United States President Joe Biden will not 鈥 in the short-term 鈥 return to former president Barack Obama鈥檚 policy of engagement with Cuba.
Obama and then Cuban leader Raul Castro announced the beginning of a process of normalisation of relations between the US and Cuba in December, 2014. Six months later, the US and Cuban interests 麻豆传媒 in Washington and Havana were upgraded to embassies.
However, with Donald Trump鈥檚 election as president in 2016, US sanctions against Cuba increased immeasurably, culminating in Washington redesignating Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism just nine days before the end of Trump鈥檚 presidency.
During his presidential campaign, Biden 鈥 who was Obama鈥檚 vice president 鈥 gave some indications that he wanted to improve US relations with Cuba. He alluded to removing the Trump imposed limits on remittances that Cuban Americans can send to their relatives on the island and restoring money-wiring services, such as Western Union. Biden also alluded to making it easier for US citizens to travel to Cuba.
Eighty Democratic members of the US Congress urged Biden in March to repeal Trump鈥檚 鈥渃ruel鈥 sanctions on Cuba and renew engagement with the Caribbean nation.
The congress members urged Biden to restart diplomatic engagement on areas of mutual interest including migration, disaster response, environment, counter-narcotics and money laundering and to restaff the US embassy in Havana, which, under Trump, was reduced to skeletal staffing. The congress members also said engagement on medical cooperation should be a top priority in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of political and civic leaders from South Florida 鈥 Democrats and Republicans 鈥 in March to remove the limits on remittances to Cuba, pointing out the significant human cost to Cubans caused by Trump鈥檚 measure.
Flows of money to Cuba had been taking place for more than 20 years and are extremely important in light of the economic hardship resulting from COVID-19.
However, White House National Security Council member and Biden鈥檚 adviser on Latin America Juan Gonz谩lez that a process of rapprochement with the Cuban government would be gradual. 鈥淛oe Biden is not Barack Obama in policy towards Cuba.鈥 said Gonz谩lez.
Gonz谩lez said the Biden administration is 鈥渧ery focused on various crises around the world, and also on the domestic situation鈥.
鈥淚 believe that those who think that the United States is now going to enter a dialogue of multiple years with Cuba don鈥檛 understand the political moment and the situation in which we are living or frankly, I would say, the disorder we inherited from the [Trump] administration鈥 he said.
However, Biden鈥檚 reluctance to make any immediate changes in US policy toward Cuba is more than anything the result of internal US politics. In key US states such as Florida, US policy toward Cuba is, and has been for some time, a deeply polarising issue and increasingly the Democrats are on the defensive.
Sadly, it appears the Biden administration does not regard re-engaging with Cuba as a matter of priority in the short or medium term.