Castro, return the property!
On July 20, the Embassy of Cuba opened in Washington, and the US Embassy opened in Havana. Two states restored diplomatic relations that were terminated more than half a century ago. Analysts believe that restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba will allow President B. H. Obama not only to strengthen the position of the Democratic Party in the upcoming presidential elections next year, but also to enter history. Political analysts also believe that the central motives of the White House administration were the desire to drag the votes of the Cuban electorate in the country to the side of the Democrats. Finally, there is an opinion that Washington set a geopolitical goal: to weaken Havana’s ties with Moscow.
On Monday, the United States this week and Cuba have formally restored diplomatic relations after 50-year hiatus, reports RBC with reference to Bloomberg. Diplomatic relations are considered restored with 0: 00 (7: 00 MSK) 20 July. Experts regard the normalization of relations between the USA and Cuba as one of the main foreign policy achievements of Barack Obama along with the solution of the Iranian nuclear problem. The restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba will allow the current US president to go down in history and strengthen the position of the Democratic Party in the upcoming presidential elections in November 2016, notes RIA News".
About the history of the restoration of interrupted 54 a year ago, diplomatic relations told reporter "RT" Oliver Zamora.
The presidencies of Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. were characterized by an increase in anti-Cuban policies. The correspondent recalls that criminal groups were created, which then acted in Cuba, and measures were taken to tighten the blockade (the Helms-Burton Act).
Obama was also in no hurry to contact with Cuba. Only during his second term in the White House, he began to take steps to normalize relations with Havana. Republicans decided to play against him, but it was extremely unfortunate. "Their attempts were doomed to failure, because since 17 December 2014, when Obama announced a change in political course towards Cuba, his rating took off from 20% from small to 50%," said RT Doctor of Economic Sciences Esteban Morales Dominguez.
Obama himself said that the former policy of Washington towards Cuba not only did not bring the desired results, but even hurt the United States regional image.
On the other hand, experts do not admit that the White House, have revised strategy and revise the policy. His goal is the same - to end the current Cuban government.
So far, however, it is premature to draw any conclusions. We must wait for the visit to Havana of US Secretary of State John Kerry, and he will fly there in August. In addition, the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two states does not mean the lifting of the embargo from Liberty Island: Republicans in Congress have not abandoned their attempts to contradict the entire policy of the Obama administration. For example, one of the main opponents of Obama in the Cuban issue is 44-year-old Senator Marco Antonio Rubio, who comes from among Cuban immigrants and wants to become the next American president. And the hedgehog is clear that this person would like to record the voices of Cuban Americans into his Republican account, and therefore any initiative of the White House will be hostile to them.
And yet, the White House is trying to soften relations with Cuba, as much because of the "strategic" desire to completely turn Havana away from the Russians.
For its part, Havana makes big political concessions to Washington. This is visible in all directions.
First, the Cuban authorities have assured Washington that they will not prevent Cuban citizens from visiting the American embassy, notes Gazeta.ru. Keep on the account of such citizens Havana, too, will not.
Secondly, Raul Castro, unlike his brother Fidel, is determined to come closer to America and carry out market reforms on the island.
Third, the camp at Guantanamo in Cuba will not be closed, despite Obama’s long-running campaign promises. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has confirmed that plans to close the base in Guantanamo have no Pentagon.
Fourth, the restoration of relations with Cuba until it is removed from the Cuban embargo. “Officially,” the problem is that Obama has no right to lift the embargo without a decision of Congress, and there the republicans will rule the ball. However, it can be assumed that in this case there is a political component of the “leisure” of the White House: the administration can keep the reformer Raul Castro on a short leash, forcing one condition after another to be fulfilled without doing anything on its part: the Republicans are in the way.
Fifth, Washington made it clear to Havana who is the owner of the planet. In August, Kerry should fly to Cuba, but the head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Bruno Rodriguez, should come to Washington first with a bow.
Comrade Rodriguez, of course, diligently makes a good face on a bad game.
“There remain significant differences between the United States and Cuba,” he said on historic Monday at a press conference with John Kerry.
"I stressed that the complete lifting of the blockade, the return of the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo, as well as respect for the sovereignty of Cuba and compensation for moral and economic damage to people are extremely important for the normalization of our relations," the channel quotes the head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry. "Euronews".
