The U.S. began taking steps to ease relations with Cuba last month for the first time in over 50 years…and it couldn’t have come at a better time for a Klamath Falls man, who just returned from a holiday trip to Cuba.
Phil Studenberg recently spent 8 days in Cuba…
“People were really excited about the embargo coming down, about the beginning of relations, about having a diplomatic office open.”
Studenberg got his approval to visit Cuba just as President Obama announced the lifting of some restrictions in mid-December – which could impact agricultural trade, tourism, and even professional sports…
“All the baseball players were really excited.”
Studenberg says an afternoon with a tobacco farmer was a highlight of his visit…
“He rolled cigars for me, and we drank rum, and talked politics and smoked cigars – and that was probably one of the best days I’ve had.”
While there are still a lot of diplomatic steps for the countries to take, Studenberg believes they’re moving in the right direction…
“It’s just one tension area that we can reduce a little bit more, for the sake of world peace.”
Studenberg works as a lawyer in Klamath Falls.
This was his third visit to Cuba in the past 12 years.
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