In a written interview with the Spanish press agency Efe, the senator and vice president for the Democratic Party Kamala Harris answered two questions related to Cuba.
Q: What would a future government of yours and that of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden do to reverse the policies that Trump has adopted towards Cuba? Would you personally advocate for an end to the blockade?
A: The policy of a Biden and Harris Administration towards Cuba would be governed by two principles: First, Americans, especially Cuban-Americans, are the best ambassadors of freedom in Cuba. Second, empowering the Cuban people to determine their own future is vital to America's national security interests.
Trump is deporting hundreds of Cubans back to dictatorship and back to a regime crackdown that has only increased under his presidency. There are nearly 10,000 Cubans languishing in tent camps along the Mexican border due to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. And it is separating Cuban families through restrictions on family visits and remittances.
We will backtrack on Trump's failed policies. And as Joe Biden did previously as vice president, he will also demand the release of political prisoners and will make human rights a centerpiece in the diplomatic relationship.
The embargo is the law; you need an act of Congress to lift it or you need the president to determine that a democratically elected government is in power in Cuba. We don't expect any of these things to happen anytime soon.
Q: From a US foreign policy perspective, what role do you think Spain can play in relations with Cuba and, in general, with Latin America?
A: Under a Biden and Harris Administration, the US will work with members of the international community, including Spain, to support the Cuban people, as well as promote Joe Biden's vision of the need to work for a safe hemisphere, middle class and democratic.
( Read full interview )
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Philip H. Gordon, her National Security Advisor, is the author of the book Losing the Long Game, a forceful criticism of U.S. regime change policies in other nations.
Although this 2020 publication focuses on the Middle East region, it contains several historical references to Cuba, in order to illustrate the ineffectiveness and unforeseeable negative consequences both for the affected nations and for the interests of the United States of the regime change policies. In contrast to them, Gordon argues in favor of the application of policies based on diplomacy, negotiation and constructive engagement.
https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba-usa/kamala-harris-and-united-states-cuba-policy-a-hopeful-light/
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Letter to the President following his withdrawal as candidate
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2024/07/letter-to-president-after-his.html
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Representative Tim Walz on Cuba
Rep. Walz in 2010 voted in favor of a bill passed by the Agriculture Committee to end all Cuba travel restrictions and allow US farmers to sell food to Cuba directly from US banks on credit terms. In 2015 he co-sponsored the Free Trade with Cuba Act, which would have repealed the embargo.
During Obama’s 2016 Cuba visit, Walz affirmed support for opening the Cuban export market. In 2017, Walz urged Trump to reconsider his Cuba policy reversal: “Increased engagement with Cuba by U.S. citizens, companies and the non-governmental sector holds extraordinary promise.”
Walz opposed aspects of Trump’s policy on Cuba,, calling it “shortsighted and misguided.” He focused on opening markets for agricultural trade to benefit both Minnesota farmers and the Cuban people.
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