HAVANA, Cuba.- We want the blockade to be lifted, to eliminate the Helms-Burton Act, to end travel bans and to reopen embassies in both countries, U.S. Congressman James McGovern, who is paying a working visit to Cuba, said today in Havana.

At a press conference, McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Rules Committee, claimed to have come to extend the hand of friendship to build bridges and build new relationships.

The representative expressed his conviction that President Obama’s path was the right one, and in that sense he assured he wants to be prepared for when the doors are reopened and good relations are re-establish.

As a congressman, I think that my country’s policy towards Cuba is wrong and that the Cuban people do not deserve to suffer for it, McGovern emphasized.

A Meaningless Policy

Although he did not want to comment on President Trump, James McGovern asserted that the current U.S. Government’s policy toward Cuba makes no sense.

The chairman of the Rules Committee of the House of Representatives, asked American citizens and politicians to come to Cuba to know the greatness of the island, and to feel as welcome as we have felt, he said in reference to the group in which also there’s Connecticut State Congresswoman Rosa de Lauro.

After praising Cuba’s role in peace negotiations for Colombia, McGovern advocated for recognizing that role and not punishing it for acting that way.

As s we value freedom very much, but our government should honor that attitude and remove travel restrictions to Cuba, the congressman, who was first in Havana 40 years ago, remarked.