prison at Guantánamo Bay should be closed down, but the
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...
is not something that we wish to be closed." This issue has yet to be resolved.
Economic initiatives by the United States government
The United States government stated specific goals in improving trade with Cuba.
Roberta Jacobson, an American diplomat, suggested bolstering
Internet access
Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...
and mobile phone service in Cuba to help its integration into the
world economy
The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, ...
. This provided American telecommunication companies including
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
and
Sprint with a new market in Cuba. By July 20, 2016, US companies
Airbnb
Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 b ...
and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
were operating in Cuba as well.
The United States sought to increase revenue from
tourism in Cuba
Tourism in Cuba is an industry that generates over 4.7 million arrivals , and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. With its favorable climate, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Cuba has long been an ...
by lifting traveling restrictions which can be used for purchase of American agricultural and manufacturing exports to Cuba. On March 20, 2016,
Starwood
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016.
...
became the first US company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution and agreed to manage two Havana hotels which had formerly been owned by the Cuban government. The first of these hotels opened three months later on June 27. A number of American companies support further economic ties with Cuba, as do advocacy groups like
Engage Cuba.
Resumption of mail service and regular airline service
On December 11, 2015, the United States and Cuba agreed to restore postal service between the two countries for the first time since 1963. A week later, on December 17, 2015–the first anniversary of D17–an agreement was reached to re-establish regularly scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba for the first time since the
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
. The agreement, which allows for 110 flights a day, took effect on February 16, 2016. Mail service between the two countries resumed on March 17, 2016.
On July 7, 2016, it was announced that eight US airline companies had been given tentative approval to fly to airports in Cuba and that flights, which would be limited to educational trips, would begin as early as September. On August 31, 2016,
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
became the first US commercial airline in more than 50 years to land a plane carrying US passengers at a Cuban airport when
Flight 387 took off from
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
and landed in
Santa Clara, Cuba
Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the List of cities in Cuba, fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly ...
. More flights have since followed, and two planes from JetBlue and American Airlines also made history by landing in the capital city of Havana on November 28, 2016, marking the first time in more than 50 years that a US commercial flight landed in Havana.
By November 2017, however, several airline companies had quit doing flights to Cuba.
US presidential visit
President Obama arrived in Cuba for a three-day visit on March 20, 2016. Obama headed a delegation of between 800 and 1,200, including businesspeople and congressional leaders who had helped in establishing the 2014 normalization deal.
Obama was the
first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since
Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Obama said that he would only visit Cuba if he could meet with
Cuban dissidents
The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is to replace the current government with a liberal democracy. According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent.
Backgrou ...
: "If I go on a visit, then part of the deal is that I get to talk to everybody. I've made it very clear in my conversations directly with Cuban leader Raúl Castro that we would continue to reach out to those who want to broaden the scope for, you know, free expression inside of Cuba."
Travel by sea
On April 22, 2016, it was announced that travel restrictions on U.S.
commercial vessel
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...
s had been lifted and that the
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
could travel to Cuba.
[Victoria Burnett]
Carnival Sails to Cuba
''New York Times'' (April 22, 2016).
On May 1, 2016, the
MV ''Adonia'', a
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
operated by Carnival subsidiary
Fathom Travel, departed from Miami and docked in
Havana Bay
Havana Harbor is the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, and it is the main port in Cuba (not including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a territory on lease by the United States). Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo ...
, marking the first time in nearly 40 years that a U.S. passenger ship sailed from the U.S. to Cuba.
[Victoria Burnett]
Cruise Ship From Miami Docks in Havana, Ending Decades-Old Freeze
''New York Times'' (May 2, 2016). Carnival said that the ''Adonia'' would go from Miami to Havana every other week.
Two other Miami-based cruise lines,
Royal Caribbean and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
, were interested in running cruises to Cuba and sought Cuban government authorization.
A number of Florida
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
companies received authorization from the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
to begin service to Cuba, but the companies were waiting on Cuban government permission.
