Obama sides with Martinez in aid to Cuba

Barack Obama is seconding Raul Martinez's call to temporarily lift restrictions on travel to Cuba -- to help family members help victims of Hurricane Gustav.

Martinez cited news reports that suggest 100,000 houses, schools and workplaces were damaged by Hurricane Gustav, and at least 6,000 homes are considered beyond repair.

"We have a moral obligation to allow families to help each other in a time of dire need," said Martinez, who noted that under current Bush administration restrictions -- imposed before the 2004 election -- Cubans in the U.S. are limited to taking trips to Cuba once every 3 years and sending a max of $300 to family members every three months.

Obama sided with Martinez -- though he took pains to emphasize that he wasn't calling for lifting the embargo.

"This is a time when the Cuban people – not Castro – need and deserve American compassion and assistance," he said. "The Cuban American community stands ready to directly assist their family members in this time of need. A failed Bush administration policy, however, stands in the way of moral and necessary aid."

Martinez is challenging Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who supported the administration's restrictions and signaled in a press release that Gustav hasn't changed his mind. The subtitle on the release: "US law does not need to be changed in order to help the victims of the hurricane."

Joined by Sens. Bob Menendez and Bill Nelson, along with Reps. Albio Sires, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, Diaz-Balart asked the administration to provide direct assistance to Gustav victims by making available a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to travel there to assess the damage and determine the appropriate aid, along with making available U.S. assistance to provide aid to the victims of Gustav through the United States Interests Section in Havana.