I am extremely happy to hear the good news announced by President Barack Obama that our country will establish normal diplomatic relations with Cuba ("Turning a page on Cuba," Dec. 17). I was a student at the University Of Miami in the late 1960s approximately 10 years after the Cuban Revolution.
By that time, many Cuban exiles had settled in Miami. Many were professionals who were unable to work in their chosen fields due to licensing and language issues. They had to reinvent themselves in order to support their families. At that time, there were no state colleges in Dade County so many Cuban exiles made sacrifices in order to send their children to the University of Miami, which is a private school.
The Cuban culture is extremely rich, and Miami, Dade County as well as the whole country have benefited by the presence of so many bright and hard-working people. The revolution was intended to bring down a corrupt government but became sidelined by philosophical issues. These events took place many years ago and the world has greatly changed.
President Obama has explained that we maintain diplomatic relations with other countries with whom we have strong disagreements. The position of the United States has not been understood by many especially our Latin neighbors. Our border neighbors Canada and Mexico have maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba. It was unfortunate that Sen. Marco Rubio decided to criticize this change of policy in such strong and insulting language. I wonder how this negative reaction will sit with Hispanic voters who have been told that the first Latino pope was one of the main engineers of this major change in American foreign policy.
I see nothing but benefits for our people as well as the Cuban people. This change is long overdue.
Edward McCarey McDonnell, Baltimore