Word: fidelitys
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Cuba sure know how to hold a grudge. When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, relations between the two countries quickly devolved into bitter arguments, political grandstanding and the occasional international crisis. And while Cuba lies less than 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Florida, the two nations have had no diplomatic relations since 1961 and use Switzerland as a mediator whenever they need to talk. But maybe - finally - things might change. On April 13 President Barack Obama announced that he would lift some longstanding restrictions, allowing Cuban Americans to visit and send remittances to their families...
...like China, whose human-rights violations are more egregious than Cuba's. At the same time, it's curious at best that embargo foes like California Representative Barbara Lee, who led a congressional delegation to Havana last week that met with President Raúl Castro and his brother Fidel, rarely mention Cuba's jailed dissidents but will, as Lee has, blast China for "repression against the Tibetan people." (Read a brief history of Cuba-U.S. relations...
...remained neutral on the legislation. However, there's a strong argument to be made for a presidential endorsement that could push it over the top, one that satisfies the need to engage Cuba but also, at least indirectly, will prod the Castro government toward greater democracy. (See pictures of Fidel Castro's years in power...
...elimination of the general travel ban would signal a more robust interest in opening dialogue with Cuba. At the same time, it would just as decidedly put the ball in Havana's court. The Castros have insisted that they won't accept conditions for having the embargo lifted. Still, Fidel Castro wrote in an op-ed for Cuba's state-controlled media last week that Havana wants to negotiate "mutually advantageous" agreements with the U.S.; he even asked Lee's delegation what he and his brother could do to help Obama's efforts to improve U.S.-Cuba relations...
...Congress, for its part, appears closer than ever to passing legislation to lift the Cuban travel ban for all U.S. citizens - prominent lawmakers like Indiana Republican Senator Richard Lugar now call the embargo a failed policy - and Obama would probably sign such a measure. At the same time, Fidel and Raúl Castro have both in recent days expressed an unusual willingness to talk with the U.S. about improving Washington-Havana relations. The two aging communists even met with a delegation of U.S. Congressmen this week and asked what they could do toward that end. One possible answer...