Analysts are at odds over why the socialist government is acting now. But what’s certain is that Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits are buzzing about the measure.
After the requirement ends in January, Cubans would be allowed to leave the island with a passport and a visa for the country of their destination. Cubans won’t get a passport if they have pending charges or civil, military, or national-security obligations. Also restricted, according to the law, will be Cubans whose jobs are tied to the country’s “economic, social and technical or scientific development,” or “security and the protection of official information.”
Granma, the newspaper of Cuba’s Communist Party, said officials are only trying to “preserve the human capital created by the Revolution.” And Cuban government supporters see the move as a victory in the U.S.-Cuba grudge match that’s been going on since 1959. “Even many of those who protested the exit permit have been left with their mouths open,” said Cuban author Marta Rojas, who lives in Havana. “Now the ball’s in their court.”
Critics, however, questioned how far the new law goes.
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