Protesting Cuba Policy at the White House

January 26, 2011


From the St. Petersburg Times:


Rivera brings protest over Obama's Cuba policy straight to White House


Congressman David Rivera tonight brought a complaint over President Obama's just-announced loosening of the Cuba travel policy directly to the Commander in Chief.

Joining Rivera at a White House reception for new lawmakers was Cary Roque, who captured while working for dissidents during the Bay of Pigs invasion and imprisoned by the Castro regime for 16 years. Roque, in an interview after the reception, said she delivered to Obama a letter signed by Cuban exile organizations protesting the new policy.

"I took the opportunity to let him know my feelings," said Roque, 69, who arrived in the U.S. in the late 70s and lives in Miami. "He told me he's trying to get Democracy for Cuba and I responded, 'Be careful because it's not that easy.'"

Many Cuban exiles argue that any assistance the U.S. government tries to give to Cuban residents is merely aiding the Communist government. "Between the Cuban people and his efforts," Rivera said, "stand the Castro tyranny."

But Obama and others, including some Cuban Americans, say the outreach is necessary not just for the Cuban people but for the U.S. economy. Travel is still limited to college students (though not in Florida, because of a state law pushed by Rivera) and religious groups. General tourism remains illegal.