Gerard Dion's Blog, page 6

Raúl Castro: Cuba won’t compromise sovereignty to normalize US relations

President said Cuba hopes to continue to repair relations but made it clear that Trump administration should not expect concessions affecting independence

Raúl Castro has said Cuba hopes to continue to normalize relations with the United States but made it clear that the Trump administration should not expect concessions affecting the country’s sovereignty.

Before taking office, Donald Trump threatened to torpedo the still fragile detente between the former cold war foes unless a “better deal” could be struck, without providing details. His aides have said current policy is under review.

“Cuba and the United States can cooperate and live side by side in a civilized manner, respecting our differences and promoting all that is of benefit for both countries and people,” Castro said in his government’s first remarks since Trump became president on Friday.

Top diplomatic negotiator in Cuba warns Trump: ‘aggression doesn’t work’

 

“But it should not hope that to achieve this Cuba will make concessions inherent to its independence and sovereignty,” he said, in a speech to a summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in the Dominican Republic broadcast live on Cuban television.

Seeking to reverse more than 50 years of US efforts to force communist-run Cuba to change by isolating it, Obama agreed with Castro in December 2014 to work to normalize relations. Since then the two countries have restored diplomatic ties and signed cooperation agreements.

Obama, a Democrat, used executive orders to circumvent the longstanding US trade embargo on Cuba and ease some restrictions on travel and business. The embargo can only be lifted by the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans.

The normalization process has included the signing of 22 agreements between the two former cold war foes and the use of executive orders to punch holes in the embargo.

The agreements include cooperation on environmental and security issues, immigration and the postal service.

Travel to the Caribbean island from the United States has increased, with the start of direct flights and cruises and roaming agreements signed, but no manufacturing or significant trade deals have been inked.

Castro said he hoped the Trump administration would respect the region but called “worrisome” its declared intentions to put at risk “our interests in the areas of trade, employment, migration and the environment”, apparently referring to Mexico.

Repeal of ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy leaves Cubans stranded far from home

Hundreds of Cuban migrants who sold everything to afford trek across Central America now have no refuge in US: ‘Obama’s decision is killing our dreams’

Hundreds of Cubans who sold their homes and belongings in pursuit of an American dream that now lies in tatters have been stranded in Central America and Mexico on Friday after Washington abruptly ended a lenient immigration policy.

Barack Obama on Thursday repealed a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the US, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to US policy.

The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached US soil to stay, but returned any picked up at sea, took effect immediately. Cuban officials had long sought the change, arguing it would discourage people-trafficking and dangerous journeys.

José Enrique Manreza, who sold his house and possessions in Havana to embark on a epic trip by plane, bus and foot through the rainforests of French Guiana, Colombia and Panama, estimated he had spent about $10,000 on the journey.

“Imagine how I feel, after I spent six days and six nights running through rivers and jungles in the humidity,” said Manreza, at a migrant shelter in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, where he heard the news, along with 30 other Cubans.

In Honduras, 75 Cubans were waiting to move on to Mexico and the US border. In Panama, another 75 gathered in the tree-shaded patio of the Caritas shelter in the capital. Many had sold everything they owned to pay for the voyage of a lifetime. Some said hundreds more were still traversing the treacherous forests of the Darién region bordering Colombia.

Some expressed dismay that Obama, who is popular in Cuba for punching holes in the US economic embargo and reinstating diplomatic relations, had taken a measure they saw as hurting ordinary Cubans.

“Obama’s decision is killing our dreams,” said Yancys Riccart, 25, a teaching assistant, who said her journey took her through Guyana, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. She said she was worried she would be mistreated or not given work by Cuban authorities if she went back home.

Víctor Berrios, a deacon for Roman Catholic charity Caritas, urged the migrants not to rush into the hands of people traffickers to reach the US, reminding them that President-elect Donald Trump could reinstate the law when he assumes the presidency on 20 January.

“Be patient, we know that from the 20th there will be another government. Do not lose hope. Have faith,” Berrios said.

Washington has unveiled a flurry of last-minute agreements to try to prevent Trump reversing the 2014 detente with Cuba, one of Obama’s flagship policies.

Trump has said he would scrap Obama’s Cuba policy unless the Cubans presented a better deal, but it was not immediately clear if he would try to bring back “wet-foot, dry-foot”.

Cubans risking their lives en route to US as thaw triggers immigration policy fears

 

Anticipating the end of the policy, Cuban immigration has surged since the 2014 normalization. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said some 40,000 Cubans arrived in the US in 2015 and about 54,000 in 2016.

