From My Perspective June 17, 2009

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to review the case of the Cuban Five will be seen in Havana as coming from the Obama Administration, thus casting further doubts on the potential for a real thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States.

Beyond the sheer injustice that has been done to these five men—whose only crime was not to have registered as agents of the Cuban government—the Court’s decision adds to what appears to be more evidence of this Administration’s lack of political will to deal with Cuba.

While the President did act on his promise to allow unlimited travel by any Americans with family on the Island, his continued mixed signals to Cuba raise the question of whether Obama is really interested in bringing our failed Cuba policy to an end.

In a previous Perspective on April 23, I wrote:  “Obama would be well advised to offer the following as a minimum to encourage Cuba to respond: 1) Close down Radio and TV Marti; 2) Stop funding USAID for the purpose of financing the Cuban opposition; 3) Remove Cuba from the State Department list of terrorist countries; and 4) Release the five Cubans held unjustly in American prisons for espionage.”

Since then, the President has included funds for Radio/TV Marti in his 2010 Budget and the State Department has continued to list Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism.  Now with the Court’s decision, it is clear that the Administration is not willing to give up much, while asking Cuba to make all the changes necessary for a rapprochement.  This indicates a lack of understanding on the part of the President’s team regarding the historical issues that separate both countries.  It is increasingly obvious that the Administration has given in to pressure from the likes of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, a Cuban American born in this country who is a rather eloquent voice for the anti-Castro lobby.

When Barack Obama won the election last November, it was assumed that Cuba would be an easy issue to tackle given that 67% of Americans—and 80% of those who voted for him—supported normalization of relations.  Just like low hanging fruit, ran the conventional wisdom, or mangos bajitos, as they say in Cuba.  However, it is proving to be more elusive.

There is much speculation about what is going on in Cuba today, whether their own economic hardships will create new pressures on Raul Castro’s government that may lead to popular uprisings and potential change, encouraging those who think the Revolution will not survive the Castro brothers and that the U.S. should just wait it out.  This thinking has proved fallacious in the past and it underestimates the support that Cubans share for what the Revolution has accomplished—not just health care and education for all, but national sovereignty.

Soon Cuba will be exploiting its own oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico with the aid of Spain, India, Brazil and Venezuela.  Not only will the Island become energy independent but it will also become an oil exporter, bringing much needed cash to their economy.  Under current embargo policy, American oil companies are denied participation in this new opportunity which is also of great importance to the national security of the U.S.  If only for this reason, the Obama Administration must break the impasse with Cuba and begin the process of normalization that the overwhelming majority of Americans support.

Ricardo Gonzalez