Former U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry Shares A Biden Administration Approach To Cuba- And Cuba Won't Like It
/The Miami Herald
Miami, Florida
9 September 2020
Biden needs to fine-tune his message on Cuba the way John Kerry has | Opinion
By Andres Oppenheimer
As secretary of State, John Kerry, shaking hands with Raul Castro, oversaw the Obama administration’s normalization of relations with Cuba. Chip Somodevilla Getty Images
Democratic candidate Joe Biden desperately needs to correct his message to Miami’s Cuban-American voters if he wants to carry this crucial state on the Nov. 3. Some of his top campaign surrogates are beginning to do that — and he should waste no time in following their tune.
Until now, Biden and other former Obama administration officials had steadfastly defended the former president’s 2014 normalization of relations with Cuba. Biden has vowed to lift President Trump’s limits on travel and family remittances to the island, while continuing to defend human rights and pro-democracy activists on the island.
But it’s time for Biden to concede that Obama’s opening to Cuba was not as successful as it seemed when it was announced. Obama had vowed to open up economic ties with the island to help promote a vibrant private sector there while stepping up the pressure on Cuba’s dictatorship to respect basic freedoms. Obama did much of the first, but not enough of the second.
So I was pleasantly surprised when John Kerry, secretary of State under Obama, told me in a Sept. 4 interview that he’s somewhat disappointed with the Cuban regime’s response to Obama’s normalization of ties with Cuba.
Kerry, who is campaigning for Biden and is one of the former vice-president’s policy advisers, oversaw the Obama administration’s opening to Cuba six years ago. His admission carries extra weight.
“It’s fair to say that everybody shares a little bit of disappointment about the direction that the government in Cuba chose to go” after the normalization of U.S.-Cuba ties, Kerry told me. He added that, “Cuba seemed to harden down after the initial steps were taken.”
Kerry said that while almost six decades of U.S. trade sanctions on the island failed to bring about democratic changes, and Trump’s recent sanctions should be reversed, a Biden presidency would probably “re-invigorate” America’s human-rights policies on Cuba.
“I think the vice president, as president, will very much want to make it clear that human rights is at the forefront of American foreign policy, that Cuba will need to be called out on some of the human-rights abuses,” Kerry told me.
Granted, Kerry may have said that in an effort to improve Biden’s support among Cuban Americans. Trump currently holds a 38 percentage point lead among likely Cuban-American voters in Miami, according to a Bendixen & Amandi poll released Sept. 8 by the Miami Herald. A separate NBC poll shows Biden and Trump even in Florida, which makes Cuban-American votes a potentially deciding factor in the race’s outcome.
But regardless of whether Kerry’s remarks were part of a campaign strategy or not — for the record, I requested the interview with Kerry through the Biden campaign office — it would be the right policy for a Biden administration to follow.
The Miami Herald
Miami, Florida
29 October 2020
Biden also made direct appeals to Cubans and Venezuelans, many of whom live in South Florida after fleeing their countries. “We have to vote for a new Cuba policy as well,” Biden said. “Trump is the worst possible standard-bearer for democracy in places like Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea. Cuba is no closer to freedom and democracy today than it was four years ago. Trump loves to talk tough, but he doesn’t care about the Cuban and Venezuelan people. He won’t even grant Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans fleeing the oppressive Maduro regime. I will, but we have to vote.”
The Hill
Washington DC
28 April 2020
“In large part, I would go back,” Biden said in an interview with a CBS affiliate in Miami. “I’d still insist they keep the commitments they said they would make when we, in fact, set the policy in place.”
EFE
Madrid, Spain
27 October 2020
Interview With Senator Kamala Harris (D- California)
CONTINUATION OF THE BLOCKADE TO CUBA
Q: What would a future government of yours and that of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden do to reverse the policies that Trump has adopted towards Cuba? Would you personally advocate for an end to the blockade?
