In 2013, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Cuba with my partner and two friends. The Obama administration had relaxed restrictions on travel, and we visited as part of a people-to-people program. Our group flew to Miami, then boarded an American Airlines charter jet that brought us in less than an hour to Jose Marti airport in Havana. Many of our fellow passengers were a Cubans carrying large packages of appliances and other hard-to-get goods to their relatives in Cuba.
We traveled with our travel agent, a native Cuban who had fled the island as a child in 1960 (part of the so-called ”Peter Pan” exodus of Cuban children) and was now an American citizen living in New York City. We stayed in a lovely hotel in the center of Havana, where there were few Americans but many European and South American tourists. We visited museums, the homes of artists, and wonderful small restaurants. The Cuban people we met were friendly, welcoming and looking forward to better times, when the decades-long embargo would finally end. My overall impression was that the embargo had impoverished Cuba and cemented the Castro regime, and that the end of the embargo would stimulate small businesses and breathe life into a stagnant economy. In other words, our policy goals for Cuba—to end the dictatorship and revive a market economy—had utterly failed, but would be advanced by ending the embargo.
Cuba is a beautiful and very poor nation. We were lucky to have gone when we did, because Trump has reversed the limited lifting of the embargo by the Obama administration and made the embargo as punitive as possible.
Commonweal published an article By a Cuban scholar describing the effects of the renewed sanctions. Its main effect seems to be further impoverishing the Cuban people. Trump was pandering to Republican Cuban voters in Florida.
After 60 years of embargo and sanctions, don’t you think that it would be clear by now that the punishment has failed to achieve its aim of regime change and serves only to hurt the Cuban people? If we really wanted to free Cuba, we would open relations and encourage commerce and tourism, as we did with Vietnam and Cambodia, which now have booming economies, or did have before the pandemic.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
My wife and I were there on a Royal Caribbean cruise in 2019. In Havana we engaged a local tour operator, via Facebook, Blexie, in an old automobile. In Cienfuegos we had a local tour on a bicycle driven vehicle. Both tours were revealing as to the reality of Cuba, very sad, no reason for it. From before 1959 on to the current policy we have failed in our goal. Your essay describes our impressions and feelings. The Cuban people we met were very warm, welcoming, friendly. Our flags were displayed all over Havana and Cienfuegos. Real opening with them will be a credit to us and give support to Cubans who desperately want it. Knowing several young Cuban Americans who live in Miami, they want it too. The older Republican Cubans are a dying breed.
When do we end the military occupation of Cuban territory after more than 100 years: Our mini-colony in Cuba, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base/detention (torture) center. We have a phony baloney “lease agreement” which was imposed on Cuba in 1903, before Castro was even born. It’s a weird lease by which the renter of the property controls the area without the consent or approval of the actual owner of the base/detention center. Needless to say, the government of Cuba protests the unjust occupation of the territory by the US government. I thought we believed in freedom, liberty and justice. This has nothing to do with fighting communism since we have occupied the territory long before the Castro regime. Enough, return the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to its rightful owners, the Cuban people.
It is impossible for Trump to do anything that helps people. He is cruel, heartless and never thinks of the consequences of his acts. It infuriates me to know that Trump lies and that so many professed ‘Christians’ believe his never ending lies.
Cubans are brown people and Trump doesn’t respect brown or black people.
How many American lives would have been saved if he’d listened to the medical experts and the W.H.O. on what was happening when this pandemic started in China?
How many people in Iran are suffering from his continuing blockades?
How many immigrants are suffering from having to stay in horrible places like Guatemala to officially request an asylum? Or to stay in crime infested Mexico?
How many immigrants, who came here because of unbelievable hardships, are being housed in unfit concentration camps? How many children will never see their parents again?
Why not push to have schools start in August/September, or have make-ups for missed time during summer school? The economy has to open up so parents can go back to work!
Why not end the enhanced $600 per month for the unemployed? They just want to be lazy and stay home.
How many farmers went bankrupt because of Trump’s fantastic trade wars with China?
How many will get sick from the increased pollution that ‘must be done’ so that corporations can make more profits? Why aren’t they required to clean up their pollution messes?
Why is the military having so much money when people aren’t allowed to get more stimulus money? How far can $1,200 go?
Why are wealthy corporations getting money designed for small businesses?
Why is the “ego-Trump wall” receiving a contract of nearly $1.3 billion to build 42 miles of on the U.S.-Mexico border when we ‘don’t have money for more stimulus checks”?
Why does Trump continue to want to destroy Obamacare? Medicare for All is way too much socialism. After all, we would end up just like Argentina if it was passed. Much better to have millions with no healthcare during this pandemic.
Life of earth is fragile at this time. We need leaders who care about people, not billionaires or millionaires who look to enrich their ‘always-nearly-empty’ pockets.
