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Seth Moulton: 'The People Of Cuba Are Yearning For Freedom'

BOSTON (CBS) -- Congressman Seth Moulton, who just returned from a three-day trip to Cuba with President Obama and other congressional lawmakers, says the island nation is "a fantastic country" and hopes more Americans get the opportunity to visit.

"That will be good not just for us in America, but for the Cuban people, who are yearning for the freedoms that we enjoy in America," Moulton told WBZ.

The trip was the first visit by a sitting American president in 88 years, and the congressional delegation that traveled there was the largest to ever visit Cuba. Moulton praised the fact that it was made up of House and Senate members from both sides of the aisle, and said he was thrilled to participate in changing relations with the communist nation after over 50 years of Cold War opposition.

The visit included spending time with the people of Cuba, as well as a state dinner.

The congressman stressed that he believes change will come about through the citizenry, and not through Cuban politicians, who he said are approaching new dealings with the United States a bit cautiously.

"Look, I mean, these are communists who oppress their people," Moulton said of the Cuban government. "But the people of Cuba are yearning for freedom. They're yearning for the democratic values that we have and enjoy here in America, and they're yearning to do business with us, to welcome American tourists, and to share our cultures. This change is really going to happen through the Cuban people, not through the Cuban government."

The trade embargo, Moulton said, needs to go. And he says his Republican counterparts in Congress agree--though partisan politics are holding things up.

"What my Republican friends have said is that they are completely convinced that the embargo has got to end, that the way to help the Cuban people is to end the embargo, not to uphold it," said Moulton. "But they also say that their Republican leadership back here in Congress is unlikely to make that change during the presidential season. They don't want to give President Obama a win. And that's a shame, because who they're hurting is the Cuban people."

Moulton praised President Obama's Tuesday speech to the Cuban people in Havanna, which in part challenged the Cuban government to allow a more open society. The congressman said Obama pushed the Cuban leadership, and it wasn't an easy speech for them to hear.

"But it resonated with the Cuban people, and whenever I went out around Havanna, the people were lining up to take pictures, they wanted to shake our hands to thank us," said Moulton.

Moulton also addressed the deadly terror attacks in Brussels, Belgium, which took place during the last day of the state visit.

"Of course my heart goes out to the Belgian people," Moulton said. "This is another example of why the civilized world needs to stand together, united, against the scourge of terrorism."

The President has been criticized by Republican presidential candidates for continuing his Cuban visit in the wake of the Brussels attacks. But Moulton said the candidates' comments have been vicious and unhelpful, and criticized what he said was their lack of understanding regarding the fight against terrorism.

"Anyone who says we're going to bomb or torture our way out of this problem doesn't understand what it takes to fight terrorism," said Moulton. "I've fought terrorists on the ground in Iraq, and I applaud the people on both sides of the isle who are calling for real serious military and political strategies to defeat ISIS."

Moulton is a former Marine and a current member of the House Armed Services Committee.

"If we're just going to go and drop bombs and torture people," Moulton said, "that's only going to create more terrorists, more refugees, and make the problem even worse."

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