Beyonce and Jay-Z weren't the only high-profile Americans in Cuba over the weekend.
Tampa-area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor made her maiden voyage to the Communist island, and declared after her brief stay that the five-decade long U.S. economic embargo against the Castro-led government has got to go.
"I think it's time to try something different. End the embargo and lift those travel restrictions," Castor said before a scrum of reporters packed like sardines inside her modest district office in West Tampa.
Castor said that the traditional arguments against ending economic sanctions shouldn't carry as much weight because the Cuban government, now led by Raoul Castro, has announced a series of economic reforms over the past year.
"They are still a hardcore communist island," she admitted. "But they are embarking on market reforms to their economy that deserves encouragement to the point now where I believe policymakers in Washington should consider lifting the embargo."
She questioned why Cuba is currently the only country in the world that Americans are banned from going to (without a special license). You can travel to North Korea, Iran and Syria, "yet a little more than an hour away from Tampa International Airport all our neighbors cannot visit and travel."
This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2013.