Cubans in South Florida wield a lot of political power in the state. I happened to be visiting Miami in 2001 before the Latin Grammys were to be held in the city. Cubans were protesting all over the city because they objected to the performance by a Cuban musical group in the program. A few days later it was announced that the Latin Grammys had been moved to Los Angeles. The local merchants hired one of those advertising planes with a message that read, “Thanks spiteful Cubans. The city lost over $1 million dollars.” Local businesses were upset over the lost revenue.
Many of the first wave of Cubans were members of the elite class that helped put Marco Rubio in office. Unlike most Hispanics that tend to be progressives, the wealthy Cubans support Trump and regressive policies.
The Cuban American community of today is no longer ideologically monolithic in terms of voting behavior, although all Cuban Americans are unanimous in recognizing Fidel Castro as a tyrant. Consider the following:
Barack Obama secured half of the Cuban American vote when running for re-election in Florida (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article1944391.html).
The younger generation of Cuban Americans is supportive of former president Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba than the older generation (https://cri.fiu.edu/research/cuba-poll/2018-fiu-cuba-poll.pdf).
Some early generation Cuban exiles who thought that Cuban communism would die with the Castros now feel dismayed at the lack of political change in Cuba despite both Castros leaving power, and now say they won’t live to see a democratic Cuba in their lifetime (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/us/raul-castro-florida-cubans.html). Bay of Pigs veterans who blame Kennedy for the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion nonetheless are happy that Castro is gone and Latin America is a better place without Fidel, given how much blood and treasure the US spent trying to kill Castro but also saving Latin America from Castro’s attempt to infect the region with his bankrupt ideology.
Assuming Joe Biden’s lead in the polls, state or national, holds, there’s a possibility that Trump’s bungling of visa services at the US Embassy in Havana could cost Trump the state of Florida and eventually take US-Cuba relations back to a state of normalcy as they were under Obama.
Stories about Cuba.
I grew up with tales and photos of the cattle ranch that my father managed in Oriente Province, eastern Cuba, near Bayamo, during the 1920s and 1930s. I recall his telling about the rise of Batista and his difficulties in managing the ranch with revolutionaries eager to threaten cattle ranchers and also work for them. The 15,000-acre Candelaria Ranch was owned by the Lykes Brothers, a large family based in Tampa Florida, who exported cattle from Florida and Texas to Cuba by ship. My father’s twin brother ran the Lykes Brothers slaughterhouse in Havana, about 280 miles from the ranch. I have vintage family photos of Havana and life at the ranch.
During the 1940s the Lykes family abandoned their Cuban meat-packing business. They lost the Candelaria Ranch when Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.
Members of the Lykes family hope to reclaim ownership of the Candelaria Ranch and other land the family once owned. At least one member of the family also hopes to sell cattle to Cuba again. This effort is being led by John Parke Wright IV, a Naples businessman whose family–the wealthy and powerful Lykes clan—owned cattle ranches and slaughterhouses in Cuba before the revolution.
In 2015, Forbes listed the estimated net worth of the Lykes family at about $1.2 billion. In 2019 the family’s bay-front home in Tampa sold for $9.5 million. About 80,000 Cubans live in Tampa. Many had multigenerational connections to the cigar-making business centered in an area called Ybor City. Tampa Cubans long established in Tampa have said they are waiting for Miami Cubans to “grow up.”
I have a very thin connection to Cuba but am more than a little interested in seeing whether the Lykes clan’s longstanding claims to land ownership are granted along with clearance to sell their cattle from Florida and Texas again.
Fascinating stuff, Laura. A novel seems in order! 😉
GRACIAS . The history of your and my Family’s life in Cuba is very accurate . On the McKay – Lykes side of our ancestors – Captain James McKay had trading ships sailing from Aberdeen Scotland , to Almeria Spain and on to Havana Cuba ( 1846-1848 ) . The trade really grew from 1860 -1960 , shipping on Lykes Lines – rum , coffee , and sugar to New Orleans and returning with rice and garbanzo and black beans from Louisiana and mid western states . I spent years in China , re-opening trade with Lykes Lines being able to be the first American ships to sail into Shanghai in 1978 to re-establish US – China Trade . In shipping cattle to Cuba from Florida during the last 20 years , I have been and continue to be optimistic that Florida & Texas agriculture will be able to help Cuban ranchers re-stock the ranches there with excellent genetics , most suitable for the tropics . Cuban ranchers and farmers are some of the best in the World . Likewise , Florida is the best model for Cuba’s future economic development – agriculture , tourism , health care, education and space high technology . Florida is blessed to be in the economic zone of the Caribbean , with the opportunity of Florida’s economic strength , able to give Cuba a real advantage . After this pandemic – and with vaccines – my personal goal is to continue to work in the private sector here in Florida and in Cuba – to bring positive change – and for humanity – build friendship between the people of Florida and Cuba. John Parke Wright IV
He calls Americans who disagree with him “scum.” For him, Cubans don’t even reach the level of being a 💩hole nation.
