Things You Can Do To End the Embargo on Cuba

1. Write to President Bush, telling him that it is time to change a failed foreign policy. For more than forty years the embargo has hurt the Cuban people and harmed U.S. business and agricultural interests by preventing trade with Cuba. But it has not changed the Cuban government. (For more arguments on why the embargo is a failed policy, see the list of Talking Points on the back of this sheet.) A majority of Americans polled want to see an end to the embargo. Add your voice to this number by writing to the President at: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, by email: president@whitehouse.gov , or by calling the White House Comment Line at (202) 456-6213.

2. Contact your Members of Congress. A majority of the Congress has voted to ease the embargo, but Representatives and Senators still need to hear from voters! To find the contact information for your Representative, visit http://www.house.gov. See http://www.senate.gov to find contact information for your Senators, or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your Member’s office. Or visit your Member in their state or district office to express your opinions.

3. Contact your state and local governments. Ask your state legislature, city or county council to pass a resolution urging an end to the Cuba embargo. State resolutions have been passed in Texas and California, and local resolutions in many cities. Resolutions are being considered in other states, cities and counties, bringing pressure to bear on the U.S. Congress and the White House. For more information see the item on State and Local Government Resolutions on Cuba in this packet.

4. Involve your community. Write a letter to your local newspaper about why we should end the embargo on Cuba. Invite a speaker to your farmer group, religious group, town meeting or community group to discuss the U.S. embargo on Cuba; distribute educational materials. For more information on where to find speakers in your area or for educational materials, contact the Washington Office on Latin America at wola@wola.org, (202) 797-2171, or the Latin America Working Group at lawg@lawg.org, (202) 546-7010.

5. Educate yourself. Learn more about Cuba and the US embargo by visiting the following websites: the Latin America Working Group, http://www.lawg.org/cuba.htm; the Center for International Policy, http://www.ciponline.org/cuba; the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, http://www.cubatrade.org; the Cuban American Alliance Education Fund, http://cubamer.org; http://cubacentral.com; the Washington Office on Latin America, http://www.wola.org; and Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, http://www.ahtc.org.

Or, see for yourself! Travel to Cuba with a licensed U.S. organization to learn about the island and the potential for U.S.-Cuba trade relations. Many state Farm Bureaus, as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation, have taken delegations to Cuba, as have a number of NGOs and religious groups. For information on legal group travel to Cuba and upcoming events on the island, contact your State Farm Bureau, or see Marazul Charters, Inc. at http://www.marazulcharters.com, or Global Exchange at http://www.globalexchange.org.

Talking Points: What to say to your member of Congress

about the U.S. embargo against Cuba

This year, important initiatives that would ease the U.S. embargo on Cuba will be debated and voted on in Congress. Please encourage your Members of Congress to support legislation that would lift financing restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, remove restrictions preventing U.S. citizens from traveling to Cuba, and any other legislation that would ease the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

The top 5 reasons why your members of Congress should support legislation that would ease the embargo on Cuba:

1. A majority of American citizens want to see an end to the embargo on Cuba. An October 2000 public opinion poll found that over 85% of Americans think the U.S. should ease restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba (Florida International University poll). A July 28, 2002 New York Times article cited a recent poll by Miami pollster Sergio Bendixen which showed that even Cuban-Americans “had increasingly moderated their views toward Cuba, with a slight majority in favor of letting Americans travel there.”

2. The embargo is bad for business. The embargo greatly inhibits U.S. businesses from exporting goods to Cuba. A February 2001 report by the International Trade Commission found that the U.S. loses up to $1 billion a year due to lost trade with Cuba. With the downturn in the U.S. economy and a suffering agriculture industry, restrictions on trade with Cuba limit the growth of U.S. industries.

3. The embargo hurts the Cuban people, not the Cuban government. Financing restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba make the sale of these humanitarian products to Cuba a difficult and bureaucratic process. In the past decade, the Cuban people have suffered from food shortages and a general decline in health, while the Cuban government remains intact.

4. Bipartisan majorities of Members of Congress have repeatedly voted in favor of easing the embargo on Cuba. In 2000, the House of Representatives voted 232 to 186 to allow food and medicine sales to Cuba, and the House approved a similar measure by voice vote this year. In July 2002, House members voted in favor of unrestricted travel 262 to 167; they voted to eliminate restrictions on sending remittances to Cuba 251 to 177; and an amendment to end enforcement of the entire embargo was narrowly defeated by a vote of 204 to 226. In the Senate, bipartisan majorities have also voted to allow food and medicine sales, and to ease other aspects of the embargo. While there has never been a specific vote on travel in the Senate, a provision to allow travel was written into a pending bill in the Senate in 2002. Despite widespread congressional support, pressure and maneuvering from individuals in the House leadership have prevented embargo-easing measures such as these from becoming law.

5. The embargo is a failed policy. For the past 40 years, the U.S. has maintained an embargo against Cuba in hopes of destabilizing and ultimately ending the Castro regime. In its forty years, this policy has been completely ineffective in achieving this goal. Isolation has failed; engagement with Cuba is more likely to bring real change to the island.

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