"In their own words ...

"The country does not need bureaucrats or technocrats; it needs administrators [who can ensure] that the money and resources the state has placed in their hands are used efficiently. We need to tighten our belts."

--Lazaro Barredo, editor of Cuba's state-run Communist Party daily newspaper Granma, writing May 22 about Cuba's grave and urgent economic problems.

"Fifty years after the U.S. made Cuba its litmus test for its commercial and diplomatic ties in Latin America, Latin America is turning the tables. It is now making Cuba the litmus test for the quality of the Obama administration's approach to Latin America."

--Julia Sweig, Cuba scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, quoted May 29 in a Washington Post article describing the debate on whether to re-admit Cuba into the Organization of American States, from which it was expelled in 1962.

"Now more than ever, any actions that confer legitimacy on the unelected regime in Havana would be a betrayal of our Cuban brothers and sisters."

--Lino Gutierrez, Roger F. Noriega and Otto J. Reich, three former senior Bush administration officials, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"If we invite Cuba back in [the Organization of American States], in spite of their violations, what message are we sending to the rest of the hemisphere--that it's OK to move backwards, away from democracy and human rights, that there will be no repercussions for such actions?"

--Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who has threatened to cut off U.S. funding for the OAS--about 60% of the organization's total budget--if the measure passes.

"Canada's position is that, like virtually every member of the OAS, we would like to see Cuba re-enter hemispheric affairs at all levels."

--Peter Kent, Canada's minister of state for the Americas, quoted May 29 by AP.

"Even though our policy toward Cuba has yielded no progress on human rights or democratization, we continue to restrict travel there. This policy is illogical and must be changed. Only by engaging with the Cuban government and Cuban society will we have the platform or the leverage to seriously address our concerns without having them brushed aside."

--Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), member of the Cuba Working Group, in a statement urging support of the bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 874).

"I see a nearly complete lack of political will on the part of the Cuban government to respect universally accepted norms concerning human rights."

--Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, questioning whether the Castro regime would respect human rights in return for normalized relations with the European Union.

"They are one of our closest neighbors, a historical trading partner, and we've drifted too far apart. Where's the cheapest place for them to buy? It's here."

--James K. Lyons, director of the Alabama State Port Authority, in a Los Angeles Times story about how direct trade with Cuba might benefit the Port of Mobile.

"This is not a gay pride march. That's not our intention at this time. In reality, we're identifying with a proposal made by a French activist to designate a World Day against Homophobia. Gays are not a problem, homophobia is."

--Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of Raul Castro and director of Cuba's Sexual Education Center, speaking May 17 to thousands of gays, lesbians, transsexuals and their families lining Havana's Calle 23 to celebrate Sexual Diversity Day.

"They are a virtual cartel that controls the travel sector from the United States to Cuba, charging egregious fees in collusion with Cuban authorities."

--Mauricio Claver-Carone, director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee, quoted in a May 19 article in the New York Times about how business among the Miami charter airlines is suddenly booming.