Thousands of Cubans gathered in Costa Rica and Panama last year as Central American countries struggled to cope with the influx. El Salvador welcomed the new policy, saying all immigrants should be treated equally.

Honduras, a source of thousands of immigrants to the US each year, despite no Cuban-style special treatment, said it was waiting to see if the policy led to fewer Cubans traveling. Mexico’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

Manreza said his wife, a nurse, was working in Venezuela as part of a Cuban oil-for-doctors program. Obama also rolled back a “medical parole” program dating back to 2006 that allowed Cuban doctors working in third countries to move to the US simply by walking into a US embassy.

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“She cried when I called her,” he said, without indicating whether she had intended to defect under the program.

Manreza, who ran a soda warehouse in Havana before he left in December with his daughter, said he was deciding whether to return to Cuba, broke, or seek asylum in Mexico.

Iván Díaz, 45, a health administrator, said he had no intention of turning back.

He left Cuba three months ago with his wife. He said the dash for the US had cost about $25,000 for him, his wife and Miami family members who sent money to support them.

“I’ve got $10 left in my pocket,” said Díaz at the Tapachula center. “We are going to carry on. We don’t lose anything by going to the Laredo border. We must be able to do something. Otherwise, let them deport me back to Cuba.”

US Cuba policy has been hijacked by Cuban-Americans

Monday 5 June 2017 14.16 EDT

US policy toward Cuba (Trump reverses Obama’s Cuba deal, limiting travel and trade, 17 June) has been hijacked by a clique of Cuban-American politicians, who have sold their support in Congress to President Donald Trump. Above all, these individuals – and Trump – have demonstrated the corrupt and clientelist nature of the US political system. Can such a system serve as a symbol of “freedom” to anyone in the world?

Cuba’s medical brigades serve in over 100 nations, tending to the poorest and most disadvantaged – and they were instrumental in controlling the Ebola epidemic in Africa, a feat acknowledged by the WHO. It has one of the world’s highest physician-to-population ratios, the longevity of its population is comparable to that of the US, and Cubans receive free healthcare, education, housing, pensions and employment security. Cuba has no drug traffickers, drug addiction, gangs, mobsters, homelessness, illiteracy or malnutrition. The country’s advances in biotechnology stand alone in Latin America, as a symbol of what a small nation with very limited resources can do.

These accomplishments were achieved despite a punishing 55-year-old embargo perpetrated by the world’s most powerful nation – which has included innumerable acts of economic sabotage, espionage, assassinations and military aggression.

Luis Suarez-Villa

Professor emeritus, University of California, Irvine

While US-Cuba diplomatic relations were renewed by Barack Obamaand limited openings have taken place, the reality for Cuba has been a continuation of the aggressive policies from its superpower neighbour. US citizens are only allowed to travel there under special licence, international companies are still being fined for trading with Cuba, and trade and investment in the island is stifled by the threats of severe penalties against those breaking the blockade.

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During Obama’s term of office, 56 fines, totalling some $14bn, were imposed on international companies for violations of the blockade. Since the “normalisation” of relations, the US government has fined 11 international companies a further $2.8bn.

In October 2016 a Cuban motion was passed at the UN calling for an end to the blockade. In November 2015, the Co-operative Bank closed the Cuba Solidarity Campaign accounts in the UK as a direct consequence of US blockade policies. Niall Booker, the bank’s CEO, confirmed that the closure was due to “risk” arising from “the sanctions that are in place imposed by Ofac [the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control]”.

Rob Miller

Director, Cuba Solidarity campaign

Vietnam: it is regrettable to hear the recent decisions of US President Donald Trump on Cuba

The Director of the Vietnamese Archives Dan Thant Tung said on Monday in Havana that it is regrettable to hear the recent decisions of US President Donald Trump of reinforcing its blockade against Cuba.

He told ACN that it is deplorable to hear about Washington’s changes which were previously more feasible between the two nations, referring to the setback in the recent announcement of the US President on the process of normalization of mutual relations.

Master in Science, Marta Marina Ferriol Marchena, Director of the National Archives of the Republic of Cuba (ARNAC) agreed with her Vietnamese colleague in that the new dispositions are a return to the Cold War after both sides were able to begin a process of respect.

Ferriol Marchena and Thant Tung signed on Monday a letter of intention aimed at organizing activities on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Havana and Hanoi.

