MIAMI – Two prominent U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday called legislation that restricts travel to Cuba an “anachronistic ban” and asked that it be annulled immediately.

In an op-ed piece in The Miami Herald, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanded that the prohibition “imposed during one of the chilliest periods of the Cold War” be annulled.

The article says that Berman’s committee is set this week to hold a hearing on the ban, after a bill was presented in Congress to abolish travel restrictions to the communist-ruled island.

“This ban has prevented contact between Cubans and ordinary Americans, who serve as ambassadors for the democratic values we hold dear,” the article adds.

“Such contact would help break Havana’s chokehold on information about the outside world,” Lugar and Berman said. “And it would contribute to improving the image of the United States, particularly in Latin America, where the U.S. embargo on Cuba remains a centerpiece of anti-Washington grievances.”

Acting on a campaign pledge, President Barack Obama has already lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans’ travel and remittances to their homeland. EFE