Issues

The United States trade embargo imposed on Cuba in 1961 has failed to remove the Communist government of Cuba. At the onset of the embargo, the United States put forward two conditions for rapprochement with Cuba: first, Cuba must end all efforts to spread revolution in the Western Hemisphere; second, Cuba must sever its military ties with the former Soviet Union. There was no demand Cuba became a democracy. On the contrary, the late Secretary of the State Dean Rusk, in a speech before the 1962 Organization of American States (OAS) emphasized:

“The United States objected to Cuba’s activities and policies in the international arena not its internal system or arrangements.”

A 1999 Pentagon report states Cuba is in no way a threat to the national security of the Unites States. The present policy is a relic of the Cold War and inconsistent with American values and interests. The embargo today denies American and Cuban-American citizens the ability to interact with the Cuban people. It further denies American companies the ability to complete in the Cuban market of 11.5 million consumers. The Elian Gonzalez saga demonstrated the strident and unreasonable attitudes of the self appointed Cuban-American leadership, not to be confused with Cuban-Americans in general. The United States must deal with the Cuban government as it is, not how the United States wants it to be.

The Alliance continues to believe the way to enhance United States-Cuba relations is for like-minded persons, corporations, and organizations to “speak with one voice.” This would create unity for rapprochement with Cuba.