Venezuela

=  Country Page: Venezuela =

Wikispace Assignment # 2
**Insert "horizontal lines" to separate individual student work** Begin Here:

**Wikispace Assignment 1, Begin Here: ** Insert "horizontal lines" to separate individual student work.

 __**Eased Travel Restrictions in Cuba?!**__ The articles that I found discuss how the Cuban government has declared that they would ease up on the travel restrictions that have been put in place for quite a few decades now. According to an article written by Damien Cave, talks about easing the travel restrictions have been in the works since October 2012 (Cave, 2012). On Monday, January 14, 2013, the Cuban government was good for their word and they did in fact allow the “eased restrictions” to come into play (AFP, 2013). So with the eased restrictions everyone should be allowed to travel, right? Well, that is what I thought until I kept on reading and researching. Apparently there are still  some restrictions that the Cuban government has not budged on. According to Victoria Burnett there are multiple reasons why many Cubans will still not be able to travel. The Cuban government is still restricting those whom they believe would be a threat to national security if they left Cuba. Another reason includes the fact that the process of attaining a passport costs close to two-hundred dollars in total (including the application, passport itself, and other things too). Some individuals may not believe this to be very much money. However, when one takes into consideration that the average Cuban family only brings home roughly twenty dollars a month it becomes easy to see why so many will not travel simply because they are unable to purchase a passport (Burnett, 2013). The citizens also still need to meet certain requirements set by the government, and they actually still need to be approved by the government before being allowed to receive their passport (Brumfield, 2012).

I chose this topic because I found it very interesting and the articles provided a lot of useful information. I personally know many people who have family in Cuba. In fact, I even have family still over there. I was very excited to see that Cuba was working towards relaxing their travel restrictions. However the more I read the more I noticed how the restrictions are still there. Many families are unable to pay to even get their passports, some individuals will not be "approved" to receive them, and there are even some that are still restricted from the process all-together because the government is concerned about national security. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in the days to come.

-Alex Orta, Sunday, January 20, 2013 =Works Cited= AFP. (2013, 1 14). //Cubans Free to Travel Without Restrictions.// Retrieved from El Economista: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=es&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Feleconomista.com.mx%2Finternacional%2F2013%2F01%2F14%2Fcubanos-libres-viajar-sin-restricciones

Brumfield, B. (2012, October 16). //Cuba Eases Travel Restrictions for Citizens.// Retrieved from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/16/world/americas/cuba-travel-policy/index.html

Burnett, V. (2013, January 14). //In First Day of New Rules, Cubans Make Travel Plans.// Retrieved from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/world/americas/cubans-take-advantage-of-day-1-of-new-travel-rules.html?_r=2&

Cave, D. (2012, October 16). //Easing Path Out of Country, Cuba is Dropping Exit Visas.// Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/world/americas/cuba-lifts-much-reviled-rule-the-exit-visa.html?ref=americas