen the Castro regime while contributing to widening income gaps in the Cuban population. Lifting the embargo, meanwhile, would leave American taxpayers with the burden of picking up any tab that the Castro regime cannot or will not pay, something that has happened to several countries that currently trade with the island (France, Spain, Italy and Venezuela, for starters).

A healthy debate and measured consideration of these issues should occur before any decisions are made based solely on political and temporal considerations.