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BY PAUL ROLFE

“Well traveling to Cuba may be easier these days. According to an AP source the Barack Obama administration could announce a decision by the end of next week. The officials say they want to expand opportunities for American students, educators and researchers to visit the country. Political differences could still hold it up, though.” (WFTS)

The official 50-year ban on travel to Cuba, could be over -- at least in part -- for American citizens.  President Obama is showing signs of wanting warmer relations with the island nation of Cuba.

We’re analyzing coverage of the presumptive announcement from WFTS, MSNBC, USA Today, Roll Call and CNN.

The president is finding support in some of the usual quarters. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat, tells MSNBC he supports the relaxing of the restrictions despite political tensions.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM): “Well, there’s no question that politics, whenever you’re dealing with Cuba, enters into it, especially in Miami and New Jersey. There is a lot of very serious Cuban-Americans concerned about easing the relationship with Cuba, but I do think just staying with the travel issue, making it easier for Americans and Cubans to travel back and forth improves understanding that might lead to an easing of relations.”

There are already some exemptions in place for traveling to Cuba including journalists, government officials, and close relatives of Cuban nationals. USA Today’s Bill McGee says simply lessening travel restrictions to Cuba will only make it easier to do what’s already possible.

“But let's state the obvious: The biggest open secret in the world of travel is that every year hundreds of thousands of Americans visit Cuba, and many are in violation of the ban.”

The Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act was introduced in Congress in February. If passed, it would allow U.S. farmers and ranchers to enter the Cuban market, and it would also expand the American travel industry. Roll Call’s John Adams and David Jones think it’s about time to lift the embargo.

“Cuba has not been a military threat to the United States for more than 20 years; its military has been downsized, troops have withdrawn from Africa and Latin America, and its presence on the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism is based on politics, not sound policy. It undermines the credibility of our policy against terror.”

But CNN quotes Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who is concerned about any policy that benefits the Cuban economy.

"’We are deeply troubled that such changes would result in economic benefits to the Cuban regime and would significantly undermine U.S. foreign policy and security objectives.’”

With the bill stuck in Congress, The Christian Science Monitor reports President Obama’s executive order is expected to come before Labor Day.  So is it time to warm relations with Cuba?  Or is the Cold War still a cold hard reality?


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