Biden should ignore Democrats who want to normalize ties with Cuba — it’s the dumbest thing he could do

Eighty Democratic members of the U.S. House have signed a letter to President Biden urging him to pursue “a more constructive approach” toward Cuba “by promptly returning to the Obama– Biden administration policy of engagement and normalization of relations.”

That would be the dumbest thing that Biden could do.

First, Biden’s party would commit political suicide in Florida — and increase the risk of losing its slim majority in the House in 2022 — if it followed these legislators’ advice.

While many of us supported Obama’s opening to Cuba in 2014, even some key administration officials under Obama, such as former Secretary of State John Kerry — who now is Biden’s special envoy for climate — have since admitted that

Cuba’s response was disappointing.

Returning to the Obama-era normalization policy would be the kiss of death for Democrats in Florida for years to come. Remember, Miami’s two Democratic members of Congress, Donna Shalala and Debbie MucarselPowell, lost their seats in the November elections — mainly because their Republican challengers constantly parroting Trump’s ridiculous claim that Biden was a “Socialist.” A vote for Biden would be a vote for Cuba’s dictatorship, they claimed.

That cost the Democrats not only the two House seats, but probably Florida’s 29 Electoral

College votes in 2020.

When I asked MucarselPowell about her former Democratic colleagues’ letter, she pointedly noted that none of the signatories are from Florida.

“Many members of Congress in Washington D.C. don’t understand the suffering of the CubanAmerican community,” Mucarsel-Powell told me.

She supports Biden’s promise to restore travel and remittances to the island and, especially, measures to allow the re-unification of Cuban families, which were rolled back by Trump.

But she said that, “We can’t return to the Obama-era policies, which didn’t make enough demands on the Cuban regime to protect the rights of the Cuban people.” She added that, “Biden should listen to voices in South Florida’s Cuban-American community.”

Fortunately, 142 Democrats in Congress did not sign the letter.

And Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, does not agree with the letter’s call for a restoration of ties with Cuba.

“We cannot pretend the Cuban regime’s repression and arbitrary arrests did not continue at unacceptable levels after the Obama administration’s policy changes,” Menendez told me in an e-mail. “The Cuban people cannot afford for the United States to repeat the same mistakes that failed to create the openings or opportunities they were promised.”

He added that the United States should be “pushing the Cuban regime to take concrete steps to restore and respect the rights of its own citizens.”

Indeed, since Obama’s normalization of ties, Cuba’s six-decade dictatorship has hardened its political repression, frozen economic reforms, carried out or tolerated “sonic attacks” against U.S. diplomats and maintained its intelligence and military support for Venezuela’s tyranny.

As recently as Feb. 10, the Cuban regime announced new rules that prohibit practitioners of 124 major occupations — including bankers, attorneys, engineers, architects, farmers, journalists, car dealers, and zoo keepers — from working in non-government jobs.

If Biden relaxes travel and remittances rules, he should do so with strong strings attached.

For instance, it would be acceptable to allow more Americans to travel to the island, but under rules that prohibit U.S. tourists from staying in hotels owned by the Cuban military. That would force U.S. tourists into privately run guest houses, helping create a stronger private sector on the island.

And it would be OK for Biden to rescind Trumpera restrictions on family remittances to Cuba, but the U.S. government should demand that the funds be transferred directly to the Cuban people through international banks, instead of going through Cuban militaryrun companies.

In short, Biden should demand that Cuba allow greater economic and political freedoms. And if Cuba refuses to do so, as is likely to happen, Biden should bypass Cuba’s rulers and unilaterally pass laws that would help promote the private sector on the island.

My bet is that Biden will do just that, and not heed the advice of the 80 members of Congress who signed that letter. They live far away from Florida — and even farther away from Cuba. They don’t have a clue.

Don’t miss the “Oppenheimer Presenta” TV show at 8 p.m. E.T. Sunday on CNN en Español. Twitter: @oppenheimera