Will a Biden presidency reverse Trump’s policy on Cuba?
Biden, who was Obama’s Vice President, said during the 2020 Presidential Campaign, that he would reverse policies on Cuba that have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights.
Since his election in 2016 President Donald Trump has reserved many of the steps Barack Obama made. Trump was fiercely critical of the Obama administration’s thaw with Cuba and he pledged to reverse course once in the office. Despite maintaining diplomatic relations, Trump has largely delivered on his promise through policies that curtail trade and tourism, and targeted Havana’s purse strings. At the same time, the Trump administration has criticized the Cuban government for its poor human rights record and communist-dominated politics.
Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump’s administration took more than 200 measures to reinforce the decade old U.S policy towards Cuba, which included a tightening of sanctions and limits on remittances and travel. This plunged the island’s struggling economy further into crisis and deepened the divide between families on either side of the Florida straits.
Biden, who was Obama’s Vice President, said during the 2020 Presidential Campaign, that he would reverse policies on Cuba that have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights. Biden’s intent is to foster more normalized relations between the United States and Cuba.
Carlos Fernandez de Cassio, Cuba’s top diplomat in charge of relation with the United States, said Biden’s pledges suggested he wanted to restart where he and Obama left off. “Everything could be rolled back in the short term if that were the government’s will. He said it was positive that Biden’s team included several people with experience interacting with Cuba and who would not be swayed by simple narratives. he said “This team has more experience than any other in the past 60 years”.
Peggy Goldman, owner of insight Cuba said “I think anybody in the travel space who’s been looking for some direction to get out of this mess is celebrating”.
Goldman and other Cuba specialists are hopeful that President Biden will reopen travel to the island for cruise lines and airlines, hotel companies, tour operators and restriction on travel to Cuba ordered by former President Trump in 2019. Gold man predicts that Biden will return to Obama era’s Cuban policies by 2022.
Promise
Senior Staff Reporter
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