Published Monday, July 24, 2000, in the Miami Herald

Hold the hypocrisy

A sneaky way to change U.S.-Cuba policy

Even for Congress, it was a particularly cynical move. First the House voted to keep the current embargo on Cuba, then to block federal enforcement of the embargo's restrictions on food and medicine sales and on Americans traveling to the island.

``Spending money in Cuba is still illegal,'' the representatives are saying -- nod, nod, wink, wink. ``But it's OK for Americans to break these laws.''

Though we advocate lifting the travel ban to stimulate contacts between Americans and Cubans, the House action last Thursday was not the way to do it. If Congress wishes to ease the embargo, it should do so only after an open, broad and deliberative discussion -- not in a piecemeal, indirect and knee-jerk reaction to Fidel Castro's stagecraft over Elián González.

It remains disingenuous for those who oppose trade sanctions on agricultural sales to claim that their motive is humanitarian. The beneficiary will be the Cuban state, not the people. And it's sad that this effort to puncture the embargo is riding the wave of post-Elián backlash against Cuban exiles.

The measures approved by the House by large margins last week would bar any federal spending to enforce sanctions against those Americans who travel or sell food, medicine or agricultural products to Cuba. The Senate may not concur.

The outcome is impossible to predict. Also at play are amendments attached to the agricultural spending bill by both the House and Senate that would allow sales of food and medicine to Cuba as well as to other rogue states. But the details differ significantly.

Whatever finally is passed will depend on the horse trading that goes on in the conference committee. Add to the mix the likely White House opposition to provisions that would compromise the president's ability to use sanctions as a foreign-policy tool.

What seems apparent, however, is a growing groundswell in Congress to ease the embargo on Cuba just as the power of the traditional Cuban-exile lobby has waned. Meanwhile, anti-embargo pressure has grown over several years, as groups such as Engage USA have lobbied heavily to get rid of all trade sanctions.

This is disturbing for two reasons: First, farmers who envision earning easy bucks selling to Cuba's government are in for a rude surprise; Cuba is broke. Second, Cuba's totalitarian regime has shown no more inclination to respect human rights or international law since the embargo was first imposed in 1960.

Congress always has the authority to tinker with the embargo. But if it does, these issues should be part of the broader debate and the changes should be made without resorting to trickery.

Copyright 2000 the Miami Herald.
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