RSSBush says he will allow cell phones to be sent to Cuba
By Ed Oswald | Published May 22, 2008, 5:49 PM
In a test of the country's recently instituted economic reforms, the US will now permit cell phones to be sent to the Communist country, despite the continued presence of economic sanctions.
Cuban President Raul Castro has implemented several changes since taking power in February, some of which included the ability to purchase electronic devices including computers, cell phones, and DVD players.
With the average income in Cuba around $15 per month, and US residents permitted to only send their relatives $1,200 per year, luxuries such as cell phones are out of the reach of many. Add to this the fact that Cubacel -- the country's only cellular provider -- has cell coverage available for less than a quarter of the island, and the plan may sound better than it actually is.
A phone costs about $120 in Cuba, and costs 50 cents per minute to use. Cubacel uses the GSM network operating at 900 MHz, which means a tri or quad-band phone would need to be purchased in order for it to even be used.
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| A recent map whose areas in pink show the regions in Cuba currently covered by cell phones. |
That is not stopping President Bush, however, who says that if Castro is serious about the reforms he's implemented, the phones will be allowed to reach Cuba's citizens. At the same time, he added that true reform would not be possible until their form of government changes.
As expected, the Cuban lobby in Washington did not respond positively to the developments. "You can't eat cell phones," one said. Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona said a better way to fix Cuba's problems would be to lift the trade embargo altogether.
Such calls for renewed economic relations between the US and Cuba have increased recently, although the Bush Administration has stood in firm opposition to any change up until this point.
In a response to e-mails received by the White House from individuals this afternoon, the President's Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Dan Fisk, wrote to a fellow named Darryl writing from Havana, "The United States Government constantly reviews and assesses it foreign policy towards Cuba. The change in our regulations announced by President Bush yesterday to allow Americans to send mobile phones to their relatives in Cuba is an example of this process. However, the core of our policy -- supporting the restoration of fundamental human rights to the Cuban people -- remains steadfast."
I thought we are finally past the point where anyone cares what Bush says..?
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Why can't we sent the president to Cuba instead? It might be more entertaining.
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You can't eat cell phones, but at $120 they can eat your wallet.
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Jeff Flake of Arizona said a better way to fix Cuba's problems would be to lift the trade embargo altogether.
Baby steps, Jeffery, baby steps...
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These sort of embargoes never really work. They usually just end up making the one they are against stronger while the people there suffer. Communism would have fallen decades ago in Cuba if trade were allowed to continue all along.
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I can see how it makes the people suffer, but the government stronger?
Dunno about that. Cuba has been under embargoes for eons (exaggeration) and I wouldn't quite call them a super-power... ;)
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But Castro was still in control for the entire time..... And he and his cohorts lived quite well.
Embargoes didn't work in Iraq or North Korea either. Being a "superpower" is highly overrated. They aren't called petty dictators for nothing. [smiles]
It was only after the US invaded Iraq on false information that they finally got rid of Saddam. But all that really did was open the country to worse since they are voting themselves into an Islam theocracy now.
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Cuba exists mainly because it is communist and other communist countries provide for them. Embargoes are from the US only, and a few allies we have in the region left.
I really find this funny, first Clinton gives China most favorable nation status, now we're relaxing embargoes on Cuba. Seems this democracy we want to spread to the middle east is coming at a price everywhere else.
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It mainly existed because of Castro. Cuba lost most of its external support when the USSR fell nearly 20 years ago.
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I wonder if anyone posting on this topic is old enough, as I am, to remember watching the ticker tape parades in New York City....in honor of Fidel Castro, when the U.S. was calling him the "great liberator" of Cuba?
Bautista was in charge of Cuba, offering protection and a haven for American gangsters, which didn't make us very happy. So, with our usual lack of forethought, we backed someone we thought would serve our interests for the moment. We got him...Fidel Castro.
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Bingo.
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