David de Matheu

CAS 138H
4/13/2015

United States Foreign Policy: Next Stop Havana

Historical Background
The political and economic relations between the United States and Cuba have been
molded by years of disputes between the nations. This relationship started when Cuba, as
Spanish colony, served as one of the main shipping ports for US exports and imports with the
Western hemisphere. The US played a key role in getting Cuba its independence from Spain
during the Spanish-American War, as it wanted to have more freedom of trade in the island.
(Franklin, 1997) After independence, the US and Cuba had close military and economic
cooperation which further progressed during the Dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Many popular
groups in Cuba where unhappy with Batistas regime and the destructive effects of his close
cooperation with the US on the Cuban economy. (Suddath, 2009) This lead to a revolution led by
Fidel Castro, in which Batista was defeated after the US stopped aiding him with weapons. The
new government brought discontent to the US as they started to nationalize US owned businesses
in Cuba which led to initial trade embargo by the US to try and destabilize the government.
(Franklin, 1997)
The whole situation would get worse as Cuba started to have diplomatic and economic
relations with the Soviet Union. The main cause of this newfound relationship was the US
embargo, as the Cubans were in desperate need of basic necessities like oil. At this time, the
Soviet Union and the US were involved in the Cold War, so the US intensified the embargo on
the island and all relationships between the countries were broken. (Penhaul, 2015) During this
time the US lead several undercover missions to Cuba including the Bay of Pigs invasion, which
had as its purpose to destabilize the Cuban government, as well as several attempts to kill Castro.
The tensions between the countries reached climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the

US discovered Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba. This lead to an even greater
intensification of the embargo where tourism from US citizens to Cuba and all exports were
banned. (George Washington University)
Both governments continued to take measures to distance themselves throughout the
subsequent years. After the disbandment of the Soviet Union in 1990, Cuba saw itself in a bad
political and economic position as its major ally had fallen. (Perez, 2006, 381-387). In 1999,
President Clinton lowered the intensity of the embargo policies, making it possible for US
citizens to visit Cuba. These relaxed policies didnt last long, as President Bush tightened
relationships again during his presidency, under the premise that Cuba was violating human
rights and sustaining a tyrannical government.(BBC News, 2001) During this time the US made
great counterintelligence efforts to persuade Cubans to rebel to the dictatorship of Castro,
through press and subtle media messages.(Gibbs, 2006) Recently, President Obama has publicly
exposed his desire for both countries to work together both politically and economically, and has
even eased the import of Cuban products, and the export of American services and products to
Cuba. At the same time, Cubas new president Raul Castro has exposed his desire for opening
dialogues with the US. (White House, 2014)
After closely examining the background history between the US and Cuba, it is evident
that there must be a change in the relationship between the two countries, as it is clear that the
policies have only brought hostility between the nations. The current embargo policies are based
on a different time period, and not in the modern state of the world. The US should lift the
embargo on Cuba and reinstate commercial relationships because this action would lead to
economic growth for both parties due to the opening of markets. Specifically, the US would gain
one more trade partner, a strategic location in the Caribbean, and the possibility for US citizens

to visit the island. Cuba would gain foreign investment in sectors like telecommunication and
Internet, and the ability to import and exports with the US. At the same time various concerns
from both parties arise around the topic of human rights, but can be addressed through a sound
policy. The proposed policy is one that currently the President Obama is supporting to try and
reestablish relations with Cuba.
Benefits for the United States
Many believe that there are very scarce benefits for the US in lifting the embargo and that
the benefits are mainly for Cuba. This is not necessarily the case. In first instance, US companies
will be able invest and create profits in Cuba. It is estimated that if commercial relations between
the US and Cuba are opened, this would produce around $12 Billion from the trade of goods and
services between the two countries. (Dougherty, 2014) This represents an opportunity for US
companies to open operations in Cuba to import US products to be sold in the island and to
import Cuba products like sugar cane and cigars into the US to be sold. Cuba represents a market
of roughly 11 million people that right now is off limits for US companies. By opening relations
it is estimated that 6 thousands jobs will be created in the US which represents an impulse to the
US economy. (ProCon.org, 2014)
As markets with the US are opened, Cubans will change their mentality towards the US
and Capitalism in general, which can lead to important social changes. Part of the goal of the US
is to be able to get rid of the dictatorship status in Cuba, and by opening free markets democracy
can be promoted in Cuba. (Glickman, 2014) Ultimately, the most affected party in the embargo is
not the Cuban government as the US intended at the time of placing it, but the Cuban people who
are stuck in a Cold War environment. The current embargo has proven very unsuccessful at
achieving many of the goals it was proposed for, including forcing Cuba to change its

government ideology and human rights situation; it is time to try new solutions. (Liniciome,
2014)
Away from specific import and export benefits from opening relations with Cuba, the US,
specifically US citizens, would have the benefit of being able to travel to Cuba. There is a huge
industry related to tourism in the US that would be benefited by increasing tourism outside the
US. Inside this industry there are airlines, vacation agencies, etc. that would be all benefited.
People specifically could travel and get to know the Cuban culture. (Baghdady, 2015) In recent
polls, it has been shown that over 62% of Americans want open relations with Cuba (ProCon.org,
2014), which means that that majority is in favor of moving towards modern foreign policies in
which there is open borders between both countries.
The final benefit that the US can capitalize on by lifting the embargo is to improve their
reputation towards other countries in the world. It is quite clear that the embargo has failed to
address its purpose of creating change in Cuba. (Bandow, 2012) Even the United Nations
Generally Assembly voted against the US embargo on Cuba further showing how the
international community condemns the decision. (ProCon.org, 2014) By lifting the embargo the
US can drop the stigma of being childish and stubborn. It even looks hypocritical from the US
side to keep the embargo due to ideological reasons given that the US is in active economic and
political relations with countries like China and Venezuela that have similar communist regimes
and human right violations. If the US is trading with China, why not also trade with Cuba? Are
they so different? It is true that China does represent a much bigger market, but given that aside
it makes no sense why the US would keep a complete ban on all commercial relationship with
Cuba. (Liniciome, 2014)
Benefits for Cuba

