Cuban Americans filling planes to homeland

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Cuban Americans filling planes to homeland
Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:33pm EDT*
Cuban American visits jump after restrictions lifted
By Esteban Israel

HAVANA, March 24 (Reuters) - When a recent flight from Miami touched down at Havana's Jose Marti Airport, a passenger shouted "Viva Cuba!" in a show of the enthusiasm Cuban Americans have for returning to their homeland.

Since President Barack Obama lifted restrictions last year on their visits to Cuba aiming to increase people-to-people contact, they are coming in such numbers that Cuba has had to remodel the airport terminal for U.S. flights.

The immediate beneficiaries are the eight U.S.-based charter services who operate the only flights allowed from the United States and who say business is booming.

The only foreseeable fly in the ointment, they say, is the U.S. government's inclusion of Cuba in countries where U.S.-bound passengers must undergo extra screening, which Cuba has protested.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2411181120100324?type=marketsNews

---

DU member Mika broke this story in the Latin America forum earlier this evening. He gave permission to post it in LBN.

[Ken Burch]

1. How nice for them. Now, let's just normalize with Cuba be done with it.

The "good ol' days" ain't comin' back



Deal with it, Andy Garcia. You too, "Glorita".

[Blue_Tires]

10. +1

[L0oniX]

12. +2

[WhiteTara]

2. thanks Judi Lynn

it's great to get our southern neighbors news.
:hi:

[Judi Lynn]

6. Welcome, White Tara. We'd get so much more news if the US gov't let us go there ourselves! n/t

[WhiteTara]

13. I think it would be a great place to visit n/t

[Mika]

3. Wow. Cuban Americans are free to travel to Cuba while native born Americans aren't? WTF?

So, essentially, the rest of us have been relegated to 2nd class citizen status - in that we are banned by our own gov't from unfettered travel to Cuba. While Cuban-Americans and Cuban resident aliens are free to travel to anywhere including Cuba?

This is just crazy. :crazy:

I thought that exiles were escaping "Castro's Gulag". They are going back to Cuba with no hassle from Castro?

What's up with that?

---

[DissedByBush]

4. They're not going there to stay

They are tourists, probably visiting family who couldn't get out, and they are bringing cold hard cash to spend.

Cuba needs that cash.

The government will leave them alone as long as they don't do or say anything out of line.

[EFerrari]

9. Sort of like San Francisco

lol

[Judi Lynn]

5. Oh, b-b-b-b-but they risked their liiiiives to get here in the 1st place, Mika!

They fleeeeed from Cuba. Now they're fleeing back? How can that be?

It hurts our heads.

Surely we haven't been sold a pack of lies, have we?

Of course Fidel Castro will pounce upon them and eat them all gone. He's been waiting for them.

[bvar22]

7. Probably going back to access the Health Care.

Wish I could.

[THale2]

8. My Mom woks with this Cuban lady

Who listens to Rush Limabaugh so we can assume she does not like Obama,

She then goes on to express her joy of being able to see her brother who is Cuban for the first time in 30 years...I told my mom that she should have asked her who does she think made that reunion possible

That is one example of voting against your interest

[Historic NY]

11. I hope they remember come 2012....St. Ronnie & Bush sr. canceled the flights...

I used to work the gate screening for the charter flights.

[Mika]

14. Kick for the rest of us 2nd class citizen/resident Americans.

Still banned from unfettered travel by our own government. :(

---

[catzies]

15. Seconded, and kicked again. Some day the rest of us can go too.

I cannot wait to go!