The CaravanistasEvery (northern) summer patriot’s from across North America begin heading south and 2008 is no exception.
Pastors for Peace (the global outreach of the Interreligious Foundation for Communities Organizations), travels to Cuba every year, refusing to accept a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, risking fines, and jail, not just to deliver aid but to break the decades long blockade designed to crush the sovereignty of the Cuban people.
The caravan which is travelling on 15 separate routes, stopping for community meetings along the way, gathering caravanistas and donations, converging on the Texas/Mexico border, to commit civil disobedience, breaking the U.S. Blockade, continuing to the port of Tampico Mexico, where the Mexican dock worker donate their labor loading the donations onto the Cuban ships while the caravanistas fly off to Cuba.
This years Caravan, coincides with the introduction in July 1st of new state regulations in Florida which increase the cost of services and make contacts between national residents in the US nation and relatives in Cuba more difficult.
The new sanctions increase control on trips to Cuba, already limited in 2004 by current US President George W. Bush, and stipulate that agencies located in Florida will have to deposit bonds of up to US $250,000 as a licensing requirement, pay a registration fee of $2,500 and regularly inform the state government on the volume of their business, the number of passengers and the merchandise sent to Cuba
The American Civil Liberties Union has stated that the law ignores the separation between the State’s powers and the federal government, and announced it could challenge its implementation before court.
Among others challenging the Bush regimes draconian laws are the Che Guevara Brigade from Canada and the US Venceremos Brigade.
Pastors for Peace (the global outreach of the Interreligious Foundation for Communities Organizations), travels to Cuba every year, refusing to accept a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, risking fines, and jail, not just to deliver aid but to break the decades long blockade designed to crush the sovereignty of the Cuban people.
The caravan which is travelling on 15 separate routes, stopping for community meetings along the way, gathering caravanistas and donations, converging on the Texas/Mexico border, to commit civil disobedience, breaking the U.S. Blockade, continuing to the port of Tampico Mexico, where the Mexican dock worker donate their labor loading the donations onto the Cuban ships while the caravanistas fly off to Cuba.
This years Caravan, coincides with the introduction in July 1st of new state regulations in Florida which increase the cost of services and make contacts between national residents in the US nation and relatives in Cuba more difficult.
The new sanctions increase control on trips to Cuba, already limited in 2004 by current US President George W. Bush, and stipulate that agencies located in Florida will have to deposit bonds of up to US $250,000 as a licensing requirement, pay a registration fee of $2,500 and regularly inform the state government on the volume of their business, the number of passengers and the merchandise sent to Cuba
The American Civil Liberties Union has stated that the law ignores the separation between the State’s powers and the federal government, and announced it could challenge its implementation before court.
Among others challenging the Bush regimes draconian laws are the Che Guevara Brigade from Canada and the US Venceremos Brigade.
.
Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba 2006 -
.
.
Returning Venceremos Brigadistas 2007
Checkout
