We’re coming for you, Cuba

2015/7/6 16:43:39

Typical of the still relatively pristine sites – Trinidad, Cuba

 


By Suzanne Jacobs for Grist on July 2, 2015

 

Hey there, Cuba. Now that we’ve cleared up that whole embargo thing — you know, the one that left you economically crippled for decades — we’re gonna go ahead and ruin what little good came out of it. That cool.

 

When the U.S. banned the export of non-food and medical goods to Cuba back in 1960, we not only forced the little country to grow up without internet or new cars, we also inadvertently turned it into an environmental haven. But now, thanks to our sudden bout of generosity, we’re gearing up to turn that boring old haven into the resort towns and cruise ship destinations that we love so much. Here’s more from the New York Times:

 

Already, American corporations are poised to rush into a country only 90 miles from Florida’s shores.

 

[…] Cruise ship companies and hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton have indicated their enthusiasm. “I can’t stop thinking about it,” Frank Del Rio, chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said in an interview. “Cuba and the cruise industry are just a match made in heaven, waiting to happen.”

 

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who went to Cuba with a congressional delegation in 2013, told the Times that he doesn’t think ruining Cuba will be that easy “I don’t think they’re so lustful of development that they will just roll over and completely prostitute themselves to whomever comes by with a checkbook.”

 

For complete text, link here: http://grist.org/news/were-coming-for-you-cuba/

 

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