10th caravan breaks U.S. blockade
By Gery Armsby
A youth baseball team from Garberville, Calif., joined
over 50 other people--young and old--in the 10th U.S.-Cuba
Friendshipment Caravan. The group arrived in socialist Cuba
on July 21.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace organized this challenge to the
U.S. blockade of Cuba. Participants came from the United
States, Canada and Europe.
A government helicopter and several unmarked cars followed
the caravan as it drove from San Antonio to the international
border at McAllen, Texas, July 19. The caravan successfully
crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with all 70 participants and
its cargo intact.
The Rev. Lucius Walker Jr. of Pastors for Peace released a
statement about the threats and intimidation by U.S.
officials. "They know that any attempt to stop us will not
only be unsuccessful, but will draw more attention to its
outdated and failed policy. The same U.S. residents who
insisted that Elián [González] go home would
support aid going to Cuba," he said.
Since 1992, Pastors for Peace has sponsored nine caravans
to demonstrate opposition to the blockade by people in the
United States.
Participants in these aid caravans have risked fines of up
to $250,000 and 10 years in prison to deliver food,
medicines, medical equipment, ambulances, medical computers
and powdered milk to the Cuban people.
In 1993 and 1996, the U.S. Treasury Department seized
vehicles and computers destined for Cuba, stopping the group
at the border and prompting wide-scale resistance.
Organizers recently won an historic court case against the
Treasury Department, which had threatened to seize IFCO bank
records in an effort to keep the group from sending more
caravans.
While in Cuba, the 10- and 11-year-old baseball players
will play a three-game series with their Cuban counterparts.
The caravan will deliver supplies and equipment to hospitals,
health centers, schools and sports facilities in Cuba--all
without a U.S.-government okay.
The trip includes stops at a major sports center, artists'
studios and factories. Delegates will visit Cuban Olympic
athletes and National Assembly representatives. They will
also visit the Latin American School of Medicine, where Cuba
provides free medical training to hundreds of students from
Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other
countries.
On Moncada Day, July 26, the caravan will join Cuban
families in the national celebration of the first battle of
the Cuban Revolution.
More than half of the caravan participants are visiting
Cuba for the first time. Organizers said this shows the
strong interest of people in the United States to visit and
learn more about Cuba since the Elián González
case.
Travel to Cuba is severely limited. The U.S. government
banned regularly scheduled direct flights to Cuba in 1962 as
part of its economic war against the revolution.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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