Reply #22: More crackdowns, you betcha. This one is especially petty

[Judi Lynn]

State Department won't allow Rodriguez to travel from Washington for conference

10/10/03

By GEORGE TALBOT
Business Reporter


Cuba's top U.S. diplomat was denied permission by the U.S. Department of State to travel this week to Alabama, where he was scheduled to attend a conference highlighting ties between Mobile and Havana, according to organizers of the event.

Dagoberto Rodriguez, the Chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., accepted an invitation last spring to speak at the Society Mobile-La Habana's 10th anniversary celebration, which begins today in Mobile. The society is a fraternal organization that promotes cultural exchanges between Mobile and Havana.

Society members said they were notified by the State Department earlier this week that Rodriguez's travel application had been denied. A spokesman for the organization said he was "disappointed, but not surprised" by the decision. (snip)

(snip) Eighteen U.S. cities have followed Mobile's example and established fraternal relationships with Cuban cities; another 30 are pending, according to the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association.

"We've inched a little closer every year, but the progress hasn't been made at a regular pace," said Jay Higginbotham, a Mobile historian and founder of the society. "It's one step back for every two steps forward, but there's no question we're further along today than we were 10 years ago." (snip/...)

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/106577739239750.xml