An umbrella group of influential Cuban exile organizations has joined the growing chorus of Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits calling for the United States to ease restrictions on travel and remittances (pengeoverførsler) to Cuba, according to the Miami Herald, Monday.
About two dozen exile organizations, speaking in unison under the umbrella group Consenso Cubano, or Cuban Consensus, released a report calling for the Bush administration to ease travel restrictions.
The groups say U.S. policies that restrict Cubans from visiting family members and that limit remittances and other humanitarian aid violate fundamental rights of Cubans, damage the Cuban family, and constitute ethical contradictions.
The announcement underscores a growing rift between hard-line exile leaders who want to preserve the sanctions, and more moderate Cuban Americans in Miami and dissidents in Cuba who feel that increasing interaction can help promote a peaceful transition to democracy.
The disconnection has manifested itself at a time that an ailing Fidel Castro is no longer in power in Cuba, having temporarily transferred authority to his brother Raúl.
And last month, Democrats took control of the U.S. House and Senate, which could trigger a reexamination of U.S.-Cuba policy.
