As the Castro Era Nears An End, the U.S. Should Engage With Cuba

摘要

Some House Democrats are pressing President Biden to reverse U.S. policy on Cuba again, returning to the detente that prevailed before Donald Trump took office. Biden should indeed take the first steps toward renewed openness-and put the onus on Cuba's leaders to respond. As with so many of his predecessor's policies, Trump was quick to declare the Obama administration's rapprochement with Cuba a "bad deal" and began dismantling it wholesale, imposing or reimposing more than 200 restrictions on travel, trade, and financial and diplomatic ties. The clamp-down won Trump votes in South Florida, but by almost any other measure it failed. Cuba's Communist regime remains firmly entrenched, and it's grown even more dependent on U.S. rivals China, Russia, and Venezuela. Hard-liners in Havana have continued to crack down on dissent. Cuban entrepreneurs flourished when Americans were allowed to visit the island, but the combined impact of revived U.S. restrictions and the pandemic have left them struggling.