Don’t step back on Cuba relations
This appeared in the Chicago Tribune:
Did you have plans for a getaway to Havana, a string of nights spiced with mambo and mojitos? Did you pack your briefcase for a trip to the island aimed at tapping into its burgeoning tourism trade? Were you planning on coming back with all the cigars and Havana Club rum you could wedge into a suitcase? Did you book a refundable fare?
President Donald Trump is expected to roll out his policy toward Cuba soon, possibly this week. It’s expected that he will reverse critical elements of the historic resumption in relations with Havana that his predecessor, Barack Obama, put in place.
Obama eased restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba, allowing them to book their own independent trips to the island.
Regularly scheduled U.S. commercial flights to Cuba resumed. Trump is expected to reimpose the restrictions, which confined travelers to tours reliant on Cuban government buses and guides, and state-run hotels. There’s no indication Trump will reverse the decision on commercial flights.
Even during the campaign, Trump hinted this is the course he would take. He told supporters at a rally in Miami in October that he would shelve Obama’s Cuba detente unless the Communist regime in Havana pledged to ensure “the religious and political freedom for the Cuban people, and the freeing of political prisoners. Earlier this month, White House spokesperson Michael Short repeated that “the current Cuba policy is a bad deal. It does not do enough to support human rights in Cuba.”
Pushing Havana on a path toward human rights protection is spot on. Cuba’s track record on human rights is abysmal, and has been for decades. But if Trump thinks he can get Cuban leader Raúl Castro to reform by rolling back relations with Cuba, he’s sure to be disappointed.
Trump counts among his most ardent backers the bloc of conservative Republicans from Florida who remain staunchly anti-Castro. He’s got politics on his mind. What he doesn’t have in mind is what’s best for American-Cuban relations, and what’s best for Cubans.