Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez waits to check in Sunday at the Havana airport to begin a foreign tour.
- Activist blogger Yoani Sanchez says she's been refused an exit permit for years
- In January, Cuba eased some tough restrictions on its citizens' travel
- Dissidents say the policy was used to punish them
- Sanchez says if the government thinks her freedom to travel will silence her, "they can forget it"
Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban blogger and fierce critic of the governments of Raul and Fidel Castro, on Sunday embarked on a long-denied trip abroad.
According to Sanchez, she has been repeatedly refused an exit permit for years because of her high-profile opposition to the government.
In January, Cuba ended its unpopular policy of requiring that citizens obtain a letter of invitation and an exit permit before leaving the country.
Dissidents said the policy was used to punish them for their anti-government advocacy.
While other government critics have left the country under the new law, Sanchez is the highest-profile figure in the dissident community to test the easing of restrictions.
Cuba still prohibits the travel of some officials, sports stars and citizens whose travel abroad, it says, would harm "the public interest."
A handful of other dissidents so far have reported that they were informed by government officials that they would be barred from leaving the country.
Sanchez said she planned an 80-day tour of some 10 countries, including Brazil, Mexico and the United States.
Flanked by international news media, Sanchez quickly checked in to her flight to Brazil via Panama on Sunday and passed through an immigration checkpoint at Havana's Jose Marti Airport.
Her new ability to travel, she told CNN, would not temper her critcism of life in Cuba.
"This may be my last trip," Sanchez said. "I am not going to moderate my opinion so I can leave again. If they are counting on my silence or less criticism, they can forget it."
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