Time To Open The Door To Cuba

Reading the story about Joseph Dibee’s arrest by Cuban security agents (“Operation Backfire,” EW 2/18) led me to think about current U.S.-Cuba relations. Essentially, what the Cubans did was arrest a known and wanted terrorist (an “ecoterrorist,” in this case) and return him to their arch-enemy, us. They were rewarded for this by being placed back on the state sponsor of terrorism list by our mobster ex-president. Pretty ironic as well as ridiculous.

It’s time to move things in a sane direction on this issue as on so many others. Fortunately, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) has introduced the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 to repeal outdated sanctions on Cuba and establish normal trade relations with the island nation. Sen. Merkley is a co-sponsor. This bill would begin a dialogue, hopefully ending in normalized relations between our countries.

I encourage you to write to our representatives in support of both this bill and efforts to make sure we are free to travel to Cuba to see that country for ourselves.

Herb Everett

Eugene