Obameter #222: Open Cuba

Since the 1959 Communist Revolution in Cuba, it has been a thorn in America's side. It was the only US territory to be lost to Communism in the time of the Cold War, and the site of the Cuban Missile Crisis (the closest the world has ever come to global nuclear war). It is awash with human rights violations, including harsh penalties for opposition to the Castro government, extreme censorship of media and the press, and alleged "re-education camps" where forced labor and torture are performed on such groups as homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, conscientious objectors, and political dissidents. Travel within the nation and emigration to other nations are both prohibited barring special approval by the government.

It was to encourage democracy and human rights, and perhaps to "break" the Castro regime, that the United States established a complete trade embargo on Cuba - if you want to trade with Cuba, you cannot trade with the United States or any company based therein. Most people choose to trade with the $12.5 trillion behemoth economy rather than $46 billion speck on the map.

However, signs from Cuba show subtle reforms: gays are no longer openly penalized for their sexuality, religious meetings can now be held openly and freely, and health care and education are doing very well. Many in human rights organizations and the UN now see the embargo as part of the problem. Maybe things are worse precisely because of the sanctions imposed by the USA.

In this political atmosphere, President Obama has fulfilled his promise to open Cuba to travel and remittances from Cuban Americans. People can visit their families and send them money, even bring them cell phones, satellite radios, and televisions as gifts. Broadcasters can extend their services to Cuban shores. US sanctions on these things have been lifted.

Will the lifting of these restrictions send the message of democracy, freedom, and prosperity to the Cuban people, thus undermining or reforming the Cuban regime? Or will it be the sanctions and embargo that is undermined, thus empowering the oppressive Castro government?

Honestly, I can't begin to guess. The complexity of the problem is beyond me. All I see are families separated by an ocean and two governments, and Obama moving one of those governments out of the way. Family is sacrosanct. All else is just hope or fear.

Obama has my support on this one. He also has the support of most Cuban-Americans, who largely favor visitation rights but oppose an end to the embargo and are largely Republican voters. Smart political strategy as well as support for families.