Chance to Change U.S.-Cuba Policies?
The President-elect has stated he would like to revisit U.S.-Cuba policies.
— -- If Fidel Castro survives through January, he will not only celebrate the 50th anniversary of his takeover of Cuba, he may also witness the most dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the nation since it became a dictatorship.
An assortment of liberals, businessmen and farm-state politicians have been pushing for the easing of sanctions against Cuba for years, but every president, no matter the party, has done little to alter Cuba policy based on the apparent refusal to accept a totalitarian regime 90 miles from the U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama's stated position that he would like to revisit U.S.-Cuba policies has some viewing his administration as the first chance in decades to dismantle laws that restrict travel, investment, exports and cash mailings to Cuba.
"The election of Barack Obama clearly will serve as a catalyst for enhanced efforts," says Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass. "I think it's a moment in time to move forward."
Not yet, others say.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez says any weakening of sanctions will merely provide the Castro dictatorship -- Raúl Castro is the current president -- with the cash it needs to stay in power. Gutierrez says Cuba must offer reforms first or the U.S. would be giving it something for nothing.
"There's a good reason why this policy has been in place since President Kennedy," Gutierrez says. "I would be very careful before declaring that nine presidents have been wrong."
U.S. relations with Cuba soured quickly after Castro captured Havana in January 1959. The U.S. imposed an economic blockade in 1960 and broke off diplomatic relations in 1961 as Cuba aligned itself with the Soviet Union.
A group of U.S.-trained Cuban Americans invaded the island during the botched Bay of Pigs affair in 1961, and Cuba's attempt to allow the Soviets to base nuclear missiles there threatened to start a war.
Few changes were made over the next several decades. President Clinton eased the embargo in 2000 by allowing U.S. companies to sell some agricultural and medical goods to Cuba, resulting in more than $430 million in trade in 2007.
