Cuba Caravan Crosses with 100 Tons of Aid

Cuba Caravan Crosses with 100 Tons of Aid & Venceremos Brigade Returns on Aug 3rd
Written by Paulo Gusmao & Andy Turner
Friday, 24 July 2009
From Latin America Working Group

Activist groups nation-wide continue to rally against the travel ban. The Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization/ Pastors for Peace’s annual U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan (video) successfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with 100 tons of aid bound for Cuba. Click here to see the press release about the crossing.

Pastors for Peace will be delivering medicine as well as building supplies to help hurricane victims from the 2008 storm season. The Venceremos Brigade will also be returning from Cuba on August 3rd, marking their 40th trip exercising their constitutional right to travel while demanding change in U.S. policy toward Cuba. See the press release here.

Faith-based groups, like Pastors’ for Peace have been instrumental in calling for a new course on U.S.-Cuba relations. Every major Protestant denomination in the U.S. has come out to condemn the travel ban. In an open letter to the President the leaders of the denominations voiced their frustration and called for action. “These impractical restrictions have reduced our ability to send religious delegations to Cuba, limited our opportunity to accompany and support our Cuban church partners, and have the effect of severely limiting participation in Cuba missions by many U.S. churches and congregants. In addition to lifting the restrictions on religious travel, we urge you to end the travel ban for all Americans.”