As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, all signals point to a change in U.S. policy on Cuba. On the campaign trail, Biden enthusiastically indicated that he would pursue an opening with the dictatorship to reverse course on four years of sanctions under U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s policies undid much of the work of the Obama administration to break the long-standing stalemate between the United States and Cuba, such as normalizing relations with the Castro dictatorship, offering concessions, and working closely with Cuban officials to restart economic and diplomatic relations.
Yet Biden’s team should reconsider the wisdom of jumping headfirst into another slog to normalize ties with the longtime U.S. foe. Over the last four years, Cuba’s intransigence on human rights domestically and the destructive role it plays beyond its borders have become undeniable. Meanwhile, far more pressing challenges than U.S.-Cuba relations now face the region, even as arguments for the broader diplomatic benefits of showering Havana with concessions are failing the test of time.
