Thursday January 3 8:53 PM ET

Hundreds of Americans Head to Cuba

By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer

HAVANA (AP) - About 100 young, mostly American businessmen arrived Thursday for a visit that Cuban officials hope will revive U.S. interest in lifting trade sanctions against the communist country.

The representatives of the Young Presidents Organization and their families - about 500 people in all - are among the nearly 2,000 Americans who will be traveling to Cuba in January under licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department (news - web sites).

The Dallas-based presidents group consists of corporate presidents under 50 years old.

Republican Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island arrived in Cuba a day earlier and on
Thursday met with Cuba's justice minister and the head the country's drug interdiction program, authorities here said.

Six members of the U.S. House of Representatives also landed on the island Thursday along with Sally Grooms Cowal, president
of the Cuba Policy Foundation, one of the best-known anti-embargo groups in the United States.

``I think that there is an overwhelming sense that it is time to end the embargo and lift the travel ban,'' said Rep. William Delahunt, a
Massachusetts Democrat.

The visits demonstrate revived U.S. interest in Cuba after attention was diverted by the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States,
said Kirby Jones, a Cuba trade consultant.

A host of other representatives of American business and agriculture are expected later in January.

The stepped up visits also come after the first American food was directly sold to the communist country in December - the first
such sale in nearly four decades.

For nearly a year after it became possible, Havana refused to buy American food because the U.S. law barred American financing
of the sales.

``I think people are becoming energized about Cuba again because of the sales,'' Jones said. ``Now Cuba has done some real
business.''

Jones noted the visits also come amid renewed efforts in Congress to ease the 40-year-old trade embargo against Cuba and to
eliminate U.S. restrictions on American travel to the nation.

Before its daylong visit to Cuba on Thursday, the business group traveled to Panama and Costa Rica, as well as Grand Cayman
Island, said David Martin, chairman of the International Board of the group and CEO of a San Francisco real estate investment firm.

Martin said the visit was educational and humanitarian. The group donated medicine and medical supplies.

Some members met privately with National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, and later were to tour renovation projects in Old
Havana.

On the Net: Cuba Policy Foundation, http://www.cubapolicyfoundation.org