Why Cuba is so far relegated to Biden’s foreign policy

WASHINGTON.- Cuba is still present in US foreign policy, but it now seems relegated. The Joe Biden government has publicly indicated that the relationship with the island is far from a priority on the White House agenda, and its first signs have dampened expectations of an early rapprochement with Havana after four years of icy Trumpism.

During Barack Obama’s presidency, Biden – he was vice president – was one of the protagonists of a thaw with the island which culminated in Obama’s historic trip to Havana in 2016, after which he traveled to Buenos Aires to strengthen ties with the government of Mauricio Macri.

Obama opened up embargo slots on the island and also endorsed a much closer economic link with the United States through executive orders, bypassing Congress and removing Cuba from the list of countries that support terrorism.

Trump reversed this historic thaw. He tightened the embargo, imposed restrictions and sanctions that Obama had lifted, and in one of his latest acts of government he again included Cuba in the blacklist of countries that support terrorism, arguing it its “malicious interference in Venezuela and others.” of the world. Western Hemisphere “.

Hardness towards Cuba and Venezuela has broadened its support for Florida – US policy towards Latin America tends to go through Florida – where Trump won a comfortable victory in the last election presidential. After leaving the White House last January, Trump moved to Palm Beach, where he has his resort town of Mar-a-Lago.

Joe Biden’s return to Washington has established hope for a reset and a return to Obama’s politics.

The former US vice president had promised during the campaign that he would again relax the policy of remittances and trips to the island under the pretext of improving the quality of life of Cubans. But so far, the White House has stayed the course set by Trump.

“A policy shift towards Cuba is not currently one of the president’s top foreign policy priorities. But this is an issue, of course, on which we will continue to be engaged and focused, ”presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in mid-April after Raúl Castro confirmed he was leaving. the leadership of the Communist Party. of Cuba (PCC).

Psaki added that the United States’ policy towards Cuba will be governed by two principles: support for democracy and human rights, with an emphasis on the empowerment of the Cuban people to determine their own future, and a philosophy according to which Americans, in particular Cuban Americans, are the best ambassadors of freedom and prosperity.

Disputes

The first friction has already appeared. The Biden government’s decision to keep Cuba on the blacklist of countries that protect terrorism along with Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela has sparked the fury of the Miguel Díaz-Canel government.

“The Biden administration keeps Cuba on the list of non-cooperative countries in the fight against terrorism. This defamatory action, as well as the continued application of Trump’s policy and its 243 blocking measures, are surprising and irritating, ”tweeted last Tuesday, in English and Spanish, Bruno Rodríguez, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs. .

Turning its back on the vast majority of Cuban and American people, the Biden administration is taking Trump action. The gap between discourse and reality is widening, ”insisted the manager of Miguel Díaz-Canel, in another tweet.

Hours later, Julie Chung, the State Department’s Internal Under-Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, responded with another tweet in which she demanded the release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo, two detained artists. by Cuban authorities for having disorder and receiving financial support from the United States.

“The United States rejects the detention of artists for exercising their freedom of expression. The Cuban government cannot silence its critics by violating their human rights. Luis Manuel Alcántara and Maykel “el Osorbo” Castillo must be released immediately, “demanded government official Biden.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry rejected Chung’s request, which he saw as “openly demagogic and interfering” and “a pretense of concern for human rights” on the island.

Conocé The Trust Project