Ron Paul says ‘Freedom to travel is a fundamental right’
After all the hoopla over the recent trip to Cuba by singers Jay-Z and Beyoncé, who certainly received special treatment in being allowed to travel to the communist country, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul asks, “Why can’t we all travel to Cuba?
In his latest Texas Straight Talk released April 15, Dr. Paul says even though some in the Congress still support the Cuban embargo after all these decades, thus are up in arms over the celebrity’s tour of the island nation, likely special treatment from the White House, the more important issue is, why can’t the rest of us go?
Although props are given to the Obama administration for loosening the restrictions, still the average Joe cannot travel to vacation on the Caribbean island.
Paul states, “The reason the US so severely restricts and scripts the activities of the few Americans allowed to travel to Cuba is that it believes travel must promote the goal of taking “important steps in reaching the widely shared goal of a Cuba that respects the basic rights of all its citizens.”
He goes on, “Although I have no illusions about the Cuban government – or any government for that matter — it is ironic that the US chose to locate a prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba because the indefinite detention and torture that took place there would have been illegal on US soil. Further, the US government continues to hold more than 100 prisoners there indefinitely even though they have not been found guilty of a crime and in fact dozens are “cleared for release” but not allowed to leave.
“We are told by supporters of the Cuba embargo and travel ban that we must take such measures to fight the communists in charge of that country. Americans must be prohibited from traveling to Cuba, they argue, because tourist dollars would only be used to prop up the unelected Castro regime. Ironically, our restrictive travel policies toward Cuba actually mirror the travel policies of the communist countries past and present. Under communist rule in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere it was only the well-connected elites who were allowed to travel overseas – people like Jay-Z and Beyoncé. The average citizen was not permitted the right.
“Freedom to travel is a fundamental right. Restricting this fundamental right in the name of human rights is foolish and hypocritical.”