For Cuba this policy would be very beneficial for its economic and social situation. In
first place Cuba would be greatly benefited by the aperture of exports and imports as they might
bring investment from US companies to the island. For the past decades, Cuba has fallen in a
vicious cycle of deterioration in terms of its infrastructure and quality of life. The whole country
has been kept frozen in the Cold-War era to the point where even most cars in the island are from
that era, as imports of cars have been closed. (Goldberg, 2014) By opening trade with the US
Cuba will be able to grow its economy by exporting its products to the US and taking advantage
of the $12 Billion dollars in trade that this policy can generate. Cuban people will be able to take
advantage of US products to fulfill their need that before had been not fully fulfilled due to the
lack of products in the island. (ProCon.org, 2014)
On the topic of infrastructure, as US companies go to Cuba to open offices and
operations, they will bring with them money to build new buildings for offices, as well as money
for telecommunications and Internet infrastructure that Cuba needs desperately. There is a lack of
information and technological development in Cuba due to the lack of electronics with Internet
capabilities. By opening relations people in Cuba will be able to take advantage of the Internet
to learn and be connected to the world. This inflow of newly connected people will have a
positive repercussion for US internet-based companies as they will have more customers. Today,
many services from companies like Google and Microsoft are not available in the island due to
the embargo laws, as their services fall under the exports section of the embargo. (ProCon.org,
2014)

Major Concerns from both Parties

As briefly addressed before, with every major change in legislation come concerns from
the different parties regarding the effects of the changes in legislation. There are concerns from
both sides of the argument which provides evidence that its not that one part is being superiorly
benefitted, but it shows that both parties will have to make sacrifices to bring the legislation
forward. On the side of the US the main concerns are related to the topic of human rights. The
US is concerned with the treatment of citizens in Cuba. The US has expressed its disapproval
towards the little freedom of speech given by the Cuban government. The US has condemned the
jailing of writers and newspapers writers for their ideas against the communist regime.
Additionally many of the US concerns are regarding the jailing of dissidents. (ProCon.org, 2014)
From an economical point of view, the little freedom of speech has closed markets in Cuba,
leaving everything nationalized and making it hard for people to be entrepreneurs in the island.
(Meyers, 2015)
A concern by many Americans regarding the lifting of the embargo rests on the ideology
of the government in Cuba. The reality is that Cuba is in no position to do any harm to the US
due to its economic conditions. (Bandow, 2012) At the same time, this policy will only look into
the economic effects of both benefits and concerns regarding the policy. In this case the fact that
Cuba is a communist country is relevant only in terms of the negative effects that nationalization
have in the Cuban economy. It is irrelevant whether communism is the right ideology or not. To
support this, the case of China comes to scope, where the US has no problem having economic
relations with a communist country like China. So far the USs attempts to create relations with
Cuba have been based on trying to change the government regime, this policy believes that the
first step is to open markets, and the change in regime will come as a result as Cuba open further
towards international markets and partnerships. (Liniciome, 2014)

On the other side of the argument are the concerns of Cuba, which interestingly enough,
fall onto the human rights topic. Cuban officials have expressed concerns regarding the topic of
police brutality in the US. They are afraid of the wave of racism that has arrived surrounding this
topic and how it can affect Cubans who travel to the US. Additionally they have expressed
opinion regarding the Guantanamo Prison located in Cuba operated by the US. Cuba has made
public their views on how the inmates are treated without any rights and undergo torture. Third,
Cuba appears in the list of terrorist sponsor nations of the US. Cuban officials are unhappy with
this inclusion of Cuba in the list as it portrays them as terrorist and criminals. Finally, as touched
upon in the introduction, the US has led several covert missions to Cuba to try and spy on the
local government and find ways to overthrow it. Cuba is concerned that if they open
relationships, then more spies and counterintelligence personnel will go to the island for similar
tasks. (TeleSur, 2015)
Conclusion
It is clear that the benefits in the long term outnumber the cons when analyzing the
effects of the policy. It is clear though that it will be a process full of negotiations and diplomacy
to come up with the details of the policy. Some of the points that will have to be addressed more
precisely will include immigration reforms by both countries to accommodate the transit of
Cubans and Americans between the two countries. Other points that must be addressed and fully
analyzed deeper are the retrieval of the Guantanamo prison from Cuba and the removal of Cuba
from the terrorist sponsor list. From the Cuban side some of the points that will have to
addressed for this policy to work will have to do with some of the human right violations
including freedom of speech, as well as a possible transition in the government to fulfill the US
trade agreements. Ultimately the policys benefits, in terms of the economic opportunities for

each country that come from opening trade outweigh the smaller issues, since it is in both
countries interest to open trade channels. The process must be gradual by implementing small
changes from both sides to start building new bridges between the governments in Havana and
Washington for a new relationship to be threaded.
Word Count: 2333
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