John Kerry responded in the traditional American manner: “At the moment there are no discussions or intentions on our part to change the existing lease agreement or other agreements concerning the naval base, but we understand Cuba’s serious unrest on this score. I can not tell you what will happen in the future, but for now it is not a subject for discussion on our part. "
That's all, the "subject for discussion" is not. Diplomatic promise far away.
One of the most interesting questions is the problem of Cuban migrants - more precisely, the problem of real estate, which the communists once took away from their political opponents. The return of immigrants to real estate is a central agenda in the US Congress. Congressmen do not intend to allow the blockade to be lifted off the island until immigrants are given back the property they have taken away from them by the Communists, writes Yury Zaynashev ("Sight").
A senior lecturer in the journalism department of the Russian State Humanitarian University, an expert on Latin America, Mikhail Belyat, recalls that “the so-called blockade of Cuba will continue for a long time”. In April 2015 Washington withdrew from Havana accused of supporting terrorism, which allowed to cancel part of the sanctions. However, until now, American companies are forbidden to cooperate with Cuban companies, and third-country companies are prohibited from supplying products containing Cuban components to the United States. Saved a set of prohibitions in the financial sector. The United States continues to restrict travel of citizens of the two countries. This position of the White House is associated with a variety of claims against Cuba - how about the nationalization of American property and human rights. “Over the 54 of the year, a lot of legislation, decrees and other documents were drafted that defined all restrictions in the financial, trade and migration areas. To cancel this whole complex, you have to go a long way back. At the same time, not everyone in Congress is ready to cancel them, not everyone is happy with Obama’s rapprochement with Castro, ”Belyat told the Vzglyad newspaper.
Nevertheless, Obama will strive to improve relations with Cuba: “As it should be in show business, his team leaves nailing numbers at the end of the show - this is a breakthrough with Iran and restoration with Cuba” (by “show” we mean the things to come in 2016 city elections). Reconciliation with Havana will help Washington to also build relations with Latin America: after all, the embargo against Cuba has been a stumbling block for many years.
As for the real estate taken away from the nationalization process, the Marti TV and Radio Company, which broadcasts to Cuba from the United States, warned of a wave of lawsuits. They can be filed by Americans, including Cuban immigrants. The litigation will concern the property taken away by the communists in 1960. If a wave of lawsuits to take place, Havana can answer an attempt to condemn Washington for an economic blockade.
According to “Marty”, which “Vzglyad” cites, the Office for the Control of Assets Abroad of the United States has registered almost 6 thousand claims of Cubans and foreigners for expropriated or lost property on the island, assessed by the plaintiffs at $ 7-8 billion (together however, we recall that Cuba previously estimated the damage from the American economic embargo at more than 100 billion.).
And one more opinion on the imminent "decommunization" of the island, which is a merit of Obama and his advisers.
“The Obama administration did the right thing to restore the relationship long before the end of the Castro brothers regime, which is inevitable. The United States will play an important role in the de-communization and privatization of Cuba, ”said Ariel Cohen, director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (Washington), told Vzglyad.
And some real steps have already been taken.
As the RBC, US citizens will now be allowed to bring goods from Cuba in the amount of up to 400 dollars (though, at the same time, the total amount of tobacco and alcohol should be no more than 100 dollars).
Americans can use debit and credit cards on the island. American firms received permission to insure residents of third countries traveling to the island.
The White House allowed to export telecommunications equipment, agricultural and construction equipment to Cuba.
Washington is also ready to relax financial constraints: the limit on remittances to Cuba is planned to be raised from $ 500 to $ 2 thousand per quarter for one recipient.
Finally, transport links have been restored between the two countries. At the end of March 2015, the company Sun Country (USA) opened weekly flights from New York to Havana and back. In early May, Washington issued licenses to four companies from Florida for maritime transportation between Miami and Cuba.
Washington’s political and commercial activization is a precisely timed response to political and economic rivals like Russia and China.
“If you are doing something for more than half a century and it cannot earn anything, you should try something else,” quotes the words of the head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Donohue, RBC, said by that January 2015. - It is time for us to move to Cuba. Someone will have to sell goods to Cubans, and it will not only be us. " And the head of the Chamber of Commerce said that special attention should be paid to the fact that in recent years, Russia and China have been increasing trade with Cuba.
