Europe Might Take Another Step Back
If Spain fails to have the Common Position lifted or if it succeeds and Havana again turns down European economic cooperation, then Cuba wins once more.
Shifter: “Ortega perhaps has some wishful thinking, and he may have a rude awakening”
Francisco Arteaga
Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, spoke with Frederic Puglie of The Washington Times about the current situation in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The conversation also explored how the incoming Biden administration will deal with the leaders of these left-leaning countries.
COMMENTS FROM MICHAEL SHIFTER:
"Hard lessons have been learned, and the conclusion by the Biden government is that this is a dictatorship that has just been buying time and not been negotiating in good faith."
"The Obama and Trump-era sanctions targeting Mr. Maduro’s regime thus aren’t going anywhere for era. While you’re not going to hear 'All options are on the table', the Biden administration is going to hold back on making any specific concessions."
"There was — if not the expectation — at least the hope that there would be some more moves on the Cuban government’s part toward greater opening, both economically and politically. And that didn’t happen."
"Ortega perhaps has some wishful thinking, and he may have a rude awakening. The policy is not going to change very much, frankly, in advance of next November’s elections."
[...]
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE.
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