Visas for Cuban academics (Updated)

After granting a visa to gay rights advocate Mariela Castro, Havana historian Eusebio Leal, and others, the Administration has taken some heat from Capitol Hill and seems to have put the brakes on the granting of a number of visas for Cubans seeking to attend an exciting convention of academics who concentrate on Latin American studies. 

The Washington Post covered the story here and weighs in with an editorial that strangely calls the Cubans “refuseniks,” which makes you wonder how much the writer really looked into the views of the Cubans who are being denied visas. 

Still, I agree with the thrust of the editorial that the U.S. conveys “weakness, not strength” in refusing the visas.  Regardless of their views, they should be welcomed at the conference to state their views and debate them.

Update: As Republicans bash the Administration for “rolling out the red carpet for the Castro family” by granting a visa to Mariela Castro, the State Department confirms that she visited the United States three times during the George W. Bush Administration (Herald).