In short, the Americans did right on a Russian proverb: they slowly harnessed, but quickly drove off. The phrase "democratic reform" is about to become obsolete in the Cuban press ...
On Monday, the United States this week and Cuba have formally restored diplomatic relations after 50-year hiatus, reports RBC with reference to Bloomberg. Diplomatic relations are considered restored with 0: 00 (7: 00 MSK) 20 July. Experts regard the normalization of relations between the USA and Cuba as one of the main foreign policy achievements of Barack Obama along with the solution of the Iranian nuclear problem. The restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba will allow the current US president to go down in history and strengthen the position of the Democratic Party in the upcoming presidential elections in November 2016, notes RIA News".
About the history of the restoration of interrupted 54 a year ago, diplomatic relations told reporter "RT" Oliver Zamora.
The presidencies of Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. were characterized by an increase in anti-Cuban policies. The correspondent recalls that criminal groups were created, which then acted in Cuba, and measures were taken to tighten the blockade (the Helms-Burton Act).
Obama was also in no hurry to contact with Cuba. Only during his second term in the White House, he began to take steps to normalize relations with Havana. Republicans decided to play against him, but it was extremely unfortunate. "Their attempts were doomed to failure, because since 17 December 2014, when Obama announced a change in political course towards Cuba, his rating took off from 20% from small to 50%," said RT Doctor of Economic Sciences Esteban Morales Dominguez.
Obama himself said that the former policy of Washington towards Cuba not only did not bring the desired results, but even hurt the United States regional image.
On the other hand, experts do not admit that the White House, have revised strategy and revise the policy. His goal is the same - to end the current Cuban government.
So far, however, it is premature to draw any conclusions. We must wait for the visit to Havana of US Secretary of State John Kerry, and he will fly there in August. In addition, the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two states does not mean the lifting of the embargo from Liberty Island: Republicans in Congress have not abandoned their attempts to contradict the entire policy of the Obama administration. For example, one of the main opponents of Obama in the Cuban issue is 44-year-old Senator Marco Antonio Rubio, who comes from among Cuban immigrants and wants to become the next American president. And the hedgehog is clear that this person would like to record the voices of Cuban Americans into his Republican account, and therefore any initiative of the White House will be hostile to them.
And yet, the White House is trying to soften relations with Cuba, as much because of the "strategic" desire to completely turn Havana away from the Russians.
For its part, Havana makes big political concessions to Washington. This is visible in all directions.
First, the Cuban authorities have assured Washington that they will not prevent Cuban citizens from visiting the American embassy, notes Gazeta.ru. Keep on the account of such citizens Havana, too, will not.
Secondly, Raul Castro, unlike his brother Fidel, is determined to come closer to America and carry out market reforms on the island.
Third, the camp at Guantanamo in Cuba will not be closed, despite Obama’s long-running campaign promises. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has confirmed that plans to close the base in Guantanamo have no Pentagon.
Fourth, the restoration of relations with Cuba until it is removed from the Cuban embargo. “Officially,” the problem is that Obama has no right to lift the embargo without a decision of Congress, and there the republicans will rule the ball. However, it can be assumed that in this case there is a political component of the “leisure” of the White House: the administration can keep the reformer Raul Castro on a short leash, forcing one condition after another to be fulfilled without doing anything on its part: the Republicans are in the way.
Fifth, Washington made it clear to Havana who is the owner of the planet. In August, Kerry should fly to Cuba, but the head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Bruno Rodriguez, should come to Washington first with a bow.
Comrade Rodriguez, of course, diligently makes a good face on a bad game.
“There remain significant differences between the United States and Cuba,” he said on historic Monday at a press conference with John Kerry.
"I stressed that the complete lifting of the blockade, the return of the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo, as well as respect for the sovereignty of Cuba and compensation for moral and economic damage to people are extremely important for the normalization of our relations," the channel quotes the head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry. "Euronews".
John Kerry responded in the traditional American manner: “At the moment there are no discussions or intentions on our part to change the existing lease agreement or other agreements concerning the naval base, but we understand Cuba’s serious unrest on this score. I can not tell you what will happen in the future, but for now it is not a subject for discussion on our part. "
That's all, the "subject for discussion" is not. Diplomatic promise far away.
