Thursday's announcement that Pope Benedict XVI was interested in traveling to Cuba was met with criticism among some in Miami's Cuban community.
Jaime Suchlicki, director of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, said the proposed trip will play right into the hands of Cuban dictator Raul Castro and his Communist regime.
"Well, I think it's an ill-advised and ill-timed visit," Suchlicki said. "It's ill-advised because it legitimizes the transfer of power to Raul, the establishment of a military dictatorship in Cuba."
Cuban exiles and Suchlicki say the last visit by a pope to Cuba -- Pope John Paul II in 1998 -- gave undue legitimacy to Raul's brother, Fidel. Suchlicki said John Paul got very little out of that visit in return.
"He talked about the world opening to Cuba and Cuba opening to the world. Well, a lot of the world opened to Cuba but Cuba did not open to the world and didn't open to the Cubans inside the island," Suchlicki said. "So the results were very, very limited."
Suchlicki said he believes this is among one of the very worst periods in Cuba for political repression. Indeed, many Cuban-American Catholics are torn over possibly seeing their religious leader engage with their political nemesis.
No final decision on the trip has been made, but Suchlicki says it seems less about freeing political prisoners and more about making gains for the church in Cuba.
"Maybe a little more opening toward the church, maybe another limited opening in the economic area, but nothing in the area of human rights and nothing in the area of opening Cuba to the democracy," he said.
