Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Opposes Opening Cuba Up for More Tourism

With reports in the Wall Street Journal that President Barack Obama is opening to allowing more tourist travel to Cuba as normalization with that nation continues, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., one of the leading Republicans in Congress on foreign affairs, expressed her opposition on Tuesday. 

“On December 17th, President Obama announced that he would use his executive powers to change Cuba regulations and the Wall Street Journal article states that the Obama administration will put into action more travel changes by the end of the year,” Ros-Lehtinen noted. “Any effort to increase tourism travel to the island is illegal but the Obama administration, once again, has decided to change the law when it is up to Congress to do so. These changes will fill Castro's coffers and it is another part of President Obama's legacy shopping list. 

“In Congress, I have joined my colleagues Congressman Devin Nunes (Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence), Mac Thornberry (Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee), and Rodney Frelinghuysen (Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee) in introducing H.R. 2937, the Cuban Military Transparency Act,” Ros-Lehtinen added. “This legislation currently has 48 cosponsors and points out that this increased tourism only benefits the Cuban military because that entity controls the Cuban tourism sector. The hotels and tourism enterprises are owned by the Cuban regime and its shadow organizations and many of these enterprises are on confiscated property of U.S. citizens so the Obama administration is promoting trafficking in stolen properties.”