You know what Cuba needs? A little sprucing up courtesy of the U.S. of A.
Travelers exiting the monorail in Tampa International Airport’s international terminal got a free show Saturday morning: a press conference featuring U.S. Representative Kathy Castor and other Congress members as they geared up to depart for Cuba.
Castor, a Democrat from Florida’s 14th district (that’s you, Tampa and, for now, south St. Pete) is leading a seven-member bipartisan delegation to Cuba backed by The Center for Democracy in the Americas in Washington, D.C.
Cool story, bro. Some politicians are taking a vacation to Havana, what’s the big deal?
Well, the group hopes to speak to business owners and entrepreneurs to gauge the country's changing economic climate, evaluate options for improving trade and take a look at Cuba’s sub-par technological and connectivity status, which Castor said could hinder relations with the U.S.
Before departing, the group visited Ybor City to speak to representatives of Florida’s agricultural industry who are already exporting to the island nation. Even though the diplomatic relations to Cuba where restored in December of 2014, there still remains several hundred miles of red tape between the U.S. and Cuba and maybe even a few bad memories.
Castor spearheaded the revival of the House Bipartisan Cuba Working Group with Rep. Tom Emmer (D-Minnesota) in December of last year. The duo also introduced the Cuba Trade Act of 2015, which looks to knock down trade impediments dating all the way back to 1961. The act would open up trade for all goods, with Tampa most likely benefiting from the increase volume of exports and imports.
The bill now needs support from the other side of aisle in order to become law.
“Most Democrats would support it now. We are really working on Republican support… Nothing really happens overnight, but we have momentum,” said Castor.
The trip comes a few days before the federal government is due to approve commercial flights back to Cuba, with a limited number of licenses.
“We at the Tampa International Airport and the Tampa Bay area are here to ensure that we win some of these flights. There is an FAA approval process where the airlines have to advocate for these flights,” said Castor.
Joseph Lopano, CEO of the airport, was on hand reiterate that the airport currently offers seven chartered flights a week to Cuba, five a week to Havana, pulling in over $1 million a year for the airport.
Said Lopano about the possible increase in flights available from Tampa, “these flights help to create jobs.”
And everyone loves jobs.
This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2016.