One of the most interesting questions is the problem of Cuban migrants - more precisely, the problem of real estate, which the communists once took away from their political opponents. The return of immigrants to real estate is a central agenda in the US Congress. Congressmen do not intend to allow the blockade to be lifted off the island until immigrants are given back the property they have taken away from them by the Communists, writes Yury Zaynashev ("Sight").
A senior lecturer in the journalism department of the Russian State Humanitarian University, an expert on Latin America, Mikhail Belyat, recalls that “the so-called blockade of Cuba will continue for a long time”. In April 2015 Washington withdrew from Havana accused of supporting terrorism, which allowed to cancel part of the sanctions. However, until now, American companies are forbidden to cooperate with Cuban companies, and third-country companies are prohibited from supplying products containing Cuban components to the United States. Saved a set of prohibitions in the financial sector. The United States continues to restrict travel of citizens of the two countries. This position of the White House is associated with a variety of claims against Cuba - how about the nationalization of American property and human rights. “Over the 54 of the year, a lot of legislation, decrees and other documents were drafted that defined all restrictions in the financial, trade and migration areas. To cancel this whole complex, you have to go a long way back. At the same time, not everyone in Congress is ready to cancel them, not everyone is happy with Obama’s rapprochement with Castro, ”Belyat told the Vzglyad newspaper.
Nevertheless, Obama will strive to improve relations with Cuba: “As it should be in show business, his team leaves nailing numbers at the end of the show - this is a breakthrough with Iran and restoration with Cuba” (by “show” we mean the things to come in 2016 city elections). Reconciliation with Havana will help Washington to also build relations with Latin America: after all, the embargo against Cuba has been a stumbling block for many years.
As for the real estate taken away from the nationalization process, the Marti TV and Radio Company, which broadcasts to Cuba from the United States, warned of a wave of lawsuits. They can be filed by Americans, including Cuban immigrants. The litigation will concern the property taken away by the communists in 1960. If a wave of lawsuits to take place, Havana can answer an attempt to condemn Washington for an economic blockade.
According to “Marty”, which “Vzglyad” cites, the Office for the Control of Assets Abroad of the United States has registered almost 6 thousand claims of Cubans and foreigners for expropriated or lost property on the island, assessed by the plaintiffs at $ 7-8 billion (together however, we recall that Cuba previously estimated the damage from the American economic embargo at more than 100 billion.).
And one more opinion on the imminent "decommunization" of the island, which is a merit of Obama and his advisers.
“The Obama administration did the right thing to restore the relationship long before the end of the Castro brothers regime, which is inevitable. The United States will play an important role in the de-communization and privatization of Cuba, ”said Ariel Cohen, director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (Washington), told Vzglyad.
And some real steps have already been taken.
As the RBC, US citizens will now be allowed to bring goods from Cuba in the amount of up to 400 dollars (though, at the same time, the total amount of tobacco and alcohol should be no more than 100 dollars).
Americans can use debit and credit cards on the island. American firms received permission to insure residents of third countries traveling to the island.
The White House allowed to export telecommunications equipment, agricultural and construction equipment to Cuba.
Washington is also ready to relax financial constraints: the limit on remittances to Cuba is planned to be raised from $ 500 to $ 2 thousand per quarter for one recipient.
Finally, transport links have been restored between the two countries. At the end of March 2015, the company Sun Country (USA) opened weekly flights from New York to Havana and back. In early May, Washington issued licenses to four companies from Florida for maritime transportation between Miami and Cuba.
Washington’s political and commercial activization is a precisely timed response to political and economic rivals like Russia and China.
“If you are doing something for more than half a century and it cannot earn anything, you should try something else,” quotes the words of the head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Donohue, RBC, said by that January 2015. - It is time for us to move to Cuba. Someone will have to sell goods to Cubans, and it will not only be us. " And the head of the Chamber of Commerce said that special attention should be paid to the fact that in recent years, Russia and China have been increasing trade with Cuba.
In short, the Americans did right on a Russian proverb: they slowly harnessed, but quickly drove off. The phrase "democratic reform" is about to become obsolete in the Cuban press ...
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
- especially for topwar.ru
- especially for topwar.ru
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