U.S. Embargo on Cuba Turns 50
U.S. Embargo on Cuba Turns 50
"It requires an act of Congress to change [The United States policies against Cuba], but that ain’t going to happen any time soon," said AS/COA Christopher Sabatini.
When the GOP candidates hit the Florida campaign trail, three out of the four remaining presidential hopefuls took turns pledging to tighten sanctions against Cuba...
...Regardless of who wins the presidency in the 2012 elections, analysts say the embargo will remain the defining feature of U.S.-Cuban relations for the near future.
For half a century, the policy has dealt a hard blow to Cuba’s economy, without succeeding in its goal to force the Communist government out of power.
The embargo’s durability doesn’t just owe to presidential politics. The 1992 Cuban Democracy Act conditions the lifting of the embargo on Cuba’s holding of free elections and tolerating political opposition.
“It requires an act of Congress to change, but that ain’t going to happen any time soon,” Chris Sabatini, policy director of the Americas Society, said in a telephone interview, referring to the embargo.
