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CUBA NEWS IN BRIEF.

Article Excerpt
President George W. Bush's recent stiffening of sanctions against Cuba has incensed many Cuban-Americans and raised the possibility that he could lose critical votes in the November election. The State Department has again put Cuba on its list of countries that do not make a significant effort to comply with US standards in combating the practice of human trafficking. The 2003-2004 sugar harvest, the second since the government lowered sugar's priority among economic sectors, has not met expectations, although it showed a modest improvement over the previous harvest.

Backlash develops against Bush's new travel rules

In May, Bush announced a new set of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of dollars to Cuba (see NotiCen, 2004-05-27).

The sanctions, product of the president's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, were explicitly designed to "hasten" the downfall of President Fidel Castro and the destruction of the socialist system in Cuba.

Among the report's recommendations was a new set of restrictions on how members of the Cuban-exile community may travel to the island to visit relatives. The rules, which went into effect June 30, reduce trips from one per year to one every three years. The rules were made retroactive so that travelers already in Cuba could not go again for three years. The rules also cut allowable travel expenses by two-thirds and set penalties for violations at up US$4,000. One of the most onerous rules is the...

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