U.S. anti-war group Code Pink sends 150 to Cuba for a cultural visit

World Today

U.S. group Code Pink, a women-led activist group who say they’re working to end U.S. wars and militarism sent a group of 150 to Havana this week as political relations between the two countries seem to be softening. Travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba have waned making it easier for activist group to visit the nation in the hopes of spreading their message during a week-long visit.

The staunchly anti-war and anti-militarization group labeled the 150 members they sent to Havana this week: ‘To Cuba, with Love’.

“We are visiting with doctors, museums and [sic] cultural activities because we think in the United States we have such a warped view of what Cuba is all about. We hear about the negative things so it is important to come here and see what life is really like,” the Director of Code Pink, Medea Benjamin said.

The delegation began the week advocating for the closure of the infamous U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay and asking U.S. to remove Cuba from its list of states that sponsor terrorism.

The U.S. recently lifted a decades-old trade embargo on Cuba, which had been in place since 1962.

As the large U.S.-based delegation advocates for a focus on human rights and better relations between the Caribbean island nation and its world super power neighbor, the vast majority of their carefully planned tour of the capital Havana will consist of visits to cultural and historic sites. At one point in the planned tour, the group will be divided into two groups with one group visiting the Las Terrazas nature reserve and the other visiting Santa Clara, a historic site where last battle of the Cuban revolution was held.

CCTV’s Michelle Begue contributed to this report from Havana.