Domestic politics tie Biden's hands on Cuba
Issued on:
17/07/2021 - 03:32
People in Miami, Florida protest to show support for Cubans demonstrating against their government CHANDAN KHANNA AFP
4 min
Washington (AFP)
Hopes that President Joe Biden would ease draconian trade and travel restrictions with Cuba laid down by his predecessor are caught hostage to domestic politics and the vocal Cuban-American community opposed to Havana, analysts say.
Biden was vice president when Barack Obama thawed relations with the Caribbean country in 2014, reopening diplomatic missions, cutting back a decades-old embargo, permitting US tourists to visit and imports from the communist-controlled island.
But the support inside the United States for last weekend's anti-government protests across Cuba, and the tight math surrounding Biden's Democrats' control of Congress, explain why he has not reversed the extreme punitive measures against Havana put in place by president Donald Trump over the past four years.