Rubio, seeking more freedoms, throws obstacles in way of Cuba relations

Rubio, seeking more freedoms, throws obstacles in way of Cuba relations
By Paul Guzzo | Tribune Staff
Published: June 5, 2015 | Updated: June 6, 2015 at 08:40 AM

President Barack Obama's decision to pull Cuba from the list of state
sponsors of terrorism has cleared away, supporters say, the biggest
political obstacle to normalizing relations between the two countries.

But those in Congress opposed to Obama's new Cuba policy are acting on
their pledge to throw more obstacles in the way until Cuba does more to
address political and human rights violations.

The latest efforts are by Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American U.S. senator
from Miami and Republican presidential candidate.

Last week, Rubio added a provision to the state and foreign operations
appropriations bill prohibiting the use of federal funds for any
diplomatic center related to Cuba — including consulates in the U.S. —
beyond what is already in place.

The appropriations bill funds the U.S. State Department and Global War
on Terror.

Also last week, Rubio introduced the "Cuban Military Transparency Act"
to prevent American money from supporting the Cuban military or law
enforcement — agencies that the bill says are restricting freedoms.

Analysts believe the bill is written so broadly it could cut off most
U.S. business and tourism opportunities in Cuba.

Then there is a provision attached by U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the
Cuban-American Republican from Miami, to a transportation and housing
funding bill that would prevent additional U.S. flights to Cuba and the
start of cruises or ferries to the island nation.

Each measure, if successful, stands to have an effect on Tampa.

The Tampa City Council and Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce have
advocated for a Cuban consulate here that could support and attract
those who want to do business on the island nation or who have family
there they wish to assist.

And Tampa International Airport, already generating $1 million annually
through its flights to Cuba, expects to see the impact grow as relations
continue to improve.

"At a time when our two countries are engaged in historic negotiations,
House Republicans are trying to block progress at every step," U.S. Rep.
Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, said in a prepared statement.

"Cuban families, including many of our neighbors in the Tampa area,
businesses and educators will benefit as both countries cast off
outdated Cold War policies that limit interaction and progress on
economic and human rights reform."

❖ ❖ ❖

Still, Diaz-Balart's provision would not affect the five flights a week
now flying to Cuba out of Tampa's airport.

And while the Rubio provision could prevent a Cuban consulate from
opening in the U.S., the current U.S. Interests Section building in
Havana does not need new funds to begin operating as a full embassy,
said Albert Fox, president of the Tampa-based Alliance For Responsible
Cuba Policy Foundation.

"Could it use a larger budget to add a new wing or refurbish the
carpets? Sure," said Fox, who has been part of over 100 U.S. delegations
to Cuba. "But the building is not dilapidated. It is among the better
buildings in that area."

The Cuban Military Transparency Act, on the other hand, could
significantly roll back Obama's efforts to increase trade and tourism
opportunities for U.S. citizens in Cuba, which Obama believes will help
bring democracy to the Communist nation.

The measure would prohibit financial transactions with the Ministry of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces, which runs the military, and the
Ministry of the Interior of Cuba, which oversees law enforcement.

The bill notes that the Cuban military-operated holding company GAESA
operates hotels, resorts, night clubs, retail stores, restaurants and
more throughout the island nation.

So, as long as Americans travel to Cuba they are financially supporting
the military, the bill says. This not only subverts freedoms in Cuba,
but in Venezuela, as well, the bill says.

"It is not in the interest of the United States or the people of Cuba
for the U.S. to become a financier of the Castro regime's brutality,"
Rubio said in a statement.

The bill does provide exceptions for agricultural goods and medical
supplies.

Arturo Lopez-Levy, a policy analyst for the Cuban government from
1992-94 and now a visiting lecturer at New York University, said GAESA
was indeed set up in the 1990s as an entity that could use investments
to supplement the military's budget rather than pass that burden onto
Cuban citizens.

This was done in response to the cutoff of economic and military
subsidies from the Soviet Union in 1989.

❖ ❖ ❖

Lopez-Levy said GAESA's portfolio also includes a subsidiary that
controls the container terminal at the Port of Mariel, which analysts
believe could become the largest industrial port in the Caribbean in
size and volume and a trade gateway to the world.

