U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced today that Washington plans to maintain the embargo against Cuba—the first definitive statement on the current Administration’s stance on the issue and a serious blow to the many analysts and think tanks advising that the embargo be lifted.
Biden’s statement came at the Progressive Governance Summit in Chile, convened with a number of leaders from the United States, Europe and Latin America, when press asked him whether the United States planned to end the embargo. He responded, “No… [President Obama and I] think that Cuban people should determine their own fate and they should be able to live in freedom.”
He added, “Cuba is not the biggest challenge facing the region right now; the biggest challenge is the economy.” Still, after a number of Latin American leaders have advised Washington that Cuba is an important symbolic issue for the region, it is surprising that the Administration chose to announce a contrary position now. With the Trinidad Summit of the Americas approaching, it might have been wiser to leave the question open-ended than to announce a position that goes against the desires of many Latin American leaders.