Ever since the election of Barack Obama there has been increasing buzz about a fundamental change in Cuban-American relations. The xpectations were great in the USA that after a half-century of political ineffectiveness tangible change would eventually prevail in Washington. The times were fortuitous.

Obama was elected by a wide mandate and beholden neither to the old Democratic Party machinery nor the conventional contributors to the party. Instead, he developed a new lucrative apparatus that went directly to the people, giving him enormous leeway as he moved into the White House. In the country at large polls indicated strong support for sweeping change toward Cuba.

That has been true for some time. At the other end, Fidel Castro finally surrendered the government to his slightly younger brother, Raul, who quickly purged many senior insiders and brought in his comrades from the military but at the same time initiated a wide range of domestic changes responsive to popular clamour in Cuba. The hope was that the two movements of change would quickly intersect.

Things were also moving propitiously outside the narrow USA-Cuba orbit. The European Community expanded its relations with Cuba. Hugo Chávez of Venezuela increased his generosity to Cuba and encouraged his fellow Latin Americans to follow suit. The Organisation of American States side-stepped the reservations of the USA and revoked the expulsion of Cuba imposed under US duress in 1962.

In the first 100 days of his new administration, President Obama made three promising gestures.He revoked the restrictions that his immediate predecessor had imposed on Cuban-Americans, greatly expanding their opportunities to travel and stay in Cuba or to help their relatives on the island. He announced a date for the closing of the illegal and internationally detested prison at Guantánamo Bay. And his State Department invited a delegation from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington to restart the bi-annual immigration talks suspended by President George Bush in 2004. In accepting the invitation, the Cuban officials asked that the discussions be expanded to include counter-terrorism measures, counter-narcotics activities, and common disaster relief.

It is clear that the limited policy initiatives greatly disappointed a wide collection of hopefuls. Publicly and privately, many are questioning the half-measures on travel. The Bush policy affected many more citizens than just the Cuban-American constituency, and the Obama measures appear to establish unnecessarily invidious distinctions. The Americans have broken their contract for
the use of Guantánamo Bay and overstayed their welcome.

It is time that they not only close the outrageously illegal prison but also dismantle the naval base and clean up and evacuate the area. If officials are again talking to the Cubans, it might be worth having unrestricted talks as Raul suggested earlier. After 50 years the two states have a great deal to discuss.

Meanwhile, outside official circles there has been considerable buzz about Cuba. Many colleges and universities are dusting off their student exchange programmes ready for the moment when unrestricted travel between Cuba and the USA resumes. Travelocity, the huge online travel agency, is encouraging applications. Several airlines are openly advertising their charter services from Miami International Airport to Havana. Tampa city officials want immediate direct charter flights with Havana to service their Cuban-America families. Southern city officials from Charleston to New Orleans have been travelling to Cuba to discuss possible trade negotiations at the appropriate moment. The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce recently released an economic impact report on the city in the event of the lifting of the embargo. This July a group of 60 state and trade delegates will visit Havana to explore post-embargo business.

All this buzz is increasing pressure on the small but influential Congressional Hispanic Caucus. For years the caucus was dominated by South Florida representatives, especially the Diaz-Balart brothers, Lincoln and Mario, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Diaz-Balarts' father, Rafael, was brother of Fidel Castro's first wife; and Fidel's first son, Fidelito, is their first cousin. Like Fidel's family, the Diaz-Balarts hail from Banes in north-eastern Cuba and have served for generations in Cuban politics. The Castro Revolution prevented Rafael Diaz-Balart from taking up his seat in the Cuban parliament in 1959 and he emigrated to Florida and formed one of the first anti-Castro exile groups.

Nowadays the leader of the Hispanic Caucus seems to be Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a former member of the House. Menendez tried unsuccessfully to block the repeal of Cuban-American travel restrictions and cash sales of food products to Cuba. He is the foremost defender of Radio and TV Martí. Radio Martí started broadcasting on May 20, 1985 and TV Martí went on the air on March 27, 1990. Since their inception both stations, with a combined staff of more than 150, have spent some US$500,000 of taxpayers' money to broadcast about 330 hours of weekly programmes. The Government Accountability Office reported in February 2009 that the Cuba-directed broadcasts reach less than one per cent of the Cuban population and are ineffective and unprofessional. Hispanic Caucus members no longer discuss Cuba matters but in 2007 two-thirds of their members voted to drop the trade embargo. Menendez is rumoured to be holding the diplomatic appointment of Carlos Pascual as ambassador to Mexico hostage to the
Cuban policy.

Other matters attract much media attention in the USA and Cuba. On June 4 the USA arrested Gwendolyn Myers and Walter Kendall Myers as Cuba spies for the past 30 years. Their arraignment date is set for July 24. Luis Posada Carriles, a notorious terrorist convicted for blowing up the Cuban airliner off Barbados in 1976 and planting bombs in Havana hotels in 1997, has had his trial on immigration and perjury charges repeatedly delayed in the USA.

Last week the US Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of five Cubans who were given long prison sentences by a Miami court for spying for Cuba. The five were appealing on the grounds that they did not get a fair trial in Miami, and their appeal has garnered wide international support. Not dealing effectively with Cuba could undermine Obama's goodwill throughout the Americas.

Source: Jamaica Observer