Post #100

As this is my one hundredth post here I felt a little like celebrating this milestone. But after reading some interesting emails I ran across a news story in an email that was sent to me. The story was about Cuba and the diplomatic sanctions that have been placed on the country. As most of the world knows by now, Fidel Castro has retired and left his brother, Raul Castro in place as the countries president which creates a new political arena in Cuba. Fidel's retirement really was not much of a surprise considering the man is 81 years old; but a few pieces of the article I read surprised me.

In the article, the European Union's top development aid visited Cuba and made some interesting observations. The E.U. aid commissioner, Louis Michel, purposely visited Cuba to get a closer look at the political climate following the retirement of Fidel Castro. What he found was promising. Some of the diplomatic sanctions include a freeze on high level diplomatic visits by top ranking officials, as well as the U.S. embargo which halted trade and investments with Cuba. Some of these sanctions may be archaic and are becoming obstacles in the path of Cuba's future.

Another interesting bit from the article is that economic, political changes and advances in human rights are on the docket for Cuba. How much truth in the matter remains to be seen, but it certainly is a step forward in opening talks with Cuba. Now from a Canadian perspective, I find this development to be intriguing. Just how will it affect the political climate of Cuba, I don't really know, but seeing as a trip to Cuba is more affordable then some other islands in the area; the economic changes will most certainly up the cost. As for how it will affect Canadians, I think that if Cuba goes through and makes some advances in human rights they would certainly make the vacation hot spot a little safer for travellers. This news is making me consider trips to Cuba, even though I would much rather travel to Bermuda or Jamaica, but Cuba is a little higher on my list of places to see now.

Well that's my opinion, what's yours?

Image Source: Wiki Media Commons
News Story: EU commissioner wants Cuba sanctions abolished