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American-Cuban relations have never been particularly healthy, but they took a serious downturn during the Cold War, resulting in a trade embargo that still exists, and which continues to prevent Americans from visiting the island nation.
To put it into perspective, it’s far, far easier to travel to Russia than to Cuba.
But there are ways to do so, due in part to actions taken by President Obama over the last couple of years to try to improve the United States’ relationship with one of its closest neighbors. While Americans still can’t go there for tourism specifically, there are a number of acceptable reasons to visit Cuba—for example, business or education.
Several airlines are working with the government to get more flights to Cuba, including JetBlue, which flew Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx there recently, and has been working with both countries to make travel easier. This includes relatively cheap flights, as well as streamlining the visa process.
Experts believe that more travel to Cuba will help swing American public opinion further in favor of lifting the embargo, as more people visit the country and get to know its people. Congress doesn’t seem likely to lift the embargo any time soon, and there are some Republicans who have expressed concern that Cuban transportation security is not tight enough.
However, the types of improved security that these politicians want to see don’t really make a lot of sense without increased travel to and from the United States. If they’re concerned that people will try and sneak bombs onto planes headed back to the U.S., they’re really concerned about Americans doing this, as travel to the States is still pretty hard to do.
All in all, though, Cuba is not a particularly dangerous place for Americans, and people visiting the country, if they can find an acceptable reason, will more often than not come back with positive experiences.