White House Admits Trump’s Cuba Policies Will Stay For Now

“A Cuba policy shift is currently not among President Biden’s priorities,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at the daily briefing on Tuesday.

While the Biden administration now says it’s “reviewing” Trump policies on Cuba, particularly the ‘last-minute’ terror designation by Trump on January 11 – a mere nine days before Biden was sworn in – nothing looks to change anytime soon.

Psaki emphasized that for the time being Trump’s policies regarding the socialist-run Caribbean island will by default stay Biden’s policies: “A Cuba policy shift is currently not among President Biden’s priorities but we are committed to making human rights a core pillar of our US policy and we are carefully reviewing policy decisions made in the prior administration including the decision to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism,” she said according to Reuters. 

Cuba’s continued support for terrorism in the Western Hemisphere must be stopped. Today the United States is returning Cuba to the State Sponsors of Terrorism list to hold the Castro regime accountable for its malign behavior.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 11, 2021

And of course Trump was blasted by sectors on the Left for his aggressive Cuba stance, which in large part has actually reflected Washington’s decades-long posture on Cuba going back to the Cold War (with exception of Obama’s attempts to open up relations). As Reuters reminds us, “Critics said Trump’s decision was highly politicized and not supported by evidence. Trump’s hardline policy was popular among the large Cuban-American population in south Florida, helping him win the state in November though he lost the election.”

And now Psaki echoes this strategy and perspective in her Tuesday remarks: “Americans, especially Cuban Americans, are the best ambassadors for freedom and prosperity in Cuba.” 

Apparently, the answer to the below question is “no”…

Can Biden Finish What Obama Started With Cuba? https://t.co/cyOeX2eISQ

— The Nation (@thenation) December 21, 2020

It appears the White House isn’t even so much as ready to loosen up remittances from Cuban Americans to their families back home, or ease family-related travel back to the island. 

It’s yet a further demonstration and confirmation of a point we’ve featured before – that Biden appears to be siding with Trump on major foreign policy issues in more ways than he or the media would like to admit.