Over the past year, the Obama administration has repeatedly answered criticism of its lack of progress on Cuba with the excuse that Havana has not responded in kind to any overtures Washington has tried to make (it has the distinct feel of the classic “he started it” argument). In fact, recent statements by top officials […]
Another month, another chance to move forward on the US-Cuba relationship… Progress seems to have stagnated lately, and April’s comments by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton predict more of the same. Clinton, speaking at the University of Louisville at the beginning of this month, answered a question from the press about Cuba by underlining the efforts […]
To be honest, I do not know much about the Cuba Business Bureau, and cannot vouch for it. Anyone out there that can? Please feel free to leave info in the comment section. The group is new to me as of today. I do know that the Cuba Business Bureau conducted a survey, the results […]
Despite predictions that recent polarizing events would freeze the slow steps of US-Cuba rapprochement, the last week or so has shown more persistence on both sides to overcome differences in favor of continuing productive dialogue on relevant issues. US business representatives and Cuban tourism officials met in Cancún last week for three days to discuss […]
The “vicious circle” is, as Dalia Acosta and others have written, a pattern that has been repeated over and over during the history of Cuba in the last decades: the seemingly inevitable cycle of relaxing and tightening among the governments of Cuba, the United States and the European Union. The reasons for the vicious circle are […]
The U.S. Treasury Department has made a rule change that it says will help people in Iran, Sudan, and Cuba communicate with the outside world. An amendment made this week will make it possible for American companies to acquire general licenses for exportation of personal Internet-based communications services, such as instant messaging and chat, to these […]
This week, NAFSA’s Senior Advisor for Public Policy, Vic Johnson, commented on Barack Obama’s words before a Town Hall in Istanbul, Turkey last year. There, President Obama had made a statement on the great benefit of exchanges between young people across country boundaries, saying: “Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people […]
The newest issue of the Economist falls into the more and more common “honeymoon” rhetoric trap in its discussion of current developments in US-Cuba relations: an article dated today is entitled, “Honeymoon cancelled: A familiar mistrust descends.“ The analysis is lacking two distinctions: one, the distinction between public perception and government intent/activity; and two (again), between […]
The death last week of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hunger-striking Cuban prisoner, has proven to be a international issue of grand proportions, and Havana is stubbornly pushing back against the waves of pressure from friends and foes abroad. On Wednesday, authorities arrested or detained at least 30 recognized dissidents in order to prevent them from […]
According to a press release from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota introduced the bill H.R. 4645 to the House today with bipartisan co-sponsorship from 30 other members of Congress. The bill, which is also known as the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, would not […]
High-level U.S.-Cuba talks on migration did occur on Friday, and the five-hour talks were open and frank. State Department officials called for the release of detained U.S. contractor Alan Gross. The Cuban side listened, though without indicating how they would proceed. Cuban officials brought up their own demand for the release of the Cuban Five. […]
The AP ran a story today titled, “US-Cuba immigration talks under cloud of mistrust.” The course of the article makes the current US-Cuba relationship and future prospects look pretty dismal. But we had always expected progress to be slow, and mutual recriminations do not disappear overnight. I, for one, am not discouraged. Still, one cannot […]
We say this every year. But like the stubbornly optimistic Chicago Cubs fan (which I also happen to be), we’ll say it again: 2010 could be the year. This year we could see further change in U.S. policy toward Cuba, starting with opening travel. The Congressional push to open up Cuba for travel by U.S. […]
Havana is not alone in its judgment that the Obama administration has not done enough in its first year to achieve rapprochement. Analysts have been voicing their dissatisfaction in connection with the end of year one: the Center for International Policy’s critique sums up the main complaints that have been circulating. Over-arching thesis: “Obama is […]
For the last several years, U.S. Representative Jose Serrano (D, NY-16) has brought the Cuba Reconciliation Act before the House and urged its passing without success. Its intent? “To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes.” This year it was slated under H.R. 188 and introduced on January 6, 2009—the first day […]