Congressman José E. Serrano released the following statement in response to the historic announcement made today by President Obama and Raul Castro that the United States and Cuba will begin normalizing relations. Both nations also announced the mutual release of prisoners – prisoner Alan Gross in Cuba and 3 Cuban prisoners in the United States.
Among the steps announced today by Obama and Castro were: the normalization of diplomatic relations, including re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana Cuba; expanding opportunities to travel to Cuba for U.S. citizens; increasing the amount and expanding the type of remittances allowed under the law; increasing and facilitating the sending of remittances to Cuba by people from the U.S.; expanding commercial sales and exports of products from the US to Cuba and the import of goods from Cuba to the US; facilitating commercial and financial transactions between both countries; expanding internet access and communications in Cuba; and initiating a review of Cuba’s designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Today is a historic day for the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. For those of us who have advocated and worked for an end to the Cuban embargo and the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States, this announcement is long overdue. This is a major step in ending our nation’s ineffective Cuba policies, and will pave the way for the eventual complete normalization of relations between the two countries. For far too long, our country has engaged in a counterproductive policy that hurts the very people it claims to help – the Cuban people. Today, that changes.
“I am very pleased the President has recognized the need for change in our relationship with Cuba. We currently have normal relations with other countries that have different forms of government, some of which are far more of a threat to national security. The cold war has been over for more than 20 years and there is no reason why this isolationist, punishing and misguided policy is still part of our foreign policy strategy. The Cuban embargo has hurt our standing in the world and our relationship with our neighbors in the Americas. Our policy towards Cuba should be one founded on respect and collaboration to the advantage of both nations. Today’s announcement finally moves us in this direction. The steps announced today will promote positive economic change in Cuba and help unleash the potential of millions of Cubans for the benefit of both nations. It will expand contact between two populations, Americans and Cubans, that have long yearned for expanded opportunities to trade and interact. I applaud President Obama for his leadership on this issue and bold move to finally put an end to an outdated and unwise policy.”
During his 24 years in Congress, Congressman Serrano has consistently advocated for a change in US-Cuba relations and an end to the Cuban embargo. Throughout the years he has introduced various pieces of legislation to end the Cuba embargo, including the Cuba Reconciliation Act, which repeals the US embargo entirely, and the Baseball Diplomacy Act. In 2009, Congressman Serrano inserted language in the House Appropriations bill that rolled back the restrictions on family travel that were implemented by the Bush administration. He also worked to roll back restrictions on agricultural trade between the two nations in the same bill. Thanks to his efforts, the groundwork was laid for President Obama to take further action to expand family travel later that year. More recently, he has successfully fought against attempts to reinstate more the restrictive travel policies in the Appropriations process. In 2000, Serrano was the lead Democrat involved in the Elian Gonzalez saga and advocated for reuniting him with his father in Cuba.
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