In June 2019, the
Trump administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
made a policy reversal by banning cruise ship travel to Cuba.
Domestic political responses
In Cuba
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeedi ...
, the
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba) is the ''de facto'' leader of Cuba. The First Secretary is the highest office within the Commu ...
, served as the
supreme leader since 2011 and one of the leaders of the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
of the 1950s, declared in 2013 that "a slow and orderly transfer of the leadership of the revolution to the new generations" was already in progress. Castro pledged not to seek reelection in 2018. In announcing the agreement in December 2014, Castro struck a balance between praising the
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
revolution that brought him and his brother
Fidel
Fidel most commonly refers to:
* Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Cuban communist revolutionary and politician
* Fidel Ramos (1928–2022), Filipino politician and former president
Fidel may also refer to:
Other persons
* Fidel (given name)
Film
* ...
to power almost 60 years prior and extolling the benefits that would be brought about by improved relations with the United States, namely the end of the
Cuban embargo
The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern hist ...
.
Fidel Castro appeared to welcome the thaw between Cuba and the United States in a statement published by ''
Granma'' on January 26, 2015. Despite saying that he "does not trust United States policies", he stated, "We will always defend cooperation and friendship with all the peoples of the world, among them our political adversaries."
However, later in 2016, Fidel Castro asserted his criticism of Obama, acknowledging his own anger with Obama's March trip to Cuba in which he called for Cubans to look toward the future. A week after the trip, Castro wrote a sternly worded letter admonishing Obama to read up on Cuban history, and declaring that "we don't need the empire to give us anything."
In December 2014, Raúl Castro publicly thanked Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their role in the secret talks that led to the U.S.–Cuban prisoner exchange. According to Church officials within Cuba, several plans to build Catholic churches, which have been blocked since the revolution in 1959, are being processed. The first church is to be built in
Sandino. It will be the first Catholic church to be built in Cuba since 1959, when the communist Castro regime declared the country an atheist state.
At a
CELAC meeting in 2015, Raúl Castro gave a speech claiming "Cuba will continue to defend the ideas for which our people have assumed the greatest sacrifices and risks." In that speech, he detailed the history of Cuba's foreign relations. Throughout the speech, he condemned the United States' history of
manifest destiny
Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America.
There were three basic tenets to the concept:
* The special vir ...
, detailing a basic history of American and Cuban relations. After talking about the United States' policy in Cuba, he went on to condemn the United States' assistance in installing the "terrible dictatorships in 20 countries, 12 of them simultaneously", referring to the United States' supporting of Latin American dictatorships. Following that, Castro detailed Cuba's history following the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
. But despite his prior backlash against the United States, Castro summarized his speech by praising the recent improvements in American-Cuban relations, and wondered why "the countries of the two Americas, the North and the South, fight together against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime, without politically biased positions."
In the United States
The Cuban thaw has received a mixed reception among politicians in the United States. Prominent critics include Senator
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Rubio, a
Cuban-American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, said that "diplomatic recognition
ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames.
Notable p ...
provide legitimacy to a government that doesn't deserve it." The
2014 congressional elections were a month prior to the announcement of the thaw.
Senator
Bob Menendez
Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was firs ...
, a Cuban-American
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...
was an early critic of Obama's decision to normalize relations with Cuba. Writing in ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' on December 17, Menendez criticized Obama "for compromising on bedrock U.S. values", charging that the Obama administration "has wrongly rewarded a totalitarian regime and thrown the Cuban regime an economic lifeline". Among the few other Democrats who have criticized Obama over the shift in relations with Cuba are two members of the House of Representatives:
Albio Sires
Albio B. Sires (; born January 26, 1951) is a Cuban-born American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2006. The district, numbered as the from 2006 to 2013, includes most of northern and eastern Jerse ...
and
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
Deborah Wasserman Schultz (née Wasserman; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from , first elected to Congress in 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former chair of the Democrat ...
.
