Will an Obama administration change course?
Will Obama revisit Cuban policy so early in his new administration? Arguably, he faces many more critical challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and now Gaza.
But for the United States, the embargo has become a double-edged sword. At the United Nations in October, the General Assembly voted once again for a resolution urging the United States to repeal its trade embargo against Cuba, as it has for 17 years in a row.
The tally in favor of Havana was overwhelming, 185 countries to 3. Only Israel and Palau joined the U.S. in supporting the 47-year-old embargo. Obama's transition team is being told that easing the Cuba policy would be a quick way to win friends in this hemisphere.
Would the Cuban People be any better off if relations were normalised between the US and Cuba?
The overall economy and trade with the rest of the world has nearly nothing to do with the US embargo. So why are they still a poor country?