The Military Transparency Act also directs the U.S. government to seek
out any links the Ministry of the Interior may have to Cuban corporations.

Still, the Cuban government does not have a full monopoly on all
industries in which it invests.

On the website of GAESA's hotel subsidiary, Gaviota for example, just
three properties are listed in Havana, the most popular Cuban
destination for Americans. There are also flights out of Tampa airport
to Holguin, Cuba, which has four Gaviota properties, but three are beach
resorts — illegal for Americans to visit under existing U.S. travel
laws. All trips to Cuba now must be for one of 12 reasons, most
involving education or research.

Santa Clara, the other Cuban city that can be reached by flights from
Tampa, has no hotels or resorts belonging to Gaviota.

And the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana, where most Tampa delegations
have stayed, is not among the properties listed in Gaviota's website.

Still, while there are hotels that appear free from the restrictions of
the act, it doesn't require much to establish a link to the military,
said Antonio C. Martinez II, chair of the international law/Latin
America trade practice at the Gerstman Schwartz Malito in New York.
Crossover by one individual, even someone who is retired, or an
individual's relative might be enough.

The bill also would prohibit financial transactions with the leadership
of the military or the Ministry of the Interior, and with any entity or
individual whose financial success could benefit those in such positions.

"Rest assured," Martinez said, "that the opponents of normalization in
Congress will assert that is the congressional intent in the committee
report to accompany the bill."

❖ ❖ ❖

While Cuba permits private businesses to operate separately from the
government, the largest corporations that control most of the commerce
still have the government as the majority shareholder, said John
Kavulich, president of U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.

When the Cuban government thinks a company needs better leadership, it
may feel safer promoting those who have excelled as executives in the
military.

"They are generally believed to be the most competent and will get done
what needs to get done," Kavulich said.

Still, he said, this doesn't make them military-run companies.

"If this legislation replaced the word 'Cuba' with 'Israel,' I wonder
how we would react," Kavulich said. "Israel has compulsive military
service as well so many of their citizens may have a link to the
military and would, thus, be impacted by Senator Rubio's legislation."

Both nations require military enlistment among their citizens so most
Cubans can be linked to the military in some way.

This, said academic Lopez-Levy, could be the rationale of U.S. Sen. Bob
Menendez — a New Jersey Democrat opposed to Obama's new Cuba policy —
when he threw his support behind Rubio's bill and said as much as 80
percent of Cuba's economy "only enriches Castro's military monopolies."

"This is simply not true," Lopez-Levy said. "When we look at the
Egyptian or American economy, we don't say an enterprise is run by the
military because it has a CEO who was in the military."

The White House has promised to veto any bill that threatens Obama's
normalization efforts.

"The strategy of the opposition to U.S. Cuba normalization is that of
being spoilers," attorney Martinez said.

Fox of the Cuba alliance does not expect the bills to make it through
Congress, but said if they do, it's possible Obama might feel compelled
to sign them.

"The appropriations bills, for instance," Fox said. "They also fund the
State Department and transportation. Would he really hold up the
government over the Cuba issue or would be criticize Congress for
passing them and then reluctantly sign them?"

Rubio vows to continue his work to block the normalization process until
Cuba improves its human rights records, returns U.S. fugitives living in
Cuba, resolves outstanding property claims by U.S. citizens against the
Cuban government, and lifts restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Cuba.

Only through these conditions, Rubio said, can the U.S. show support for
the people of Cuba.

A recent poll by Miami-based Bendixen & Amandi International, however,
set no conditions in asking Cuban citizens about normalization and found
that 97 percent favor it.

"What Cuban people is Rubio talking about?" Fox said. "Ask anyone who
has been to Cuba in recent months and they will all tell you the Cuban
people agree with Obama's initiatives."

pguzzo@tampatrib.com

Source: Rubio, seeking more freedoms, throws obstacles in way of Cuba
relations | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune -
http://tbo.com/news/politics/rubio-seeking-more-freedoms-throws-obstacles-in-way-of-cuba-relations-20150605/