In our National Interest: The top ten reasons for changing U.S. policy toward Cuba

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and imposed an economic embargo on the island the following year. In the context of its time – in the climate of the Cold War and with the Soviet Union threatening the United States by expanding its influence in Latin America– this policy made sense. Since the embargo began, ten presidents, from both political parties, have supported Cuba’s diplomatic and economic isolation and imposed increasingly severe restrictions on travel and trade strictly for the purpose of overthrowing the Castro government. Years after the Soviet Union fell and withdrew from the region it is time to recognize the truth: This policy doesn’t work, it can’t work, and it’s never going to work. The embargo discredits the United States overseas, compromises our values at home, and hurts the American economy at the same time it takes away Americans’ constitutional rights to travel and do business as they please. Compared to our relations with every other nation in the world, including the remaining communist systems in China and Vietnam, U.S. policy toward Cuba simply isn’t rational, and it must be changed. We need a new Cuba policy rooted in America’s national interest and our common sense. The case is simple, direct, and clear. It’s time to repeal restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba and end our country’s lonely and self-imposed diplomatic estrangement from our neighbor’s government, people, and national life. There are a million reasons for changing U.S. policy toward Cuba. The Center for Democracy in the Americas has produced an extraordinarily convincing Top Ten.

—Jake Colvin, Director, U.S.A. Engage