Castro has abandoned this liberalization and cut back the number of licenses for private business. Both politically and economically. there are signs that Cuba is going backwards. Finally. our conversation turned to the issue of immigration. In an effort to provide a legal outlet for immigra51. Pt. 16 September 28. 2005 tion and avoid the massive boatlifts of the past. the United States allows 20.000 Cubans to legally immigrate every year. This number includes family reunifications. visas given out by lottery. and approximately 5.000 visas granted to individuals accorded refugee status because they are found to face persecution if they remain in Cuba. Yet this legal outlet is still overwhelmed by the desire to leave Castros Cuba: every year thousands of Cubans who cannot secure these visas still come to the U.S. by sea and. increasingly. overland via Mexico. On Monday. August 15. we returned to the airport in the morning and flew an hour and a half from Havana down to our military base at Guantanamo Bay.
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