Rubio Effort To Block Flights To Cuba Grounded
WASHINGTON (CBS4) – A legislative effort by Sen. Marco Rubio to block President Barack Obama's planned expansion of travel to Cuba has been stopped.
According to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald, Rubio and New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez want to stop any new flights from the United States to Cuba.
More than 40 Cuba flights a week currently leave from Miami International Airport, according to the Herald.
The effort by the pair of Senators has drawn criticism from the Tampa Area Chamber of Commerce, which backs Tampa International Airport's bid to be a hub for flights to that island nation.
The chamber calls Rubio and Menendez's efforts "unfair" to people and businesses that would suffer additional costs if they have to travel through Miami.
"Tampa International Airport is prepared to take advantage of expanded flight service, but Senator Rubio's amendment maintains the status quo of Miami's monopoly on this economic generator," the chamber wrote.
A spokesman for Rubio told the Herald that the Senator will try once again to push legislation through that will block flight expansion plans, citing fears of more Americans conducting "purposeful" visits to Cuba such as in the case of Alan Gross, a US contractor who is facing up to 20 years in prison for distributing sophisticated satellite equipment to Cuba's Jewish community.
But Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela said that those who travel to Cuba may take some risk in doing so, but the results of restricting travel to that country will further isolate its people and "we sill simply play into the hands of the Cuban regime," he said.
Should the Obama administration succeed in its changes allowing more flights to Cuba, it would open some U.S. airports with top-ranked security capabilities to host charter flights to and from Cuba. Currently, only Miami, Los Angeles and New York are allowed to host the flights.
Along with Tampa, airports in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Key West and Las Vegas were among those that had been pushing to be allowed to handle some of the U.S.-Cuba charter flights.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report).
