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A Biden Administration must not repeat Obama’s concessions to Cuba’s regime
By U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
December 10, 2020
The Miami Herald
The Cuban regime is once again cracking down and arresting peaceful dissidents. This time, the move involved deploying officers dressed in medical gowns under the false pretext of COVID-19 restrictions. It is a stark reminder of the cynical lengths the fledgling regime will go to stamp out and censor nonviolent protest.
The ongoing crackdown comes as the Castro-Díaz-Canel regime is facing increased pressure from the Cuban people, who are demanding that their rights to free speech and other basic liberties be respected.
As the situation in Cuba worsens, a Biden Administration would face a critical decision when it comes to its policy toward the island. Would Biden stand with the dissidents and continue the Trump Administration’s key reforms, which have financially crippled the regime and prioritized the demands of the Cuban people? Or would he return to the failed Obama Administration policy of rewarding Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel with sanctions relief and political legitimacy for decades of repressive behavior?
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We can already see how the Cuban regime responds when it thinks relief may be on the way.
It has aggressively moved to censor artists and independent media, including its ongoing assault against members of the San Isidro movement. More innocent Cubans will pay the price if we return to a one-sided Cuba policy — and throw a life-line to Raúl Castro’s dictatorial regime.
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Any U.S. administration — especially one led by Joe Biden — must make explicitly clear that it understands what a disastrous decision it was for President Obama to accede to the release and pardon of the regime’s convicted spy for murdering four Cuban-American nationals, members of the humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue.
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By contrast, a more responsible policy towards Cuba would follow in the footsteps of President Trump and advance policies meant to protect the fundamental rights of Cubans. In the coming years, that will particularly mean working to promote internet access on the island, so Cubans are better connected with independent sources of information.
In addition, it would entail a commitment to securing compensation for Americans who had their property wrongfully stolen by the corrupt Castro regime. Responsible policymaking will also mean ensuring that nations currently engaged in activities that constitute the human trafficking of Cuban medical professionals instead directly contract and fully compensate those individuals, as well as abide by all international labor standards and protocols.
The authority to which the Cuban regime continues to cling today is unsustainable in the long run. Its members know that. The Communist Party’s older generation of hard-liners is dying out, and their successors will face significant problems because the Cuban people will not accept their current repression and behavior;
The next administration’s Cuba policy will be a test to prove how they truly prioritize “values” in U.S. foreign policy. The fate of Cuba belongs to the Cuban people alone, but our nation’s role in bettering their lives cannot fall back to what it was under the Obama Administration.
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