President Joe Biden surprised many this Monday by announcing the lifting of some of the restrictions against Cuba that had been reimposed during Donald Trump’s four years in the White House.
(In context: The United States lifts some of its economic sanctions against Venezuela)
Also a newspaper report miami herald indicated that Biden will also soon ease some of the sanctions that weighed against the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
In the case of Cuba, there is the reestablishment of commercial flights to cities other than Havana, the suspension of a limit of US $1,000 dollars every three months on the remittances that could be sent to the island and the resumption of the family reunification program.
Few details were known about Venezuela, but there is talk of two sections: a first in which some sanctions would be reduced that will alleviate the situation of the Venezuelan people in exchange for the reestablishment of dialogues with the opposition in Mexico. And a second, deeperoy which includes oil exportswhich will depend on the advances in that table.
The announcement is related to the difficulties that the Summit has posed for Biden
The reason for Biden’s decisions is something that is still a matter of discussion.
But there are several reasons that are obvious. Between them, the Summit of the Americas to be held next month in Los Angeles and the always controversial immigration issue.
Even before winning the elections, Biden had promised that he would reverse the measures taken by Trump both in the case of Cuba and Venezuela.
(You may be interested: The reactions in Miami to the relief of the measures against the Cuban regime)
Something that makes sense because one of the legacies of the Barack Obama administration (2008-2016) and of which he was a part as vice president, was the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries after almost 50 years of hostility. In the case of Caracas, the administration has been saying for some time that the four years of maximum pressure that Trump imposed against the regime did not produce results and new alternatives had to be considered.
However, his plans were put on hold last year after the Cuban regime’s brutal repression against protesters on the island who took to the streets and provoked an angry reaction in the US, especially among the Cuban American community.
And the plans with Maduro got complicated later that it was leaked that his administration intended to lift the sanctions on the sale of oil to compensate for fuel shortages caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Some Democratic allies of Biden in Congress, such as Senator Bob Menéndez, warned the president that any sign of weakness in the face of these regimes would be harshly criticized because a dictatorship responsible for extensive human rights violations could not be rewarded.
Even so, inside the administration, work continued on a scheme that, without rewarding autocrats, contributes to improving the quality of life of Cubans and Venezuelans.
Among other things, because the bulk of the Democrats, his party, continue to believe, like Obama, that the economic embargo has not worked and that the best way to produce a change in Cuba is through policies that stimulate trade openness between the two countries.
From there, says Cynthia Arnson, director for Latin America at the Woodrow Wilson Center, that the measures announced by Biden are “limited” and focused on benefiting the populationwhich is experiencing very hard times due to the economic hardships that the Covid-19 pandemic has also caused in the region.
But according to Arnson, the main reason behind the announcements about the island is probably the Summit of the Americas.
Several countries in the region have criticized the Democratic administration for its early decision not to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit.
Although the invitations have not yet been sent – they are expected to go out this week – leaders of countries such as Mexico and some Caribbean nations have said they will not attend if all the countries of the Hemisphere are not invited.
“The announcement is related to the difficulties that the Summit has posed for Biden. The president wants to arrive at the meeting with a positive agenda for the region and this relief from sanctions is part of that. Many criticize him because Latin America does not usually be among the priorities of the United States and this is a gesture in that direction,” says Arnson.
(See also: Joe Biden’s helm in relation to the relationship with Cuba)
In addition, the analyst affirms, he was internally criticized for maintaining his predecessor’s policies and not fulfilling his campaign promises.
According to this analyst, however, that will most likely not satisfy its critics in the region. Among other things, because the decision not to invite Cuba or Venezuela is given as a fact and it is unlikely that the countries that have threatened not to attend will change their minds after these announcements.
In that sense, says the expert, this is more aimed at the domestic audience than at the international one.
On the other hand, the decision also responds to a migration issue. For some months now, the number of Cubans arriving at the southern border with the US to try to enter illegally or request asylum has skyrocketed. And something similar had been happening with the Venezuelans.
In fact, right now Cubans are the second largest migrant group after Mexicans. In March of this year alone, the border patrol arrested more than 32,000 Cubans, the largest number recorded since the days of Mariel in the 1980s. The difference now is that they are arriving by land and not by sea.
That has contributed to the immigration crisis at the border, where record numbers of people are arriving and which is an explosive issue for the president.
Thanks to a previous agreement, which took decades, the US. had promised to grant 20,000 visas annually to Cubans as long as and when the island will accept the deportation of those who tried to enter illegally or were inadmissible.
That agreement was suspended in 2018 with the arrival of Trump. But now Biden is in the process of reactivating it to reduce the pressure that already exists on his southern border.
And, to achieve this, he had to grant some concessions, like the ones he announced this Monday.
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As for Venezuela, Biden understands that taking measures that improve the living conditions of Venezuelans – or that finally resolve the humanitarian crisis – contribute to stopping the migratory flow to the United States.
Although the measures are being criticized by Republicans and by anti-Castro Democratic sectors Like Menendez’s, Biden apparently concluded that he had more to gain than lose by taking a limited step toward easing sanctions on both countries.
Administration officials reiterated this Monday that the new policy seeks to promote accountability for human rights abuses, and that is why direct sanctions against members of the regime and the military are included or maintained.
But, in turn, that alternatives be explored to support the population.
“Fundamentally these policies are designed to advance our own national interests without seeking to restore relations with the island’s communist government,” a senior official told reporters in Washington, explaining the logic behind the decision in the Havana case.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
Correspondent of THE TIME
Washington
On Twitter @sergom68
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