Sharjah24 - AFP: Historic mass protests in Cuba have thrust onto US President Joe Biden's priority list an issue on which he was content to go slow and, experts say, will likely doom near-term prospects of a fresh opening.
Biden issued a statement to voice solidarity with "the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom," and the White House warned authorities not to use force after thousands poured onto the streets Sunday amid the worst economic crisis in decades.
Cuba has seen a whiplash in US policy with former president Barack Obama normalizing relations at the end of his term, declaring that a half-century of efforts to topple the regime had failed, and then his successor Donald Trump reimposing sweeping economic pressure.
Biden, who served as Obama's vice president, ordered a review upon taking office but his White House openly said it was in no rush, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki in March saying Cuba policy is "not currently among President Biden's top priorities."
Clouding over Cuba policy is domestic politics in the United States, with fervently anti-communist Cuban-Americans holding sway in the key electoral state of Florida, where Democrats were stunned last year by Trump's strong gains among Hispanic voters.
Ryan Berg, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who studies Latin America, said that the Biden administration saw more urgency in addressing migration from Central America -- another heated issue at home.
"That pretty naturally took precedence over a country that has been frozen in time for 60-plus years. It's pretty tough to move the needle on Cuba and we've tried all sorts of things," Berg said.
For an optimal experience, please
