Lift the Cuban Embargo

Fidel Castro, Cuba's President is finally stepping down after 50 long years.

Yet the United States will continue its long 46-year trade embargo.

Has it gone long enough?

We trade with China.

We trade with Vietnam.

But we don't with Cuba.

On the matter of China getting Permanent Normal Tarde Relations (PNTR) back in 1997, Alan Larson, Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, stated that isolating China economically would only "strengthen the hand of those within the Chinese leadership who oppose reform. We support China's full integration into, and active participation in, the international community (and) we regard dialogue and engagement as the best way to manage our differences." Or, as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright explained during testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance on PNTR in July 1998, "It would be irresponsible for us not to have a multifaceted relationship with China at this point."

However for Cuba, our official policy "is to promote a peaceful transition to a stable, democratic form of government (by) maintaining pressure on the Cuban government for change through the embargo and the Libertad Act...We oppose consideration of Cuba's return to the Organization of American States or inclusion in the Summit of the Americas' process until there is a democratic government."

It is time to face reality. It is time for those Cuban exiles in Florida to face the truth. This trade embargo has gone long enough. Castro has survived through 10 American presidents.

A past statement by Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
"It's time for the U.S. to wake up to reality - unilateral sanctions don't work," he stated in October. "Instead of punishing our enemies, unilateral sanctions isolate America from its allies, provide ammunition to dictators to prop up their regimes, and shut out U.S. companies and their workers from markets around the world...We must remember that when we trade with other nations, we not only export our goods and services, we also export American ideals of freedom, democracy and free enterprise."

Ron Paul calls for a lifting of the embargo but of course he won't be President. The eventual Republican nominee, John McCain, would continue the same hard-line policy and would increase spending on Cuba democracy assistance programs and Radio and TV Marti, which are Florida-based Spanish-language broadcast services aimed at Cuba. Of course, surveys consistently show that Radio and TV Martí have minuscule audiences, but their federal funding continues to increase.

The possible Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, wants to lift restrictions on family visits and remittances to Cuba. American citizens without relatives in Cuba would have to wait until a democratic opening occurred. However, it may indicate that Obama would like to lift the trade embargo sooner rather than later.

Castro is growing old. So too are his foes on the mainland. Perhaps it is time to shake off and try something new.

Salon.com

Impact Press