At State Department Briefing, Asked About Cuba, Spokesperson Answers Without Anything New
/United States Department of State
Washington DC
5 February 2021
Mr. Ned Price, Department Spokesperson:
QUESTION: Oh, great, thanks. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, called on the Biden administration to reverse Trump’s redesignation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terror. I’m wondering, has the State Department made a decision to do so yet? Or if not, and it’s still under review, what does that review entail, and do you have a timeline on when that review might be wrapped up? Thanks.
MR PRICE: Well, let me speak a little bit about our overall overarching policy when it comes to Cuba, and it’s a policy that will be governed by two principles. First is the support for democracy and human rights. It will be at the core of our efforts through empowering the Cuban people to determine their own future. And second, we believe that Americans, and especially Cuban Americans, are the best ambassadors for freedom and prosperity in Cuba. We’re committed to making human rights a core pillar of our U.S. foreign policy. That certainly applies to Cuba, just as you’ve heard me reference it across the board, and includes redoubling our dedication to human rights throughout our own hemisphere.
Despite, human rights defenders around the world continue to look to the United States to – for support against authoritarian regimes. This is one of those issues that we will continue to rally our allies and partners against. And in the administration we’ve also committed to carefully reviewing policy decisions made in the prior administration, including the decision by the outgoing administration to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. I wouldn’t want to go into any further details. But as we take a look at this issue into our broader policy with Cuba, those principles will continue to be front of mind.
The White House
Washington DC
28 January 2021
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
”Q And if I may ask one more on Cuba: Do you guys plan on starting -- walking back all of those restrictions that were put into place under the Trump administration after the Obama administration had opened things up with Cuba?”
”MS. PSAKI: Well, our Cuba policy is governed by two principles. First, support for democracy and human rights. That will be at the core of our efforts. Second is Americans, especially Cuban Americans, are the best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba. So we'll review the Trump administration policies, as we are in a number of other areas of national security, with an eye to assure -- ensuring that our approach is aligned with that. But, you know, we will take our own path. I don't I don't have anything to predict for you at this point in time.”
United States Department of State
Washington DC
1 February 2021
Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
QUESTION: Will you revoke the terror designation on Cuba?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: So there were a series of actions that the outgoing administration took, including that one, that were – that it took it in the very last days of the administration, steps it could have taken presumably over four years that it took in the last basically four weeks. We’re looking at all of them.
CiberCuba
Valencia, Spain
11 February 2020
CiberCuba interview with Democratic candidate Joe Biden CiberCuba:
What will be your first step regarding the current policy towards Cuba if you become president of the United States?
Joe Biden: Trump's policies toward Cuba have been a total failure. The repressions by the regime have only increased under him. As president, my policy will be governed by two principles: first that Americans, Cuban Americans in particular, are the best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba. Second, empowering the Cuban people to determine their own future is critical to the national security of the United States. The situation in Cuba today is not the same as the situation four years ago and I will follow policies that recognize today's environment, starting with the elimination of Trump's restrictions on remittances and travel, which harm the Cuban people and maintain to separated families. I will also address the backlog of more than 20,000 visas that has increased under the Trump administration, demand the release of political prisoners, and defend human rights in Cuba, just as I did when I was vice president.
CiberCuba: One of the most severe sanctions decreed by Trump has been the prohibitions of regular and chartered flights, and the limitation of remittances to Cuba. What is his plan to reverse both measures?
Joe Biden: In the midst of a global pandemic, when so many families are deeply shocked, President Trump is denying Cuban Americans the right to support their families on the island. Once again, he makes it clear that his alleged "support" of the Cuban people is nothing more than empty political rhetoric.
The Trump administration is deporting hundreds of Cubans back to dictatorship. There are nearly 10,000 Cubans languishing in tent camps along the border with Mexico because of Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. And he is separating Cuban families through increasingly severe restrictions on family visits and remittances. None of this helps the Cuban people. None of this has advanced democracy in Cuba. Donald Trump is the worst possible standard-bearer to achieve democracy in Cuba, because he has indulged autocrats around the world, like Vladimir Putin in Russia. Throughout my career I have defended democracy and human rights, freedom of the press, of assembly and religion, and I have fought against dictators on both the left and the right.
Limitations on remittances in particular only harm Cuban families, especially the elderly and the most vulnerable, both on the island and in our country. Both Americans and Cubans cannot afford four more years of weak leadership, empty words and broken promises from Trump.
CiberCuba: Changes in immigration policy have led to a concentration of Cubans awaiting an asylum hearing in Mexico, while dozens of others remain arrested in US immigration jails under questionable treatment and the threat of deportation. What would you do in this situation?
Joe Biden: What the Trump Administration is doing is inconceivable: deporting hundreds of Cubans to a dictatorship and forcing nearly 10,000 Cubans to languish in tent camps along the Mexican border, all to advance the anti-crusade. immigrant from this administration. The United States can defend both the security of our border and our values as a nation of immigrants. We must restore our historic commitment to asylum seekers and refugees. My immigration plan will end Trump's damaging asylum policies, starting with Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols [PPM], and reinstate our asylum laws to do what they should do: protect people fleeing from persecution and that they are unable to return home safely. We will end prolonged detention and for-profit detention centers and reinvest in case management programs, which allow migrants to live in dignity and safety while awaiting their court hearings, and which are the best way to ensure that asylum seekers attend all required immigration hearings. In addition, we will restore sensible enforcement priorities so that hard-working people who have never committed a serious crime are not subject to deportation.
CiberCuba: One of the fundamental complaints of the Cuban community in the United States is the paralysis of the Family Reunification Program for three years. What can you say to the families who demand the reactivation of this immigration benefit?
Joe Biden: A Biden and Harris administration will reopen pathways for safe and legal migration from the island, including the Cuban Family Reunification Permit Program (CFRP) and the Cuban refugee program as soon as possible. The oppressive Cuban regime should not prevent Americans - and Cuban Americans in particular - from helping their families and friends in Cuba.
CiberCuba: The current administration has justified its sanctions against Cuba with the criteria of punishing the military spheres that control tourism and businesses in the country and limiting its support for the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela. What do you think about these sanctions? Would you raise them or negotiate them?
Joe Biden: Trump's policies have not been successful. Dictators remain entrenched in power in both Cuba and Venezuela. Sanctions are an important tool, but they are not our only tool and must be part of a larger strategy to achieve the results we want. The goal is more freedom for people living under oppressive regimes. If sanctions help advance that goal, I will use them. And unlike Trump, I will protect people fleeing the oppression of these dictatorships. Trump has made it nearly impossible for asylum seekers to even make the legal claim to which they are entitled. President Trump and Senate Republicans have repeatedly refused to grant Temporary Protected Status [TPS] to Venezuelans fleeing the Maduro regime. I will grant them. In Cuba, empowering the Cuban people will be the centerpiece of my approach. And I will ensure that all asylum seekers, including those from Cuba and Nicaragua, are given fair consideration.
