President Trump leaves one strong accomplishment: The Trump administration designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Managing the Cuban regime will present a key challenge for the incoming Biden administration’s Western Hemisphere policy team. Circumstances have changed from when former President Barack Obama normalized relations and unilaterally conceded on a host of matters. Cuba continued enabling Maduro’s repressive regime, human rights on the island worsened, and dozens of U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Cuba fell victim to sonic attacks.
In other words, President Obama's Cuba card was a disaster.
I recall watching President Obama's Cuba opening speech with my ailing father back in December 2014. My father's words were that Raul Castro was looking for dollars and Mr. Obama for a legacy. My late father turned out to be right that opening Cuba did not work as planned.
The incoming Biden administration will face pressure to erase everything with Trump's name on it, from the Keystone pipeline to naming Cuba as a terror state. I hope that common sense prevails and they leave Cuba on the terror list.
