New reports out of the Daily Caller suggest that President Trump is planning to soon make an announcement that he is reversing all of President Obama’s moves to reopen US-Cuba relations, which saw a reestablishment of diplomatic ties, a slight loosening of business restrictions, and even talked about permission to allow Americans to visit the island nation.
President Trump has been of two minds on this issue, as in 2015 he said he saw nothing wrong with the US opening Cuba, but during last year’s campaign he repeatedly threatened to terminate all of Obama’s deals on the island, claiming he was as hostile to Cuba trade as Sen. Marco Rubio (R – FL).
And it appears Rubio, along with some other politicians who have made their career at least in part on being anti-Cuba, who have gotten Trump’s ear on the matter, and under heavy pressure from them, Trump appears to be planning to knuckle under and close down contact with the island.
That might have political consequences as well, however, with Sen. Jeff Flake (R – AZ) and nine co-sponsors pushing a bill that would totally reverse the travel ban on Cuba. Flake says he believes the ban is punishing Americans, not Cuba.
It’s not clear what pretext the US would use for suddenly reimposing a whole slew of restrictions on Cuba, beyond the idea that the new president doesn’t like Cuba as much as his predecessor. Without Cuba having done something, however, that’s a flimsy reason, and might hurt US standing internationally, giving the appearance that US foreign policy is heavily based on the whim of whoever happens to be president at the time.
Donald Trump talks Cuba during his 2016 Presidential campaign:
Feature photo | Javier Yanez stands on his balcony where he hung a U.S. and Cuban flag in Old Havana Cuba, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014.
Source |Antiwar.com