According to the document, an exchange of experts is foreseen, joint exhibitions in addition to negotiations in storing information via email.

Thant Tung is Master in Science and originally from the Port of Haiphong, where the US attacks began in 1972 against North Vietnam.

This is his first visit to Havana heading a delegation that will hold talks at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the Office of Historic Affairs of the Council of State.

The ARNAC has the largest testimony on the history of the Cuban nationality and was founded on January 28th, 1840 with the name of the Real Hacienda General Archive and is the 5th of this type of institution created in Latin America, after Argentina (1821), Mexico (1823), Bolivia (1825) and Brazil (1838).

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Set To Roll Back Obama’s Cuba Policies

President Donald Trump is set to announce a rollback of former President Barack Obama’s policies toward Cuba, The Daily Caller has learned.

Two sources told TheDC that the development is due to the behind-the-scenes efforts of Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and Republican Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

This information coming from an anti-embargo group, which spoke on the condition of anonymity, was confirmed Sunday by John Kavulich of the nonpartisan U.S. – Cuba Trade and Economic Council. “The Trump Administration has been ‘ready’ since February 2017 to announce changes, but issues unrelated to Cuba have intervened,” Kavulich said.

Former President Obama worked to enact several changes to Cuban policy during his tenure in office. He ended the policy known as “wet foot, dry foot” that gave Cuban illegal immigrants a path to legal status, opened travel to the island nation, re-established diplomatic relations and loosened restrictions on doing business in the country.

These moves were applauded along bipartisan lines, but Cuban hardliners weren’t pleased. Trump himself has been on both sides of the issue. He told TheDC in 2015 that the “concept of opening with Cuba is fine,” but on the campaign trail he threatened to “terminate” deals that the Obama administration made with Cuba.

The campaign trail rhetoric carried over into the administration, as Trump said in a February press conference that he has “very similar views” on Cuba as Sen. Rubio.

His administration launched a “full review” of Cuban policy, and White House press secretary Sean Spicer told TheDC Sunday that there “are no updates on this issue at this time.”

Rubio and Rep. Diaz-Balart, however, have been publicly confident that Trump will bring back hardline policies against Cuba. The National Journal reported Wednesday that Diaz-Balart said he is “1,000 percent sure the president is going to deliver on his commitment.”

“I have no doubt that you’re going to see in short order a different policy,” the Cuban-American legislator added. Rubio tweeted in March that he is “quite confident” Trump will “treat [Cuba] like a dictatorship.”

The Florida senator also told El Nuevo Herald, “We’ve been walking through all these issues with the president and his team, figuring out the right steps to take and when.”

Sen. Menendez has not spoken on the topic since Trump became president, and a spokeswoman told TheDC she is unaware of these concessions from the Trump administration.

Diaz-Balart’s office did not respond to a media inquiry about behind-the-scenes work with the Trump administration, and a Rubio spokesman said he can’t provide TheDC with “anything at this time.”

The anti-embargo group told TheDC that Trump will announce these changes in a June speech in Miami. The White House also refused to confirm or deny this.

Kavulich said that the administration will enact “increased enforcement relating to travel,” and “a focus upon discouraging transactions with entities controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of the Republic of Cuba.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts International currently has a hotel under management that is owned by a company controlled by the FAR, according to Kavulich.

The move to enact stricter policies toward Cuba will likely land the president criticism from several of his Republican colleagues. A bill introduced by Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake Thursday to remove all travel restrictions with Cuba has nine Republican cosponsors.

“Recognizing the inherent right of Americans to travel to Cuba isn’t a concession to dictators, it is an expression of freedom,” Sen. Flake said in a statement. “It is Americans who are penalized by our travel ban, not the Cuban government.”

Donald Trump’s thoughts on the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy

Donald Trump’s thoughts on the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy

On Aug. 11, 2016, Donald Trump gave his thoughts on the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ Cuban immigration policy as part of a wide-ranging interview with Miami Herald reporter Patricia Mazzei focused on South Florida issues.

Emily Michot Miami Herald

But Trump’s policy shop, citing the president’s political agenda, signaled the White House would want to make changes, the sources said — and was already talking about them to Cuban-American lawmakers from Miami.

“Only the president will decide the best course to take in regard to U.S. relations with Cuba,” a senior White House official said Thursday. “The president is aware that government repression against Cuban opposition, dissidents and peaceful civic protesters such as the Ladies in White have dramatically increased since the renewing of diplomatic relations with Cuba.”

