U.S. embargo is necessary

Posted on Tuesday, 04.23.13

The readers' forum



U.S. embargo is necessary



At this time, when the democratic opposition within Cuba is acquiring

greater strength and showing extraordinary political maturity, I believe

it is important to remember the reasons for the existence of the U.S.

embargo and the three conditions for its lifting.



When I arrived in the U.S. Congress in January 1993, I was able to

confirm that U.S. law did not prohibit trade and financing with the

Cuban regime by the great majority of U.S. corporations. I was truly

impacted by the fact that U.S. law only prohibited trade and financing

with the Cuban regime by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies, but not

by U.S. companies inside the United States (in other words, the

overwhelming majority of U.S. firms).



Mass U.S. tourism to Cuba was also not barred by law. All existing

sanctions at that time were contained in executive orders that, of

course, could be lifted by other executive orders, at any time, by any

president.



Since I was convinced that no dictatorship in history has ever given

anything to the democratic opposition in exchange for nothing, and since

I did not have confidence that the president of the United States would

insist that a genuine democratic transition for the Cuban people be

underway before lifting the embargo on the regime, I decided to codify —

to enact into law — those executive orders: the prohibitions on

commerce, on financing, and on mass U.S. tourism to Cuba. And to

condition the lifting of those sanctions (commonly known as the embargo)

on three conditions within Cuba: 1) the liberation of all political

prisoners, without exceptions; 2) the legalization of all political

parties, without exceptions, of the independent press and free labor

unions; and 3) the scheduling of free elections with international

supervision for the Cuban people.



In March 1996, with the decisive help of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and

Sen. Bob Menéndez, I achieved codification passed by Congress. All the

executive orders that constituted the embargo were made part of U.S.

law, as well as the three conditions for their lifting. I believe it was

the most important achievement of my 18 years in the U.S. Congress.



I was convinced then, and I continue to believe, that the U.S. embargo

and the conditioning of its lifting — upon the requirement that a

genuine democratic transition based on the three conditions be underway

in Cuba — constitute instruments of great importance in the hands of the

Cuban opposition.



Lincoln Diaz-Balart,



former congressman, Miami



http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/23/3360536/us-embargo-is-necessary.html#storylink=misearch