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Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-1882

Washington, DC – Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement today in reaction to Pope Benedict’s travels to Cuba:

“As a long time supporter of ending the ineffective and unnecessary embargo of Cuba, I sincerely hope that Pope Benedict’s visit will help us move forward in that effort.  I am saddened to see that very little has changed in the fourteen years since Pope John Paul II’s landmark trip to Cuba.   

“After 50 years of a broken U.S. policy, it is time to acknowledge the failures of the past and engage the Cuban government and the Cuban people to rebuild the bilateral relationship between our two nations.  The rest of the world has normalized relations with Cuba but Americans are forbidden by our own government from even traveling to Cuba. Businesses from around the world are investing in opportunities in Cuba, but American businesses are cut off from investing in Cuba or even exporting American goods 90 miles off of the Florida coast. There is important research in healthcare happening in Cuba that everyone can benefit from, everyone that is, except Americans.  It is time to end the embargo.

“I believe that it is long past time for us to move our Cuba policy into the 21^st Century.

“I hope that we can mark the Pope’s visit by opening our eyes to the truth and opening our hearts to the possibility of a new policy and a new future.  The U.S. must not be trapped by the blind ideologies of the past.”

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