As a candidate, Trump vowed in Miami last September to “reverse” Obama’s Cuba “concessions.” His campaign credited Trump’s visit a month later to Little Havana’s Bay of Pigs Museum, where he accepted an endorsement from the Brigade 2506 veterans, as an important reason he won Florida on Election Night — an assertion disputed by supporters of Cuban engagement.

“As the President has said, the current Cuba policy is a bad deal,” another senior White House official said Thursday. “It does not do enough to support human rights in Cuba.

“We are in the final stages of our Cuba policy review,” the official said. “However, a final decision on a path forward has not yet been made. Once the review is complete, we will announce the results.”

An announcement is expected in coming weeks — perhaps from Trump himself in a Miami visit as early as June —but no date has been set.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio

Tasos Katopodis Getty Images

Pushing a harder line are two Republican lawmakers, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami. Both have spoken to the White House several times on Cuba policy, though Rubio is said to be dealing with Trump and his aides more closely, given his more dispassionate demeanor and willingness to accept some Cuban engagement, especially ahead of Castro’s planned 2018 retirement.

“I am confident the president will keep his commitment on Cuba policy by making changes that are targeted and strategic and which advance the Cuban people’s aspirations for economic and political liberty,” Rubio said in a statement.

Diaz-Balart brought up Cuba when the White House courted his vote for the American Health Care Act beginning in March, though he has repeatedly denied trading his healthcare support for any commitment from the White House on Cuba policy. He was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

Roberto Koltun Miami Herald

Among the changes the White House has considered for months is restricting popular “people-to-people” travel to Cuba, which allows Americans to visit for educational and cultural exchange purposes. Critics consider such trips outright tourism in violation of the Cuban trade embargo, which can only be lifted by Congress.

“Travel is at stake in the review,” said James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, a lobbying group.

Last week, in an attempted show of force to the White House, more than 50 senators backed legislation to eliminate U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba. On Thursday, Engage Cuba claimed undoing Obama’s policies would result in steep economic losses for the U.S.

Prohibiting existing commercial flights and cruises to Cuba could prove difficult, several sources familiar with the regulations said, though banning business between U.S. companies and companies tied to the Cuban military — an idea pushed by Rubio and Diaz-Balart — would affect American firms already working in Cuba. For example, Starwood Hotels and Resorts manages hotels in Cuba owned by the Gaviota chain, a military enterprise.

Enforcing such a ban might require the Treasury Department to create a list of companies known to be linked to the Cuban military, sanction specific individuals or companies, or require Cuban companies doing business with U.S. firms to certify that they don’t have any military ties.

Trump addresses Cuban American Foundation in Miami

Donald Trump spoke to the Cuban American National Foundation in 1999, casting himself as a pro-embargo hardliner who refused to do potentially lucrative business in Cuba until Fidel Castro was gone. Keyframe photo by Tim Chapman of Donald Trump as he blasts Fidel Castro and says we need to keep the embargo on Cuba while at the Bay of Pigs Association in Little Havana, on Nov. 15, 1999.

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Neither of the Cuban-American lawmakers have sought to close the U.S. embassy in Havana, or to return to the policies of former President George W. Bush, who restricted family travel and remittances to Cuba.

A member of the business community with knowledge of the situation who did not want to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the subject said Cuba is not a top priority of the Trump White House, which has yet to push anything significant through Congress.

But the person said that Rubio and Diaz-Balart are engaged in an intense lobbying effort pushing the administration to act.

“I don’t think Trump cares,” the person said.

Kumar and Ordoñez reported from Washington.

How Cuba policy, and its inevitable drama, ensnared Trump’s White House

How Cuba policy, and its inevitable drama, ensnared Trump’s White House

On Aug. 11, 2016, Donald Trump gave his thoughts on the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ Cuban immigration policy as part of a wide-ranging interview with Miami Herald reporter Patricia Mazzei focused on South Florida issues.

Emily Michot Miami Herald

But Trump’s policy shop, citing the president’s political agenda, signaled the White House would want to make changes, the sources said — and was already talking about them to Cuban-American lawmakers from Miami.

“Only the president will decide the best course to take in regard to U.S. relations with Cuba,” a senior White House official said Thursday. “The president is aware that government repression against Cuban opposition, dissidents and peaceful civic protesters such as the Ladies in White have dramatically increased since the renewing of diplomatic relations with Cuba.”

