Councilman Backs Bill to Lift Part of Cuban Embargo

Nearly a year after Councilman Bill Paparian angered some constituents by standing on Cuban soil and denouncing the U.S. economic blockade of that nation, he took his fight to lift the decades-old embargo to Washington.

Paparian was among a group of physicians, lawyers, church leaders and academics who went to Capitol Hill to support legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of legislators to exempt food and medicine from the long-standing embargo for humanitarian reasons.

While he was mayor of Pasadena last July, Paparian took a trip to Cuba, where he was received as a dignitary and denounced the blockade. His call was interpreted by some as endorsement of the Castro regime, prompting threats back home of a recall. The councilman said his support is for the suffering people of Cuba, not communism.