Cuba « Roque Planas

Obama Rated at Foreign Policy Magazine

Foreign Policy Magazine has put together a one-year report card for president Obama. They invited me to contribute a grade on his Cuba policy, for which I gave him a “C,” just shy of the B- average. Find out why by clicking here.

“The Embargo On Change” Up At Foreign Policy Magazine Site

I’ve got an article up at Foreign Policy Magazine’s website this week about the U.N. Resolution to condemn the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. By a vote of 187 to 3 on Oct. 28, the U.N. condemned the embargo for the 18th consecutive year–but don’t expect that to prod either the Obama administration or Congress [...]

Removal Of U.S. Billboard In Cuba: A Small Sign Of Coming Change?

U.S.-Cuba relations have been slowly but surely thawing since Barack Obama’s innauguration. Another small step toward the elusive diplomatic opening occurred recently, when the Obama administration ordered the State Department to remove a “pro-democracy” billboard erected by the Bush administration in 2006. The billboard featured a news ticker relaying statements critical of Cuba’s human rights [...]

Celso Amorim Discusses Decision To Allow Cuba To Apply For Re-Entry To OAS

Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations Celso Amorim gave an interview of interest to those following Cuba’s foreign relations to Colombian daily El Tiempo this week. The whole interview is available (in Spanish) here, but I’ve translated below the section that deals with Cuba’s entrance into the OAS (which I blogged about earlier this month).

We couldn’t [...]

Cuba Continues To Dominate US-Latin American Relations

The Organization of American States voted by consensus at a gathering in San Pedro Sula this week to allow Cuba to reapply for membership. The event marked the third straight meeting of hemispheric heads of state in which Cuba dominated the agenda.

Since Obama was elected, governments across the hemisphere have called upon him to rescind [...]

Obama Reaches Out At Summit Of The Americas

Despite entering the Fifth Summit of the Americas in an atmosphere ripe for confrontation, the weekend-long meeting turned out to be extraordinarily cordial. Relations between the United States and the Latin American left remain strained, but President Obama’s friendly (if brief) exchanges with Presidents Chávez, Morales, and Ortega indicate a change in the tenor of [...]

Rio Group Gains Cuba As 23rd Member And Calls On Incoming Obama Administration To End Embargo

Latin American heads of state invited Cuba to join the Rio Group last week at a meeting in Salvador da Bahía, Brazil. Formed in 1986 to advance Central American peace talks, the Rio Group is a coalition of Latin American nations that meets annually to discuss and harmonize regional foreign policy. Cuba will become the [...]

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