Search Results for: embargo of Cuba

Barack Obama’s Comments About Cuba During His Campaign for the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nomination, 2007-2008

In light of President Barack Obama’s historic December 17, 2014, announcement of rapprochement with Cuba, it is interesting to examine Obama’s earlier statements about Cuba.[1] This post will examine his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007-2008.[2] Future posts will look at his 2008 presidential campaign; his first presidential term (including his 2012 presidential … Continue reading Barack Obama’s Comments About Cuba During His Campaign for the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nomination, 2007-2008

Why Did Senator Patrick Leahy and Two Other Senators Make A Trip to Cuba Last Week?

On June 25 three U.S. Senators arrived in Cuba: Senators Patrick Leahy (Dem., VT) and Ben Cardin (Dem., MD), who have been there before, and Senator Dean Heller (Rep., NV). There has been no recent development that seems to have prompted this trip, which prompts the question: why this trip at this time?[1] The U.S. … Continue reading Why Did Senator Patrick Leahy and Two Other Senators Make A Trip to Cuba Last Week?

U.S. Policy Implications of State Department’s Report on Cuban Human Rights

A prior post reviewed the U.S. State Department’s just-released 2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices while another post discussed its chapter on Cuba. Now we look at the implications of that report for U.S. policies regarding Cuba. Some people assert that the negative aspects of Cuban human rights justify continuing U.S. hostility toward the island. … Continue reading U.S. Policy Implications of State Department’s Report on Cuban Human Rights

U.S. Annual Human Rights Report Again Criticizes Cuba

On June 25, 2015, the U.S. Department of State released its 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.[1] Introduction In introducing the report, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, “The message at the heart of these reports is that countries do best when their citizens fully enjoy the rights and freedoms to which they … Continue reading U.S. Annual Human Rights Report Again Criticizes Cuba

What is Wrong with the White House’s Plan for Democracy in Cuba?

======================================================== [This is a re-posting of a blog post by Zuleika Rivera, an Intern at the Latin American Working Group (April 08, 2014), http://lawg.org/action-center/lawg-blog.%5D ======================================================== ZunZuneo or the “Cuban Twitter” continues to dominate headlines as details regarding U.S. Agency of International Development’s (USAID) failure to inspire a “Cuban Spring” through a “discreetly” funded social networking platform … Continue reading What is Wrong with the White House’s Plan for Democracy in Cuba?

The Council of the Americas and the Americas Society: Other Supporters of U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

The Council of the Americas (COA) [1] and the Americas Society (AS) [2] previously announced their support of the December 17th announcement of the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement and of the more recent presidential rescission of the U.S. designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” On April 21st COA and AS held their 45th annual Washington … Continue reading The Council of the Americas and the Americas Society: Other Supporters of U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

U.S. State Department’s Latest Report on Cuban Human Rights

The U.S. State Department’s just-released 2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ chapter on Cuba needs analysis.[1] The Report’s Negative Comments about Cuban Human Rights The Executive Summary of its chapter on Cuba has a strongly negative tone. It states the following: “Cuba is an authoritarian state led by Raul Castro, who is president of the council of state … Continue reading U.S. State Department’s Latest Report on Cuban Human Rights

Other Opinion Polls Confirm Broad American Support for U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

A previous post mentioned the results of a recent public opinion poll by abc News and the Washington Post about U.S.-Cuba reconciliation: Favor normalizing relations? 64% to 31%; favor ending the embargo? 68% to 29%; favor liberal travel to Cuba? 74% to 24%. Other recent polls confirm those findings. As the Miami Herald, in the … Continue reading Other Opinion Polls Confirm Broad American Support for U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

American People’s Reactions to U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

After looking at international, Cuban and U.S. Government reactions to the December 17th announcement of U.S.-Cuba reconciliation, we now examine the reactions of the American people. Those reactions can be obtained from public opinion polls and the views of prominent Americans, newspapers and business interests and from efforts to promote understanding of the issues and … Continue reading American People’s Reactions to U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

More Observations on Cuba’s Reactions to U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

A prior post discussed the reactions to U.S.-Cuba reconciliation by Cuba’s government and its people. Here are additional observations on these topics. As noted in that prior post, Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister in charge of North America, gave an extensive interview on the U.S.-Cuba negotiations to a Granma journalist, and more recently Granma … Continue reading More Observations on Cuba’s Reactions to U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation