Claiming to be “in solidarity with the Cuban people”, President Trump announced policy changes in 2016 that harm the Cuban people as well as the people of the U.S.  The most serious damage has been caused by the Administration’s reduction of embassy staff in Havana.  This means that Cubans are expected to fly to Colombia to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.  Since Cubans already pay the embassy a fee representing several month’s income just to apply, adding the cost of a trip to Colombia makes getting a visa financially impossible for most Cubans.

We have to ask who these policy changes are for?

Polling shows that 96% of Cubans living on the island support lifting the trade embargo and have said that more tourism would benefit the local economy.  Since polling has also shown that 63% of Cuban- Americans in Miami-Dade County oppose the continuation of the embargo and 73% of people in the U.S. favor ending the trade embargo.

CRLN has worked with faith communities in Cuba and the U.S. for more than twenty years to end harmful U.S. policies. In 2017, we will be advocating for an end to these policies, believing that the human rights of Cubans and the people of the U.S. would best be served by lifting all travel restrictions and finally ending the embargo.