What will the next US president mean for Cuba?
Campaign News | Saturday, 23 November 2024
Keith Bolender addressing the meeting
Following the news that Donald Trump had been (re-)elected as President of the United States, CSC hosted a public meeting in London to ask the question – what will this mean for Cuba? Chaired by CSC Exec member Jayne Fisher, the meeting welcomed journalist, author and expert on US-Cuba relations Keith Bolender, the Cuban Ambassador Her Excellency Ismara Vargas Walter, Francisco Dominguez and CSC Chair Kevin Courtney.
Kicking off his speaking tour, Keith Bolender opened with an unsurprisingly bleak outlook. “Unfortunately for many countries Trump’s win will mean a lot of suffering. And for Cuba it’s going to be particularly difficult”, Keith said.
He questioned the perspective of those who ask “what else can Trump do to Cuba?” Keith acknowledged that Biden did almost nothing to reverse the punishment inflicted by Trump and while Cuba may not be high on the list of foreign policy priorities, Keith cautioned that, at best, Trump’s “anti-revolutionary supporters in Congress will make sure there will be no easing of the pressure.”
And with Marco Rubio as due to be installed as the US’s top diplomat, Cuba may well be in the new administration’s crosshairs. “He’s the worst person you could imagine as Secretary of State”, Keith told guests. As the most prominent hardline Cuban-American in Congress, Rubio was largely responsible for designing Trump’s Latin America policy during his last stint in office.
Keith discussed a number of measures that are reportedly being prepared. “There are rumours that Cubans will be exempt from the planned deportation of undocumented migrants, worsening the migration crisis Cuba has seen in recent years. There are also rumours that a total ban on remittances to the island from Cubans living in the US will be reintroduced.”
Whatever the measures may be, Keith said, “you can be sure that Trump and his cabal of hard-right Cuban-Americans will be thinking of ways to make life harder for Cubans.” Keith closed on a note of optimism, as while this is “one of the toughest times they’ve been through”, the Cuban Revolution will survive “because that’s what they’ve always done.”
Dr. Francisco Dominguez, Secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, spoke of the wider regional significance of Trump’s win. He noted that Cuba, along with Venezuela and Nicaragua are all vulnerable, with “Cuba perhaps the most vulnerable of the three.” Echoing Keith’s closing remarks, Francisco highlighted Cuba’s “unparalleled capacity for resilience” which has seen it navigate earlier periods of crisis in extraordinary ways.
Her Excellency Ismara Vargas Walter noted that the nature of Trump’s victory “signals a strong mandate for a hard line on Cuba” and that the reported appointments of Rubio as Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor “further solidify an approach rooted in interventionism and hostility to progressive movements across Latin America.”
The Ambassador said that, despite the limited amount of time left of the Biden administration, “we must continue to push for change” and “while we remain critical of Biden's failure to take meaningful action so far, we cannot let this moment pass without demanding that he make good on his promises for a new approach to Cuba.”
She reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment to “defend our sovereignty, our social achievements and our right to self-determination” despite the immense challenges. “Your solidarity is more important than ever”, she told attendees, “in order to work toward a future in which the relationship between Cuba and the United States can be one of mutual respect, based on the principles of equality, understanding and peace.”
CSC Chair Kevin Courtney, who had recently returned from a CSC-NEU delegation to Cuba, recounted the resilience of the Cuban workers he had met and spoken with in the wake of the recent blackouts and hurricane. “If the Cubans can remain resilient in such difficult times, then so must we”.
Visiting Cuba reminded him that there is a “state that prioritises solidarity and upholding human dignity” and that the Cuban people “are still fighting and remain a beacon to the world.” We must keep supporting them.