As a candidate, Trump vowed in Miami last September to “reverse” Obama’s Cuba “concessions.” His campaign credited Trump’s visit a month later to Little Havana’s Bay of Pigs Museum, where he accepted an endorsement from the Brigade 2506 veterans, as an important reason he won Florida on Election Night — an assertion disputed by supporters of Cuban engagement.

“As the President has said, the current Cuba policy is a bad deal,” another senior White House official said Thursday. “It does not do enough to support human rights in Cuba.

“We are in the final stages of our Cuba policy review,” the official said. “However, a final decision on a path forward has not yet been made. Once the review is complete, we will announce the results.”

An announcement is expected in coming weeks — perhaps from Trump himself in a Miami visit as early as June —but no date has been set.

Rollback of Cuba Policies Will Harm U.S. Agriculture

Rollback of Cuba Policies Will Harm U.S. Agriculture – Southeast AgNET

A recent study says any rollback of Obama-era moves to normalize relations with Cuba will harm U.S. Agriculture. The study by Engage Cuba, a coalition of private companies seeking an end to the Cuba embargo, says any new regulations on exporting agricultural commodities to Cuba could cost $1.5 billion and affect 2,200 U.S. jobs. That’s on top of the estimated $6.6 billion economic impact and near 13,000 jobs on the line, if President Donald Trump changes provisions by former President Barack Obama.

USA Today says the expected rollback by President Trump is largely based on discussions with Cuban-American Republican lawmakers from Florida, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, and Senator Marco Rubio. The announcement would come eight months after candidate Trump promised Cuban-Americans during a Miami campaign speech that he would reverse Obama’s policies on Cuba if the Castro government didn’t increase political and religious freedoms.

(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)

Trump likely to close Cuba doors that Obama opened

Trump likely to close Cuba doors that Obama opened – People’s World

Trump likely to close Cuba doors that Obama opened – People’s World





Juvenal Balán/Granma

Reuters, The New York Times, and other news outlets are echoing a May 29 report by the right-wing Daily Caller website stating that “President Donald Trump is set to announce a rollback of former President Barack Obama’s policies toward Cuba.” The report attributed the information to John Kavulich of the U.S. – Cuba Trade and Economic Council.  He in turn had learned of change in the wind from “an anti-embargo group.”

The Daily Caller suggests the Trump administration is responding to pressure from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Bob Menendez, (D-NJ), and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), all Cuban-American legislators.

There is agreement among journalists who cover the White House that the administration will probably announce new Cuba policies during June, although delay is possible.

In a June 1 front page story the Times suggests that the Trump administration will be alleging Cuban human rights abuses to justify this return to the past. Trump wants to “fulfill a pledge, delivered during a speech in Miami in September, to a crucial constituency that disproportionately supported him.”

Citing anonymous sources within the administration, the Times reporter claims that the expected executive actions will be targeting “American companies and firms that have ties to the Cuban military.”  The story cites Robert L. Muse, a lawyer knowledgeable about Cuban affairs, predicting that the impact would be considerable, inasmuch as the Cuban Army’s reach extends throughout the Cuban economy.

Muse opined that, “This is a return to the old playbook of creating ambiguity and uncertainty so that nobody knows what is permissible and what isn’t, and it would add another level of legal exposure to doing business in Cuba.”

The Trump administration may be on the verge also of reversing President Obama’s easing of restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba. And, as the Times reports, “the president is weighing an increase in funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs that promote democracy in Cuba.” Cuba, for its part, tags these as U. S. interference with hostile intent in Cuban affairs.

Notably, however, “USAID programs in Cuba … aren’t funded under the Trump administration’s proposed State Department budget for Fiscal Year 2018,” according to the Miami Herald.

According to “people familiar with the discussion,” who informed the New York Times, a split over the future direction of Trump’s Cuba policies has emerged between “senior officials” and Trump’s “legislative affairs operation.”  The divide surfaced at a meeting in May organized by the National Security Council. In that meeting, the first group pointed to advantages under current regulations that stem from “cooperation in intelligence-sharing, drug interdiction, scientific research and a host of other areas.”

Responding to the prospect of barriers reappearing, Engage Cuba, an organization representing U. S. businesses that seek working relations with Cuba, issued a wide – ranging report that spelled out adverse economic effects from any revamping of U. S. policies. Summarizing, it said that, “a reversal of Cuba policies would [within four years] cost the U.S. economy $6.6 billion and affect 12,295 American jobs.” And national security interests would be threatened.

