Open the door to Cuba

Re “Raul Castro walks tightrope of reforms,” April 29

Many things are officially prohibited in Cuba, but the resourceful islanders usually find a way. Many Cubans (and I would suggest the number is considerably higher than the 2% mentioned) have Internet access in their homes. Although the government is opening a TV channel with foreign programming, if you walked through a Havana apartment building on any recent Saturday night, you would hear residents singing along with the commercials on “Sabado Gigante,” just as they do in most Latin American countries.

And, as any Canadian or European tourist could attest, thousands of Cubans have had cellphones for years.

That Americans are surprised to learn this is testimony to the fact that our government is denying the right of its citizens to freely visit a safe and friendly country.

Only by ending the travel ban and the punitive embargo against the Cuban people can we have any moral ground from which to comment on their political system.

Jim Ryerson

Los Angeles