Of course there are tensions between the CDC and this administration. CDC has medical experts and Trump’s wonderful gut knows more than any of them. Having nearly 94,000 US deaths means nothing to him. He never admits having made a mistake and lying comes naturally.
Trump Says He’d Change Nothing About Response As U.S. Deaths Near 94,000 | The 11th Hour | MSNBCMay 20, 2020
As the U.S. coronavirus death toll nears 94,000 Americans, Trump says his government has done ‘amazingly well’ and would have done nothing differently. Aired on 05/20/2020.
Difficult to read. Defies logic. Sixty years of deliberate economic starvation with the supposed aim of inciting regime change, resulting in… economic starvation, no regime change. US citizens dictated to on how much of their own hard-earned money they’re allowed to gift to relatives abroad. Foreign entities muscled out of trading with each other under threat of losing our business. Sanctions applying equally to delivering pandemic supplies. It would appear our actual goal is to kill off the Cubans.
Did we treat Cuba better, pre-revolution? I’m no historian, so jump in, others. My picture of our 19th-20thC Latin American trade relations generally is, they were de facto colonies. We used them in the same way as previous “owners,” propping up puppet rulers in their stead, while carrying away raw materials developed by barely-pd laborers, perpetuating the huge rich-poor gap. The only difference w/Cuba: due to its proximity, the small-biz/ tourist trades were skimmed by our criminals instead of home-grown.
At revolution time, Cuba’s 1%-ers’ assets were seized– they jumped ship, & those who stayed in Miami formed the base of a spiteful, rightwing “we wuz robbed” political subgroup. How many remain? Do their grandchildren share the same views? What about the boatlift Marielitos’ political views?
The only friend Trumpy has these days is the leaders of Russia, Turkey, N. Korea, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.
Guatemala on Deportees With COVID-19: US Not Acting ‘Like Allies’
By Al Jazeera
22 May 20
Guatemala’s president questions alliance with the US as immigration authorities continue to deport those with COVID-19.
Guatemala’s president on Thursday questioned his country’s relationship with the United States, revealing frustration over the US continuing to send deportees infected with COVID-19 to a country struggling to manage the crisis.
“This of allies with the United States isn’t true,” President Alejandro Giammattei said. “Guatemala is an ally of the United States, but the United States is not Guatemala’s ally. They don’t treat us like an ally.”
Giammattei is the first of the region’s leaders to speak out against the US policy that has sent thousands of deportees back to their countries since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Guatemala has confirmed 119 deportees arrived with COVID-19 from the US, including three confirmed by a health official on Wednesday. The country has suspended the deportation flights on several occasions after infected passengers were detected, but resumed them after assurances from US authorities.
The US began testing Guatemalan deportees for the disease before deporting them, but even then Guatemala has detected infected deportees. It appeared some had been tested and certified as negative a week before their departure.
Giammattei said the infected deportees were creating “serious problems” in his country’s already overloaded health system.
“The United States has helped other countries including with ventilators and to us nothing has come, not even chopped corn,” he said during an online appearance with the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. “We don’t feel very grateful for the way we have been treated.”
Giammattei appeared to be referring to medical aid sent to Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras, all governments receiving deportees without complaint. Last month, Giammattei was notably absent from a list of phone calls US President Donald Trump made to the presidents of El Salvador and Honduras offering aid and encouragement.
“We understand the United States wants to deport people, but what we don’t understand is that they send the flights all contaminated,” he said.
Political analyst Renzo Rosal told the Associated Press news agency that the issue was raising tensions between the two countries “because the United States has shamelessly continued sending infected migrants and has not complied with what it offered”.
From whom? And for whom? Why do you think that the U.S. has the right to “free” other countries?
End the embargo. Did you read the post?
ColorFermat, I think the context intended is our 60-y.o. policy, whose intent was to “free them” from Communism. That was a very big deal in 1960, & throughout the ’60’s: the cold war was spiked by fears of nuclear war, w/ the world’s countries lining up behind US or USSR. So it was pretty fearsome imagining a USSR-satellite 90 mis off our shore.
Today I’ll grant you it sounds arrogant: let them be communist if they want to be, who are we to “free them.” Especially w/the USSR gone & no longer training revolutionaries in Angola etc. But in 60 yrs we’ve had the opportunity to observe that communism does a poor job distributing goods, is weakened from w/n by impoverishing its citizens despite promises of equal sharing, is loosened & becomes less dictatorial/ ideological/ isolated/ poor when tempered by global trade. Yet we still use our global muscle to ban trade w/Cuba, isolating & impoverishing them — as you say, “for what? For whom?” What we have to “free them” from now is our boot from their neck.