The re-opening of Key West to Havana Travel
A World Class Attraction

Business owners in Key West anticipate the reopening of Key West to Havana travel in a purely local fashion - it's our marinas that will erupt with business, our ferry terminal that will be processing daily trips 90 miles south, and our hotels that will be full of new visitors. But we can't lose track of the big picture.

After President Obama eased travel restrictions between Cuba and the United States for Cuban-Americans in April, the State Department announced that talks between the two countries aimed at repealing the fifty-year-old embargo would begin soon. A survey conducted by the World Public Opinion company revealed that 70 percent of Americans want to put an end to restrictions on travel to Cuba. Congressional Representative Bobby Rush, D-Illinois, who participated in a delegation that traveled to the island in March, has introduced legislation that would revoke the Helms-Burton and Torricelli acts and would put an end to the embargo; the bill currently has 55 co-sponsors.

"To punish the American people in our effort to somehow to strike a blow against Castro's government has not made any sense," says Senator Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota. Dorgan is a sponsor of the bill in the Senate. "Finally, this policy - in place for 50 years and which has not worked - will be eliminated," he added.

Some groups choose to defy the embargo by making compasionate trips to Cuba, One hundred and forty representatives of the Venceremos Brigade, an American organization that annually sends groups to the island to work on construction projects, just made the group's 40th visit. After returning home, they sent a letter to Obama challenging the travel restrictions and urging the President to put an end to the embargo. The group Pastors for Peace just made their 20th visit - bringing 100 tons of medical supplies, tools and construction equipment with them.

Before President Obama took office, he received a letter from a coalition of US business groups including the American Society of Travel Agents and the Business Roundtable of the United States Chamber of Commerce. In the letter they pointed out, "We support the complete elimination of all trade and travel restrictions against Cuba. We recognize that this change will not take place in one instant, but it should begin somehow, and soon."

Fifty years of an embargo, not ninety miles of water - that's what really separates Key West from Cuba. An embargo that has accomplished nothing so much as denying everyone the experience of traveling between the two islands for culture, education and fun.

So, when will Key West to Havana travel return? We don't know. It may not be until after Fidel Castro is gone. Then again, it could be tomorrow. One thing is for sure - it will happen. And when it does, the Florida Keys will have a new world class attraction.