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Tags: Josh Earnest | visiting Cuba

WH Spokesman: Obama 'Wouldn't Turn Down' Chance to Visit Cuba

By    |   Wednesday, 17 December 2014 04:25 PM EST

But how are the golf courses?

Soon after President Barack Obama announced he would work to normalize relations with Cuba after decades of sanctions and political oppression, his spokesman was answering questions about the possibility of a pleasure trip to the island nation.

“I assume like many Americans he has seen that Cuba is a place where they have a beautiful climate and a lot of fun things to do. So, if there’s an opportunity for the president to visit, I’m sure he wouldn’t turn it down,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday when asked if the commander in chief might make a first visit.

The remarks came as many in the Cuban-American community decried Cuba's poor track record on human rights, but many in the media turned attentions away from policy and toward opportunities at tourism.

"U.S. Travel Industry Carefully Eyeing Cuba Tourism," reads the headline of one Associated Press dispatch published Tuesday.

In his remarks announcing the historic change in relations, Obama noted that more travel between the U.S. and Cuba would soon begin, according to NBC News.

According to Department of Commerce figures, about 170,000 "authorized travelers" were able to visit Cuba in the past year, the AP reported.

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Headline
Soon after President Barack Obama announced he would work to normalize relations with Cuba after decades of sanctions and political oppression, his spokesman was answering questions about the possibility of a pleasure trip to the island nation.
Josh Earnest, visiting Cuba
204
2014-25-17
Wednesday, 17 December 2014 04:25 PM
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