Last updated on: 6/26/2020 10:56:32 AM PST
Should the US Ease or Cancel the Embargo against Cuba?
President Eisenhower signed the first version of the Cuba embargo on Oct. 19, 1960. On Dec. 17, 2014, President Obama eased commerce and travel restrictions, removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, and took steps to reestablish diplomatic relations, including reopening an embassy in Havana and being the first sitting President to travel to Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. On Oct. 26, 2016, the UN General Assembly voted for the 25th consecutive year for the US to end the embargo on Cuba, and, for the first time ever, the US abstained from voting rather than voting to oppose the measure.
On June 16, 2017, President Trump announced that the embassy in Cuba would remain open but that the administration would enforce the embargo, canceling Obama's changes.
For more information, visit cuba-embargo.procon.org.
Pro (Yes)
Pro
Jim DeFede: "Cuba policy. Would you go back to the Obama policy with regard to Cuba if you were... elected President?
Biden: "Yes, I would. In large part, I would go back [to the policy set by President Obama that loosened sanctions]. I'd still insist they keep the commitments they said they would make when we, in fact, set the policy in place... [T]here's no reason why we cannot still sanction them, but failing to recognize them at all is a different thing than sanctioning them."
Source: Jim DeFede, "Joe Biden Confident He'll Turn Florida Blue, Says He'll Restore Obama-Era Cuba Policies in Exclusive CBS4 Interview," miami.cbslocal.com, Apr. 27, 2020
Pro
"The US should lift the embargo of Cuba immediately and normalize relations."
Source: Howie Hawkins, "Latinx Caucus of the Green Party of the United States Presidential Candidates Questionnaire," howiehawkins.us (accessed June 24, 2020)
Pro
"Lift all restrictions on travel and trade between the U.S. and Cuba."
Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Aug. 26, 2020
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Con (No)
Con
"If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete....
....embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba. Hopefully, all Cuban soldiers will promptly and peacefully return to their island!"
Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Apr. 30, 2019
[Editor's Note: On June 16, 2017, Trump announced, "[E]ffective immediately, I am canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba... Our new policy begins with strictly enforcing U.S. law... We will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalized, and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled...
We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security and intelligence services that are the core of Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo. We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people, so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country’s great, great future — a country of great potential."
Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump on the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba," whitehouse.gov, June 16, 2017]
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