A: The policy of a Biden and Harris Administration towards Cuba would be governed by two principles: first, Americans, especially Cuban-Americans, are the best ambassadors of freedom in Cuba. Second, empowering the Cuban people to determine their own future is vital to America's national security interests.
Trump is deporting hundreds of Cubans back to dictatorship and back to a regime crackdown that has only increased under his presidency. There are nearly 10,000 Cubans languishing in tent camps along the Mexican border due to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. And it is separating Cuban families through restrictions on family visits and remittances.
We will backtrack on Trump's failed policies. And as he did previously as vice president, Joe Biden will also demand the release of political prisoners and will make human rights a centerpiece in the diplomatic relationship.
The embargo is the law; you need an act of Congress to lift it or you need the president to determine that a democratically elected government is in power in Cuba. We don't expect any of these things to happen anytime soon.
Q: From the US foreign policy perspective, what role do you think Spain can play in relations with Cuba and, in general, with Latin America?
A: Under a Biden and Harris Administration, the US will work with members of the international community, including Spain, to support the Cuban people, as well as promote Joe Biden's vision of the need to work for a safe hemisphere, middle class and democratic.
Washington, 27 oct (EFE).- Kamala Harris, que en solo una semana podría convertirse en la primera vicepresidenta de EE.UU., reconoció en una entrevista con Efe que romper barreras a veces duele y te hace sangrar, pero aseguró que siempre "valdrá la pena, todas y cada una de las veces".
Harris siente una gran responsabilidad para hablar con “voz firme” en nombre de aquellos que aún viven excluidos y prometió que si llega a la Casa Blanca luchará por la igualdad de "todos" los estadounidenses. En una entrevista por escrito con Efe, la senadora reflexionó sobre su carrera y la influencia de su madre y también reveló qué políticas adoptará una nueva Administración demócrata en asuntos como el asilo a refugiados centroamericanos y las relaciones con Cuba, España, la Unión Europea (UE) y la OTAN.
CONTINUACIÓN DEL BLOQUEO A CUBA
P: ¿Qué haría un futuro Gobierno suyo y del candidato demócrata Joe Biden para revertir las políticas que Trump ha adoptado hacia Cuba? ¿Abogaría usted personalmente por el fin del bloqueo?
R: La política de una Administración de Biden y Harris hacia Cuba estaría gobernada por dos principios: primero, los estadounidenses, especialmente los cubano-estadounidenses, son los mejores embajadores de la libertad en Cuba. Segundo, dar poder al pueblo cubano para que determine su propio futuro es vital para los intereses de seguridad nacional de EE.UU. Trump está deportando a cientos de cubanos de vuelta a la dictadura y de vuelta a una represión del régimen que solo ha aumentado bajo su Presidencia. Hay casi 10.000 cubanos que están languideciendo en campamentos de tiendas de campaña a lo largo de la frontera con México debido a la agenda antiinmigrante de Trump. Y está separando a familias cubanas mediante restricciones a las visitas familiares y las remesas. Nosotros daremos marcha atrás en las políticas fallidas de Trump. Y como hizo anteriormente como vicepresidente, Joe Biden, también exigirá la liberación de los presos políticos y hará de los derechos humanos una pieza central en la relación diplomática. El embargo es la ley; se necesita una ley del Congreso para levantarlo o se necesita que el presidente determine que un Gobierno elegido democráticamente está en el poder en Cuba. No esperamos que ninguna de estas cosas ocurra pronto.
P: Desde la perspectiva de política exterior de EE.UU., ¿qué papel cree que España puede jugar en las relaciones con Cuba y, en general, con Latinoamérica?
R: Bajo una Administración de Biden y Harris, EE.UU. trabajará con miembros de la comunidad internacional, incluida España, para apoyar al pueblo cubano, así como para promover la visión de Joe Biden sobre la necesidad de trabajar por un hemisferio seguro, de clase media y democrático.
