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UP FRONTFriday 19 February 2016
Cheered in Havana, Obama’s Cuba trip spurs GOP skepticism
JOSH LEDERMAN President Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. The presi- changes in his country
Associated Press dent said Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, he’ll raise human rights issues and other U.S. concerns with Cu- since the thaw in relations:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- ban President Raul Castro during a history-making visit to the communist island nation. more tourism and happier
dent Barack Obama’s people. But Cubans are still
plans for a history-making (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) struggling economically,
trip to Cuba drew hopeful he said.
cheers in Havana on Thurs- “The president is again nomic interests over long- can values,” said Menen- “This visit for me and for all
day but equally emphat- prioritizing short-term eco- term and enduring Ameri- dez, another Cuban-Amer- Cubans will be an open
ic condemnation from ican. He likened Obama’s door to what we need,
many U.S. lawmakers and rapprochement with Cuba which is that they finally
Republican presidential to his nuclear deal with lift the blockade, which is
candidates, who accused Iran. what hurts us,” Martinez
the president of rewarding Not so, said Obama, who said.
a “dictatorial regime.” pledged to press President Obama hopes to persuade
Jeb Bush called the plans Raul Castro on human Congress to lift the trade
“appalling.” Florida Rep. rights and other thorny is- embargo — Havana’s big-
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, born sues during their sit-down gest request of the U.S.
in Havana, deemed in the Cuban capital. The Although short-term pros-
Obama’s March 21-22 White House said pointed- pects have seemed unlike-
visit “absolutely shame- ly that it had put Castro’s ly, some Republicans have
ful.” New Jersey Sen. Bob government on notice that suggested Congress could
Menendez — a member Obama would also meet pass legislation repealing
of Obama’s party — ac- with dissidents and activists sanctions by year’s end.
cused him of ceding U.S. —a precondition the presi- Cuban Foreign Trade Min-
leverage to the commu- dent had laid out for a visit. ister Rodrigo Malmierca,
nist nation 90 miles south of “We still have differences in Washington for business
Florida. with the Cuban govern- talks, told The Associated
ment that I will raise di- Press that Obama’s visit will
rectly,” Obama said as be good news for his coun-
he announced the visit on try.
Twitter. Though Obama sees the
The trip will mark a water- re-launch with Cuba as a
shed moment in U.S.-Cuba major achievement of his
relations, making Obama foreign policy, he’s had to
the first sitting U.S. president strike a careful balance to
to set foot on the island defend engaging with a
in nearly seven decades. communist government
The U.S. was estranged that still is seen as stifling
from the communist na- political opposition and re-
tion for over half a century stricting free speech.
until Obama and Castro The White House pointed
moved toward detente to Cuba’s recent release
more than a year ago. of long-term political pris-
Since then, the nations oners, expansion of Inter-
have reopened embas- net hotspots and easing
sies in Washington and Ha- of restrictions on private
vana and moved to restore business. On the econom-
commercial flights, with a ic front, the two nations
presidential visit seen as a signed a deal this week
key next step. on commercial air traffic,
Yosvany Martinez, a and the U.S. approved its
36-year-old government first factory in Cuba since
parking attendant in Ha- 1959, when Fidel Castro
vana, said he’d seen took power and national-
ized billions in American
property.
Still, Obama’s advisers
said the U.S. isn’t satisfied
with Cuba’s human rights
approach, citing a rise in
short-term detentions as
one example.
Obama has argued that
the long U.S. effort to put
an economic squeeze on
Cuba has failed to ad-
vance U.S. interests. En-
gaging the former Cold
War foe offers better pros-
pects for reform, Obama
and supporters of the pol-
icy change maintain.q