Congressional opponents of the new Cuba policy vowed to try to block its implementation, with Rubio announcing he would hold up the confirmation of any
U.S. ambassador to Cuba whom Obama might nominate. Republican Senator
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
described the policy as a "tragic mistake." However, the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported that business groups like the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...
would likely apply pressure on congressmen to accept the diplomatic thaw, and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Senator
Jeff Flake
Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current U.S Ambassador to Turkey. A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and ...
of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, a supporter of the shift, predicted many congressmen would come around.
Like Senator Flake, Senator
Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...
, a Republican from Kentucky, supports the thaw on the grounds that increased trade relations will benefit both Cubans and Americans. Senator Paul, in response to Senator Rubio, argued that "Senator Rubio is acting like an isolationist", and that, "The 50-year embargo just hasn't worked. If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working."
Similarly, Obama's former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
strongly endorsed the decision. Clinton has argued that the embargo "had propped up the Castro government because they could blame all of the country's problems on the United States. Moreover, the embargo did not have any impact on freedom of speech, freedom of expression, or on freeing political prisoners."
Public opinion
A survey conducted by
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
in January 2016 found that 63% of Americans approved of Obama's decision to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, while 28% disapproved. The study found that Democrats (74%) and Independents (67%) were more likely to support the re-established relations; 40% of Republicans approved. The study also found that 66% of Americans supported ending the trade embargo against Cuba, while 28% disapproved. Support for both the re-establishment of relations and the lifting of the trade embargo was seen broadly amongst all racial and ethnic groups (62% of whites, 64% of blacks, and 65% of Hispanics) and amongst all age-brackets, however younger Americans were more likely to support it than older Americans. Americans who were college or university graduates (77%) overwhelmingly supported the restoration of relations, while people with only some college education (59%) or only high school education (53%) were less likely to support it. Despite broad support for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations and the end of the trade embargo, only 32% of Americans surveyed believed that Cuba would become "more democratic" over the next several years, with 60% believing the situation in Cuba will remain the same.
International reactions
International reactions were overwhelmingly positive, with
Radio Poland
Radio Poland (until January 2007 as Radio Polonia, later "Polish Radio External Service" ( pl, Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy), in Polish legislation also named as Polskie Radio Program V) is the official international broadcasting station of Pola ...
having reported that the
Polish foreign ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (''Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych'', MSZ) is the Polish government department tasked with maintaining Poland's international relations and coordinating its participation in international and regional supra-nation ...
is encouraging Washington to go further and lift the embargo.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, also one of Cuba's closest allies, welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States.
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
was one of the few countries not to issue a statement welcoming the change, and it was reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry is "miffed" at having been caught off guard by the change.
Cuba–Israel relations
Cuba–Israel refers to the current and historical relations between Cuba and Israel. Both nations have not had official diplomatic relations since 1973. Israel maintains an Interest Section in the Canadian embassy in Havana. Cuba is currently the ...
have been icy since the 1960s, and Israel has been the only country to consistently side with the US against
UN resolutions criticizing the embargo.
Several
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n leaders publicly welcomed the thaw, with
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n President
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
hailing Obama's move toward normalization as a "valiant and historically necessary gesture", despite being a regular critic of U.S. policy. Colombian Liberal ex-President
Ernesto Samper
Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as ...
in his capacity as President of
UNASUR said that "this was very good news, not only for Cuba but for the entire region".
Juan Carlos Varela
Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez (; born 13 December 1963) is a Panamanian businessman and former politician who served as the President of Panama from 2014 to 2019.
Varela was Vice President of Panama from 2009 to 2014, and Minister of Foreign ...
, the conservative President of Panama, said that in the
7th Summit of the Americas to be held in his country after April 7, 2015, it will be possible to "achieve the dream of a united region".
The
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
government, which maintained
more positive relations with Cuba than the United States did during and after the Cold War, also responded favorably, with Foreign Minister
John Baird suggesting to ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' commentator
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...
that the policy shift could help "transform" Cuba for the better.
