The New York Times reports: “New Rules on American Travel to Cuba Include Cruise Ban.”

NETFA FREEMAN, netfa at ips-dc.org, @Netfafree
Freeman is an analyst with the Institute for Policy Studies and was in Cuba last month, just as the Trump administration announced its ramping up of policies targeting the island in the form of implementing Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. He is able to speak about the policy itself and sentiments on the ground of regular Cuban people.

He said today: “The new measure of the Trump administration to eliminate people-to-people travel exchanges to Cuba should be seen by U.S. citizens as not only an assault against Cuba’s sovereignty but an affront against their human right of freedom of travel.”

“The hypocrisy of politicians like Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio who praise the Trump administration for its moves against Cuba is plain to see when one realizes Saudi Arabia and Israel just kill and maim as official policy and are never sanctioned.”

In November the United Nations reported that the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to urge the U.S. government “to heed the quarter‑century‑long call for an end to its restrictive policies.” By a “vote of 189 in favor to 2 against (Israel, United States), with no abstentions, the Assembly adopted the resolution titled ‘Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.’”

Producers can use Jackson Browne’s “Going Down to Cuba” as lead-in music for segments on this subject.