Washington, July 19 (RHC)-- The Republican opposition in the United States to lift restrictions on travel to Cuba as part of the blockade against the island has begun to erode on Capitol Hill.

According to reports from Washington, DC, the bipartisan law Freedom to Travel to Cuba has 51 co-sponsors so far, after winning the support of 14 other Republican senators this year in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Arizona Representative Jeff Flake told reporters that he is actually encouraged by past statements of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who said he agreed with the steps taken by the Barack Obama administration regarding relations with Cuba.

Reports say that there is still strong opposition among congressional Republicans to lift travel restrictions, especially from Senators Ted Cruz from Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.

The Obama administration has relaxed some of the restrictions on travel to Cuba to allow politicians, journalists, students and Cuban-Americans to more easily visit Cuba.  However, only Congress can lift the restrictions entirely.