The president’s appointment of former senator Chris Dodd as an envoy indicates he wants to do more, but time is running out.
by William LeoGrande, Responsible Statecraft
The next nine months offer a window of opportunity for improving U.S.-Cuban relations if leaders in Washington and Havana have the political will and courage to seize it.
Diplomats in both the State Department and Cuban Foreign Ministry profess to want to build a more constructive relationship to replace the poisonous one President Donald Trump created, and they express guarded optimism about the possibilities. But time is short. By next fall, the U.S. presidential election season will be gearing up, making any major policy change politically perilous and much less likely.

Over the past nine months, both Washington and Havana have taken small steps to reduce tensions. Last April, Washington agreed to resume the semi-annual migration talks mandated by the 1994 U.S.-Cuban migration agreement, but broken off by Trump in 2018. With tens of thousands of Cubans arriving on the U.S. southern border monthly and thousands more landing on Florida’s south coast and keys, the Biden administration had an urgent interest in regularizing Cuban immigration.
Since then, there have been two rounds of talks which both sides describe as constructive and productive. Washington has restaffed its embassy and reopened consular services so that, for the first time in five years, the United States met its obligation under the 1994 agreement to provide Cubans with 20,000 immigrant visas annually. Cuba agreed to accept flights of deportees who enter the U.S. illegally along the southern border. The success of the migration discussions has led to a resumption of diplomatic dialogues on a range of issues of mutual interest.
Recent Posts
NATO Admits That Ukraine War Is A War of NATO Expansion
September 25, 2023
Take Action Now In testimony to the European Union Parliament, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made clear that it was America’s relentless…
‘The World Is At Stake’: Defuse Nuclear War Kicks Off Nationwide Week Of Action
September 25, 2023
Take Action Now “The need for action to curtail the possibility of nuclear conflict could not be more urgent,” said the campaign’s…
A Judge Has Thrown Out Charges Against Line 3 Protestors
September 25, 2023
Take Action Now A Minnesota judge ruled that criminalizing Enbridge Line 3 water protectors would be a crime. by Alleen Brown, Exposed by CMD……
Is The U.S. Violating International Law With Its Claims In The Pacific?
September 25, 2023
Take Action Now Officials argue that Washington has the authority to block enemy navies from an area ‘nearly as large as the continental United…