More than a decade ago, the United States was on a path toward establishing new relationships with the people of Cuba. U.S. students went there to study, religious groups sent missions, and in two exhibition games, the Baltimore Orioles struggled to contain the hard-hitting Cuban national baseball team.
Normalization was severely set back during the administration of George W. Bush. But now the Obama administration has taken several steps toward encouraging new relationships between the two countries.
Last week the administration eased restrictions on travel, allowing travel to Cuba for religious, academic and cultural purposes. It is expected that many will take advantage of this opportunity, especially since charter service to and from Cuba will be allowed at major airports.
The U.S. embargo against Cuba, enacted by Congress in 1959, will remain. Announcing the easing of travel restrictions, the White House said the change is intended to increase people-to-people contact and enhance the free flow of information between the two countries.
The administration has good reason to believe such outreach will be successful. After a rule change allowing Cuban-Americans to visit Cuba was established last year, more than 300,000 booked flights to Havana in just three months, according to the Brookings Institution.
Last year’s reforms also allowed Cuban-Americans to send money home, and now this has been expanded to permit any American to provide up to $500 per year to Cubans who are not members of the Communist Party or employed by the government.
Resentment between the U.S. and Cuba has hardly eased at all during a half-century in which most other international relationships have changed. There is no denying that Cuba remains a repressive regime, but a new relationship is long overdue, and good relationships between Cubans and Americans could influence Cuba’s political future.
Tourism and U.S. financial investment may be unlikely to occur any time soon, but as Cubans and Americans consider their common interests, perhaps U.S. baseball should begin preparing to again engage in spirited foreign competition.
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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.
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