SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A depiction of President Donald Trump in Havana, Cuba. (Photo courtesy Michal Eskayo)
Trump Set to Take Backwards Step on Cuba Policy
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) says the shift will be 'a completely unnecessary step backwards' that 'makes no sense and achieves nothing.'
Jun 16, 2017
President Donald Trump on Friday is set to put a chill on the thawed relations between the U.S. and Cuba his predecessor put in place just three years ago.
In an announcement in Miami, Trump will partially roll back Obama's measures, which the new administration sees as a failed "appeasement" effort. NPR writes that the president
will not go so far as to sever diplomatic ties with Havana or shutter the U.S. embassy that reopened there in 2015. But he will impose new limits on commercial transactions that involve the Cuban military. And Americans will no longer be allowed to travel to the island on their own for "people-to-people" purposes, once the new rules are in place.
"While not a full reversal of the Obama opening," writes Ben Rhodes, the architect of the rapprochement under the Obama administration,
Trump's actions have put relations between the United States and Cuba back into the prison of the past--setting back the prospects for reform inside of Cuba, and ignoring the voices of the Cuban people and a majority of Americans just so that he can reward a small and dwindling political constituency.
On Thursday Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said she was "appalled and saddened" by the reported reversal, calling it "a completely unnecessary step backwards" that "makes no sense and achieves nothing."
"Withdrawing from Cuba cannot and will not achieve our goals," Lee stated. "As President Obama recognized, progress demands open dialogue and mutual cooperation between our two nations."
Amnesty International USA similarly cautioned against a Cuba policy reversal, saying it would harm both nations.
"Increased political dialogue, travel, and trade between the U.S. and Cuba is critical to advancing human rights in both countries," said Marselha Goncalves Margerin, advocacy director for the Americas at the organization.
"If President Trump returns to the Cold War rhetoric of isolation, we will revert to a politicization of human rights on both sides, which will be detrimental to advancing independent scrutiny of Cuba's human rights situation," she continued.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump on Friday is set to put a chill on the thawed relations between the U.S. and Cuba his predecessor put in place just three years ago.
In an announcement in Miami, Trump will partially roll back Obama's measures, which the new administration sees as a failed "appeasement" effort. NPR writes that the president
will not go so far as to sever diplomatic ties with Havana or shutter the U.S. embassy that reopened there in 2015. But he will impose new limits on commercial transactions that involve the Cuban military. And Americans will no longer be allowed to travel to the island on their own for "people-to-people" purposes, once the new rules are in place.
"While not a full reversal of the Obama opening," writes Ben Rhodes, the architect of the rapprochement under the Obama administration,
Trump's actions have put relations between the United States and Cuba back into the prison of the past--setting back the prospects for reform inside of Cuba, and ignoring the voices of the Cuban people and a majority of Americans just so that he can reward a small and dwindling political constituency.
On Thursday Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said she was "appalled and saddened" by the reported reversal, calling it "a completely unnecessary step backwards" that "makes no sense and achieves nothing."
"Withdrawing from Cuba cannot and will not achieve our goals," Lee stated. "As President Obama recognized, progress demands open dialogue and mutual cooperation between our two nations."
Amnesty International USA similarly cautioned against a Cuba policy reversal, saying it would harm both nations.
"Increased political dialogue, travel, and trade between the U.S. and Cuba is critical to advancing human rights in both countries," said Marselha Goncalves Margerin, advocacy director for the Americas at the organization.
"If President Trump returns to the Cold War rhetoric of isolation, we will revert to a politicization of human rights on both sides, which will be detrimental to advancing independent scrutiny of Cuba's human rights situation," she continued.
President Donald Trump on Friday is set to put a chill on the thawed relations between the U.S. and Cuba his predecessor put in place just three years ago.
In an announcement in Miami, Trump will partially roll back Obama's measures, which the new administration sees as a failed "appeasement" effort. NPR writes that the president
will not go so far as to sever diplomatic ties with Havana or shutter the U.S. embassy that reopened there in 2015. But he will impose new limits on commercial transactions that involve the Cuban military. And Americans will no longer be allowed to travel to the island on their own for "people-to-people" purposes, once the new rules are in place.
"While not a full reversal of the Obama opening," writes Ben Rhodes, the architect of the rapprochement under the Obama administration,
Trump's actions have put relations between the United States and Cuba back into the prison of the past--setting back the prospects for reform inside of Cuba, and ignoring the voices of the Cuban people and a majority of Americans just so that he can reward a small and dwindling political constituency.
On Thursday Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said she was "appalled and saddened" by the reported reversal, calling it "a completely unnecessary step backwards" that "makes no sense and achieves nothing."
"Withdrawing from Cuba cannot and will not achieve our goals," Lee stated. "As President Obama recognized, progress demands open dialogue and mutual cooperation between our two nations."
Amnesty International USA similarly cautioned against a Cuba policy reversal, saying it would harm both nations.
"Increased political dialogue, travel, and trade between the U.S. and Cuba is critical to advancing human rights in both countries," said Marselha Goncalves Margerin, advocacy director for the Americas at the organization.
"If President Trump returns to the Cold War rhetoric of isolation, we will revert to a politicization of human rights on both sides, which will be detrimental to advancing independent scrutiny of Cuba's human rights situation," she continued.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.