In a June 5 editorial highly critical of Trump administration changes presumably on the way, the New York Times referred to Engage Cuba’s dire projections.  The group’s analysis, however, assumes that “the entire U.S. regulatory regime” is going to return. But the Trump administration has given no indication that such will be the case.

Academician William M. LeoGrande, an expert on the history of Cuba – U. S. negotiations, commented in January on the possibility of a reversal of Obama policies.  He pointed to a paradox: the Trump administration would be acquiescing to the demands of Cuban – American politicians. But in the recent presidential election, far fewer Cuban – Americans voted for Trump in 2016 than voted for Republican candidates before 2012. Crucially, opinion surveys show that most Cuban – Americans want normal U. S. – Cuban relations.

Anticipating the reversal of some or all of President Obama’s reforms,  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently noted “[h]ow sadly ironic and short-sighted it would be if, soon after singing the praises of the repressive leaders of Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, President Trump were to return to a failed 55-year-old policy of sanctions and ultimatums against tiny Cuba.”  

The Latin American Working Group (LAWG) is a Washington – based organization advocating for human rights in Latin America before Congress and the White House.  The LAWG on May 30 called for agitation to prevent the Trump administration from reinstating Bush – era Cuba policies.

Undoing All the Good Work on Cuba

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDJUNE 5, 2017

To the long list of Barack Obama’s major initiatives that President Trump is obsessed with reversing, we may soon be able to add Cuba. In 2014, Mr. Obama opened a dialogue with Cuba after more than a half-century of unyielding hostility, leading to an easing of sanctions. Mr. Trump promised in his campaign to return to a more hard-line approach. If he does, as seems likely, he will further isolate America, hurt American business interests and, quite possibly, impede the push for greater democracy on the Caribbean island.

Soon after his election, Mr. Trump declared, vaguely but ominously, that if Cuba did not “make a better deal” he would “terminate deal.” He gave no specifics and no decisions have been announced. But details of what a policy reversal could look like are emerging.

The aim generally would be to reimpose limits on travel and commerce, supposedly to punish Cuba’s despotic government, now led by Raúl Castro, brother of the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Among the measures being considered are blocking transactions by American companies with firms that have ties to the Cuban military, which is deeply enmeshed in the economy, and tightening restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba that Mr. Obama eased last year before his historic trip to Havana.

This hard-line sanctions-based approach was in place for more than 50 years after the 1959 revolution and never produced what anti-Castro activists hoped would be the result, the ouster of Cuba’s Communist government in favor of democracy. Isolating Cuba has become increasingly indefensible.

Mr. Obama’s opening to Havana has enabled the freer flow of people, goods and information between the two countries, even as significant differences remain over human rights. It has produced bilateral agreements on health care cooperation, joint planning to mitigate oil spills, coordination on counternarcotics efforts and intelligence-sharing. In April, Google’s servers went live in Cuba and thus it became the first foreign internet company to host content in one of the most unplugged nations on earth. Mr. Obama’s approach also encouraged Latin American countries to be more receptive to the United States as a partner in regional problem-solving.

A large pro-engagement coalition that includes lawmakers from both parties, businesses and young Cuban-Americans is pushing the White House to build on the foundation of engagement it inherited from Mr. Obama, not tear it down. Engage Cuba, representing business groups, economists and leading Cuba experts, has estimated that a reversal of Mr. Obama’s policies would cost the American economy $6.6 billion and affect more than 12,000 American jobs.

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The group predicts that the hardest-hit areas will be rural communities that rely on agriculture, manufacturing and shipping industries, as well as Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, all of which supported Mr. Trump in the 2016 election. Among the deals that could be squashed is one struck by Starwood Hotels and Resorts last year to manage hotels in Cuba; future ones would effectively be frozen.

The White House and its allies argue that the Cuban government remains despotic and must be pressured to reform. But pressure has had a minimal impact and the human rights concerns are disingenuous, given Mr. Trump’s effusive embrace of authoritarian leaders from President Vladimir Putin in Russia to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt. He also pointedly told Sunni Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia last month that he has no intention of lecturing them on their repressive behavior toward their citizens.

As with his decision to withdraw from the global climate agreement, Mr. Trump’s approach to Cuba reflects a craven desire to curry favor with his political base, in this case conservative Republicans from Florida who are viscerally anti-Castro. That might help him get re-elected in 2020, but it would help no one else.

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Strengthening ties with Cuba cannot guarantee Cuban reforms, but it is the best bet.

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