Thread: Trump aims to roll back Obama’s Cuba policies

Trump aims to roll back Obama’s Cuba policies

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

President Trump is expected to announce a rollback of his predecessor’s detente with Cuba during a visit Friday to Miami, likely to include a reimposition of U.S. travel restrictions to the communist island as well as a limiting of business interactions between American companies and entities controlled by the Cuban military.

The changes are expected to be in line with those sought by Cuba hard-liners on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Marco Rubio, an influential Florida Republican on the Senate intelligence committee whom Mr. Trump seeks to gain as an ally.

Administration officials declined to comment on whether Friday’s speech will be a culmination of a months long review of Cuba policy, which has been a subject of speculation since Mr. Trump’s advisers signaled in November that he would undo Mr. Obama’s detente unless the Cuban government moved swiftly to address human rights abuses and loosen restrictions on freedom of speech.

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that “Cuba has failed” to do that, and suggested impending policy changes will focus on restricting relationships between U.S. and Cuban businesses that “inadvertently or directly” support what “continues to be a very oppressive regime.”

Analysts say that could mean only minor adjustments to the openings put in place in 2014 by the Obama administration, which sought to thaw hostility that had persisted between Washington and Havana since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...back-under-tr/

Which is more oppressive, a Cuban government that makes sure their citizens have health care (best in the world), 92% home ownership, higher than the United States, plenty of food, good educations, and now they can own their own small businesses, all while their big neighbor 90 miles from them tries to starve them with trade embargoes? To me, US policy against Cuba is the crueler policy. It's hard to imagine why Cubans in the United States would want to do that to Cubans in Cuba. Why would Marco Rubio, a Cuban, want to hurt the people of Cuba? Someone should ask him. The CORRUPT MEDIA should ask all these Cubans in the US, why do you want to hurt the people of Cuba? They are our neighbors, these people are your family, why do you want to hurt the people of Cuba?

Makes no sense. Marco Rubio has never even been to Cuba, yet he hates their "regime" when he doesn't know a damn thing about it. Do they have secrets from their past that will come out if we open up Cuba? Is that it? Will it prove the jargon of the past 60 years has been lies? Like most of the tall tales about Russia?!

Trump's in a spot. That's for sure. He knows these people are wrong, but he needed that bloc to win Florida. He also knows this policy should change and the doors be opened for trade. With trade comes the changes in human rights, because the money flowing in and out creates a wealth that makes more freedom possible.

I'm not really sure what human rights they're even talking about. They have health care, education, home ownership, stipends, small businesses, a lot of progress for them during the past 60 years with no help from US. Can they overthrow their government? Not without chaos and civil war which is what got them where they are to begin with. Is that what the Cubans in America want? A do-over of their big revolution? If that's not the epitome of foreign meddling in another nation's affairs, I don't know what it would be.

Judy wrote (excerpt):

I'm not really sure what human rights they're even talking about. They have health care, education, home ownership, stipends, small businesses, a lot of progress for them during the past 60 years with no help from US.

Wow, did you really just say that?!? Perhaps you should read the following:

CUBA 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236892.pdf

Here is something on the living conditions (photographs can be seen at link):

http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...es-scott-beyer

After reading that, there is no way possible anyone in there right mind would think Cuban's have it good. The government controls every aspect of their life, including the rationing of food.