{"id":87712,"date":"2017-02-24T10:34:01","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T15:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=87712"},"modified":"2017-02-24T10:34:01","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T15:34:01","slug":"congressmen-the-advance-of-the-rapprochement-is-inevitable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/congressmen-the-advance-of-the-rapprochement-is-inevitable\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressmen: the advance of the rapprochement \u201cis inevitable\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. delegation of congressmen which ended its visit to Cuba this Wednesday said to the press that the advance in relations between the two countries \u201cis inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be today on one more trip if I didn\u2019t believe it is like this,\u201d said Senator Patrick Leahy (D Vermont). \u201cAmericans want that, the opinion in the community of businesspeople, academicians, scientists has changed\u2026. I hope it is the same in Cuba,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n

He was accompanied by William Thad Cochran (R Mississippi), Senators Tom Udall (D New Mexico) and Michael Bennet (D Colorado), and Representative Jim McGovern (D Massachusetts).<\/p>\n

Leahy said it is not possible to return to \u201ca 50-year failed policy\u201d and affirmed that \u201cthe lifting of the travel ban and other restrictions is inevitable. The restrictions are going to be lifted; the embargo is going to be lifted. When will it happen? I don\u2019t know. The sooner the better. Is it going to happen? Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Ismario Rodr\u00edguez P\u00e9rez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cochran, meanwhile, affirmed that \u201cthere are openings, and winning implies taking risks.\u201d Speaking of the expectations regarding Trump, he joked saying that \u201csome say that we have a spontaneous president\u2026. There will be active debates in Congress,\u201d he forecasted.<\/p>\n

McGovern said that there are \u201ctoo many collaborations\u201d taking place; on business, agriculture, academic exchange\u2026. \u201cI don\u2019t know what Donald Trump will say or not say about the future U.S. policy on Cuba, but we are all expecting he will agree with us that rapprochement is better than isolation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Representative advanced that \u201cthere will be more collaboration, more memorandums of understanding, more areas in which we can reach an agreement and continue forward with this policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Ismario Rodr\u00edguez P\u00e9rez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Cubans have been very wise in not answering every tweet or comment,\u201d Leahy said. \u201cCastro made it very clear that he wants the reforms to continue. We are in a new world\u2026. We don\u2019t forget the past, but we are looking toward the future,\u201d he said referring to the meeting they had this Tuesday with the Cuban president.<\/p>\n

Seven days after Trump\u2019s inauguration, Ra\u00fal Castro made statements in the Dominican Republic regarding Cuba-U.S. relations. He gave two copies in English of this speech to the congressmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made it very clear: he wants us to continue,\u201d Leahy insisted. \u201cHe will not stop: Cubans don\u2019t want to stop. We don\u2019t want to stop. The majority in Congress, from the two parties, want to continue. The movement is more significant in the United States now than ever before in my career in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known as \u201cthe senator of the thaw,\u201d Leahy said the relationship with Cuba was \u201ca stone in the shoe\u201d for a long time. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want the stone to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n