Cuba has new U.S. allies as policy shift nears

Companies, activists urging open relations

HAVANA — Cuba’s best friends in the U.S. used to be a smattering of Washington policy wonks and leftists.

Five months into the Trump administration, Cuba has a new set of American defenders: a coalition of high-tech firms, farming interests, travel companies and young CubanAmericans thrown into action by the looming announcement of a new Cuba policy.

President Donald Trump planned to announce the new policy on Friday in Miami but had not yet decided all the details, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Embassy in Havana will remain open, but Americans can expect actions by the departments of State, Treasury and Homeland Security to ban U.S. trade with any Cuban entity linked to the military.

“If this were a traditional policy environment, we’d be having great success,” said Collin Laverty, a consultant for U.S. corporations seeking business in Cuba. “We’re certainly winning the debate for public opinion and in foreign policy circles, but unfortunately it appears that it’ll come down to a backroom political deal between the president and Cuban-american members of Congress.”

Laverty is one of the most prominent figures in the new pro-cuba lobby, which has been furiously tweeting and writing letters to the White House to sell the Trump administration on the benefits of the friendly relations established by President Barack Obama.

“Thousands of Americans are visiting Cuba and fueling the fastest growth in its private sector since 1959,” Cubaone, a group of young pro-engagement Cuban-americans, wrote in an open letter to Trump Monday.

Airbnb last week released a report on its activities in Cuba, which have put $40 million into the hands of private bed-and-breakfast owners.