Media perception
Media sources, which were quick to dub the sudden turnaround in relations the "Cuban thaw",
have predicted that it will lead to a wide variety of social and economic benefits for the two countries, as well as some less obvious impacts. ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' reported that the stock market jumped once elements of the Cuban thaw were reported.
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
reported that the thaw would "make it more likely the Cuban government will extradite
fugitive
A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
s sought by U.S. officials." The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported environmentalist concerns that the thaw would lead to the opening of "one of the most prolific oil and gas basins on the planet", which sits off the coast of Cuba. ''
Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
'' reported that the thaw would even benefit
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, with teams gaining major new opportunities to sign Cuban players. There were reports on how the Cuban thaw affected Cuban society, including its real estate market and greater emphasis on English language education.
''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' deemed the Cuban thaw to be "Obama's finest foreign policy achievement." The Indonesian journal ''Strategic Review'' proposed that Obama could follow the model of normalization of relations which his predecessor
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
had done with
United States-Vietnam relations.
''Granma'', Cuba's state newspaper, published numerous articles regarding the Cuban thaw. It stated that "International public opinion supports removal of Cuba from U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism," and that "
e decision is recognized as an important step in advancing President Obama's policy change to improve relations between the two countries." Additionally, they stated that "
e Cuban government recognizes the just decision taken by the President of the United States to eliminate Cuba from a list on which it never should have been included" and reiterated that Cuba "rejects and condemns all acts of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations, as well as any action that is intended to instigate, support, finance or conceal terrorist acts."
Aftermath
Trump Administration
On June 16, 2017, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
issued a
presidential memorandum
A presidential memorandum is a type of directive issued by the president of the United States to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the various departments and agencies found under the executive branch of the United State ...
reversing some aspects of the Obama administration's actions regarding U.S. relations with Cuba, and characterizing them as "terrible and misguided". He announced a prohibition on American money going to the Cuban military, in particular in dealings with entities within the Grupo de Administracion Empresarial, a conglomerate which the Cuban military manages, having the effect of placing certain hotels and other tourism facilities off-limits to Americans.
In addition, he removed permission for individual "people-to-people" travel to Cuba by Americans, while leaving in place travel permission for organized "educational" groups, family visits and other categories.
Airline and cruise ship visits to Cuba would continue to be permitted, diplomatic relations would remain in place, and the embassies would remain open, according to Trump's announcement.
The new restrictions would go into effect only after appropriate regulations were drawn up by the Treasury and Commerce departments.
On November 8, 2017, the White House announced that the new regulations would take effect starting November 9, 2017. Although the individual "people-to-people" trips were stopped, the new rules made clearer that the "support for the Cuban people" category was suitable for individual travel. The restrictions on dealings with military-controlled companies did not go as far as some had expected.
On June 4, 2019, the
Trump Administration
Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
announced a full ban on cruise ship, private yacht, or plane travel to Cuba. It also announced a ban on "people-to-people" travel, which was until that point the most popular legal mechanism for American travel to the island, largely because it was the category used by cruise lines for their tours. The sanctions had been first mentioned a few days earlier, in a speech by US National Security advisor
John Bolton
John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
to veterans of the failed
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. The Cuban
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
,
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla (born 22 January 1958) is a Cuban diplomat and politician. He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba, and has served as Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009.
Biography and career ...
, stated that the Cuban state "rejected" the sanctions, which it viewed as aiming to suffocate the island's economy and harm its living standards in order to achieve political concessions.
In September 2019, further changes were made in relation to remittances.
Biden Administration
The Biden administration had initially continued the sanctions from the Trump administration against
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
; however, in May 2022, some of the sanctions were reversed, with policy changes such as expansion of flights to Cuba and resumption of a family reunification program.
See also
*
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban Thaw
Cuba–United States relations
Presidency of Barack Obama
Pope Francis
2014 in international relations
2015 in international relations
2016 in international relations
2014 in Canada
2014 in Cuba
2015 in Cuba
2016 in Cuba
2014 in American politics
2015 in American politics
2016 in American politics
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