President Obama today announced his intentions to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending 53 years of hostilities, and planning to reopen the US Embassy in Havana soon.
The deal centers around a prisoner exchange, including USAID spy Alan Gross, and another, unnamed spy held for 20 years. The rapprochement will partially end the long-standing travel ban on Cuba.
Yet while the travel ban easing will allow people to travel to Cuba for government or business purposes, and also some family visits, the US will continue to ban all travel to the island for tourism.
The US severed all diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961, and while most of the rest of the world ended the Cold War era hostility decades ago, maintained it through today. President Obama declared that in this case, isolation didn’t work.
Ending Cold War hostilities was never going to please anybody, and several Republicans expressed “outrage” over the announcement, saying it amounted to “appeasement” of the Cuban government. Sen. Marco Rubio (R – FL) vowed to block the normalization in the Senate.
And meanwhile starting hostilities with Russia. Just brilliant.
Cuba : get ready for "liberation" and do you have any resources the US can steal ? They love to shove Democracy, so brace yourselves.
My definition of normalization would be ceding the entire Guantanamo complex back to the Cuban people.
Yes, the embargo imposed on Cuba worked so well to depose Castro.
Senator Rubio needs a refresher course in our constitution because he cannot stop President Obama from establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba.
What he and his supporters in congress will probably try to do is to pass legislation which either strengthens the current sanctions or pass a bill that will forbid lessening the current sanctions both of which will be vetoed by President Obama. They may even poison-pill bills of their own party to do this.
Senator Rubio may be in for a shock when it comes to the views of the younger generation of Cuban immigrants. They may feel so strongly American that they do not care about Senator Rubio's (and Menendez) antics.
what a man
Of course the timing of this is just a little suspicious. Just as the torture report is gaining traction in the establishment media. This gives them a good excuse to focus on less relevant stuff.