A new policy memo by the Cuba Study Group, an influential Cuban American advocacy organization, advises President Joe Biden to re-engage with Cuba but avoid the shortcomings of a similar approach under Barack Obama’s administration.
“We wanted to understand why it had been so easy for Trump to undo the progress that had been achieved under President Obama’s popular opening to Cuba without incurring any political costs,” Cuba Study Group executive director Ricardo Herrero told the Miami Herald. “In our research, we found that the social-economic ties between the United States and Cuba, while extensive, remain shallow, informal and exceedingly vulnerable to codified sanctions and unpredictable political cycles.”
As the Biden administration is set to review U.S. policy toward Cuba, several pro-engagement organizations have lobbied the current administration to reverse former President Donald Trump’s Cuba policies, heavily focused on sanctions against the Cuban government and its military.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.