THE CUBA DECISION
March 20, 1998

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced today the easing of restrictions on Cuba. Direct flights between the U.S. and Cuba will be permitted, and Cuban exiles in this country will be allowed to send U.S. dollars to relatives on the island. Following a background report, Phil Ponce leads a discussion on whether this is the right way to bring about reform in Cuba.

 

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It was the first papal visit to Cuba since the Cuban revolution nearly 40 years ago. And at virtually every stop the Pope was critical of Fidel Castro's Marxist government. But the pope was also critical of what he called the "blind market forces" of capitalism and, indirectly, of U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba, both politically and economically. En route to Havana, the pope was even more explicit--calling on the U.S. by name to improve its relations with Cuba and to end the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against the Cuban government. Although the pope's visit did not produce any immediate changes in Cuba, it did refocus the world's attention on Castro and reportedly, President Clinton's attention on U.S. policy toward the Castro government. Last month, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with the pope at the Vatican to discuss Cuba. And today, she explained why the administration was acting now. MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, Secretary of State: We are taking these steps now not because of anything the Castro regime has done. Nor are we doing it to improve official relations with the government of Cuba. On the contrary--we are acting because of the new possibilities that exist outside the government's control. Those possibilities were brought into open this past January by Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Cuba. CHARLES KRAUSE: Albright announced three major changes in U.S. policy: First, that Cubans in the United States will be allowed to send $300 every three months to help relatives still in Cuba; second, that several U.S.-based humanitarian groups, including the Catholic Church and its relief organization, Caritas, will be able to charter flights from the U.S. to Cuba, instead of having to go through third countries; and finally, an easing of bureaucratic restrictions on the export of medicines and medical supplies to Cuba by Caritas and other nonprofit groups. The administration also said it would work with Congress to permit the sale of basic food supplies to Cuba. Several of today's changes ease restrictions first imposed by the Clinton administration in 1996, after the Cuban air force shot down two civilian aircraft in international waters between Cuba and the United States. The planes were flown by a Miami-based Cuban exile group called Brothers to the Rescue, and had been used to drop leaflets over Cuban territory. Four Cuban American members were killed when the planes were shot down, and the incident caused yet another disruption of already-strained U.S.-Cuban relations. In Havana this morning, Castro said today's announcement appeared to be a positive step. FIDEL CASTRO: (speaking through interpreter) That would be a positive thing, constructive measures which would be helpful and conducive to a better climate in relationships between the United States and Cuba, but as I'm telling you, we would have to study them fully, in order to be able to express our views in that connection. CHARLES KRAUSE: But today's announcement does not end the decades-old U.S. trade embargo that prohibits most U.S. citizens from traveling to Cuba and all U.S. businesses from investing there. Nor does today's announcement change the Helms-Burton law, which attempts to restrict not only U.S. but non-U.S. companies from investing in Cuba. At the State Department Albright said that until Castro makes additional changes in Cuba, the embargo will remain in place. SEC. MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Over past the past two decades, the Americas have been transformed from a hemisphere dense with dictators to one in which every single country, except for Cuba, has an elected government, if you will look at your maps. We believe the Cuban people deserve the same rights and liberties as their counterparts from Patagonia to Prudhoe Bay. With that goal in mind, we will maintain economic pressure through the embargo and the Helms-Burton Act. CHARLES KRAUSE: Since the pope's visit, Castro has announced the release of nearly a hundred political prisoners. But there's been no other sign of a political opening.