Trump partially rolls back Cuba travel policies

[Brainonska511]

I'm surprised their isn't a thread about this latest idiocy yet: https://nyti.ms/2syBsE7

MIAMI — President Trump announced on Friday that he was reversing crucial pieces of what he called a “terrible and misguided deal” with Cuba and will reinstate travel and commercial restrictions eased by the Obama administration in an attempt to obtain additional concessions from the Cuban government.

During a speech in Little Havana, the epicenter of a Cuban exile community that enthusiastically supported him in last year’s election, Mr. Trump said he was keeping a campaign promise to roll back the policy of engagement begun by President Barack Obama in 2014, which he said had empowered the communist government in Cuba and enriched the country’s repressive military.
...

Some of the highlights of the rollback:

• Americans will no longer be able to plan their own trips to Cuba
• "Educational tours" will be regulated more strictly to prevent tourists from sneaking through
• Further limits on who American companies can do business with in Cuba

If we really wanted to raise the standard of living and undermine the Castro government, we'd be flooding the place with American culture and engagement. Walling them off for 60 years was bad policy that didn't work. It's not going to work if we try the 'just a few more years' approach.

On top of it all, this probably hurts the Cuban people more than it would hurt the Cuban government, who can now go back to crutch that the Big, Bad US Government is behind Cuba's problems: https://nyti.ms/2sye3Tw

 

[conehead433]

Trump is obsessed with undoing anything and everything Obama did while in office regardless of whether any of those actions were to the benefit of US citizens or mankind in general.

 

[zzyzxroad]

Trump is obsessed with undoing anything and everything Obama did while in office regardless of whether any of those actions were to the benefit of US citizens or mankind in general.

It would be comical if it wasn't so sad.

 

[Zorba]

It is long past time for us to move on with Cuba and treat them like any other country. At this point we just treat them different because we always have.

 

[preCRT]

Trump is obsessed with undoing anything and everything Obama did while in office regardless of whether any of those actions were to the benefit of US citizens or mankind in general.

Yep, Trump would un-kill Bin Laden if he could.

 

[brycejones]

Yep, Trump would un-kill Bin Laden if he could.

Then tweet about how Obama didn't kill him the right way.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

It would be comical if it wasn't so sad.

and so potentially damaging to the country and the globe as well.

 

[KMFJD]

 

[K1052]

This is a political payoff Rubio and the anti-Castro voters in Florida with the cherry on top for Trump of reversing something Obama did just because. This is in no way in the interest of the American people or our economy.

The argument that this was done out of concerns for humanitarian issues and democracy is so farcical that it's insulting. President Dump Truck just spent several days diplomatically making out with some of the most repressive anti-democratic regimes on the planet. Regimes who we sell tons of our sophisticated weapons to no less.

Sure some people are pointing to the fact that Cuba suddenly didn't become little America after two years of moderately better relations so a rollback is good but perhaps that is an unrealistic expectation. If decades of embargo and political isolation didn't get them to capitulate I really doubt this will do the trick. This move also is deeply unpopular amongst the other Central/South American nations who saw US policy toward Cuba as generally harmful and mean spirited.

 

[Brainonska511]

This is a political payoff Rubio and the anti-Castro voters in Florida with the cherry on top for Trump of reversing something Obama did just because. This is in no way in the interest of the American people or our economy.

The argument that this was done out of concerns for humanitarian issues and democracy is so farcical that it's insulting. President Dump Truck just spent several days diplomatically making out with some of the most repressive anti-democratic regimes on the planet. Regimes who we sell tons of our sophisticated weapons to no less.

Sure some people are pointing to the fact that Cuba suddenly didn't become little America after two years of moderately better relations so a rollback is good but perhaps that is an unrealistic expectation. If decades of embargo and political isolation didn't get them to capitulate I really doubt this will do the trick. This move also is deeply unpopular amongst the other Central/South American nations who saw US policy toward Cuba as generally harmful and mean spirited.

Trump and his administration seem pretty intent on destroying all good-will towards the US and our ability to project power through softer means.

 

[K1052]

Trump and his administration seem pretty intent on destroying all good-will towards the US and our ability to project power through softer means.

After all the harping about China taking over everything during his campaign here he is helping China actually take over everything, including our role in the world.

Who knew that the GOP would cheerfully oversee the fall of the post-WW2 order in the name of helping poor people die from less healthcare spending?

 

[theeedude]

Meanwhile Trump's in laws are selling US visas to Communist Chinese.

 

[Stokely]

A friend of mine that voted for Trump just had his visit to Cuba cancelled...not sure it was because of this (because the trip was cancelled a couple weeks ago) but doesn't look like it would be on now.

 

[Brainonska511]

A friend of mine that voted for Trump just had his visit to Cuba cancelled...not sure it was because of this (because the trip was cancelled a couple weeks ago) but doesn't look like it would be on now.

I think I would have liked to visit the nation where my great grandmother and great grandfather grew up (they came to the US in the 20s). But stupid policies outlined above will prevent that from happening.

Some of the hard-line anti-Castro Cubans think continuing these stupid policies is a great idea. I think some also think that they're going to get lost property back some day (fat chance and iirc, they were already able to claim tax deductions for lost property to make up for monetary losses)

 

[zzyzxroad]

Meanwhile Trump's in laws are selling US visas to Communist Chinese.

And this hardly made the news. There is so much crazzyness coming out of trumpnado that this story was but a blip.

 

[JOTVid]

I heard the admin wants to loosen Russian sanctions also.... Calling for those to be loosened while being under investigation shows how they don't care and think they can get away with anything. I'm sure Exxon man and current secretary of state Rex Tillerson and Trump won't benefit $$$ from those sanctions being loosened or lifted... Trump, A Man who speaks to US allies like they're dirt wants to free Putin and his oil This was written in January and mentions if Trump kills the Paris climate deal and tries to end sanctions and to restore $500 billion Exxon oil deal killed by sanctions he's obviously paying Putin back https://thinkprogress.org/putin-helped-trump-exxon-oil-deal-sanctions-6f169c4a4cd0 . REX TILLERSON was also behind that $500 billion Exxon oil deal.

 

[woolfe9998]

But it's all because of their "human rights" record, right? Isn't that why we severed diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia? Oh wait...

 

[WHAMPOM]

I'm surprised their isn't a thread about this latest idiocy yet: https://nyti.ms/2syBsE7

"cause we all know how the last fifty years of the USA's Cuban Isolation Policy helped to reform their government. Could keeping our capitalist corruption out of Cuba be seen as anything other then a big favor to the Castros?

 

[dank69]

It's a shame Obama didn't expressly implement a law that makes it illegal for the sitting President to jump off AF1 without a parachute.

 

[Jhhnn]

The people of Cuba got a better deal from Obama than they've had from the US since their revolution. They'll obviously get a better better deal if we renounce that deal in favor of the old deal, cuz reasons & shit.

 

[xthetenth]

The people of Cuba got a better deal from Obama than they've had from the US since their revolution. They'll obviously get a better better deal if we renounce that deal in favor of the old deal, cuz reasons & shit.

The only people of Cuba the Republican party cares about lives in Florida and can vote in US elections.

 

[Jhhnn]

Funny how we never hear about job stealin' Cubans invading Florida...