Raúl's daughter: Relax travel restrictions

The Cuban people should be allowed to leave their country without "absurd" restrictions, Raúl Castro's daughter Mariela told the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia this week, in a wide-ranging interview. Excerpts: "At present, people can leave, but with great difficulty. [The authorities] would have to reduce the absurd obstacles, which to me seem awful. [...] All countries have restrictions and rules for everything, but they don't have foreign laws that make the designing of their national policies even more difficult. There is the U.S. Cuban Adjustment Act, which rewards those who leave illegally, yet [the Americans] do not grant the visas agreed upon to travel to the U.S. in a legal manner. And this is a very serious matter that should be resolved with the support of governments that claim to love democracy. [...] We cannot impose limitations in addition to the ones imposed by the enemies of the Cuban nation. Let everything be analyzed in depth, so the best solutions may be found. Let us not deprive the people of their right to leave. As far as I'm concerned, give permission to anyone who wishes to leave, so long as they have no debts with justice." To read the entire interview (in Spanish) click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.