Sunday, December 28 2008
There are almost as many opinions as there are analysts, but it’s clear that incoming President Barack Obama’s options on Cuba are quite a bit wider than they were for current President George W. Bush.
"Obama has a real opportunity to redirect U.S. relations with [Cuba]," said Shannon O'Neil, the Douglas Dillon Fellow for Latin America Studies with the Council on Foreign Relations, in a recent interview with ISN Security Watch.
O'Neil noted that Obama "won Florida – supported by the majority of Hispanics in that state, though he lost the Cuban-American vote. Since Cuban-Americans were not decisive in his victory, Obama now doesn't owe them anything. In addition, polls show that younger Cuban-Americans were more likely to vote Democratic, suggesting a longer-term shift away from the core support for the current US-Cuba policy."
Obama has said that he would ease the restrictions on Cuban-American family travel to Cuba and on money transfers. O'Neil emphasized that a change in the U.S. attitude toward Cuba would send a significant signal to other Central and South American countries and "would also make much of [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez's anti-American rhetoric ring less true across the region, limiting its effectiveness and perhaps leading to a different bilateral dynamic down the road."
From the Cuban perspective, Cuban National Assembly President Richard Alarcon told the Mexican daily newspaper La Journada, "I know that we can't expect a big turning point with respect to Cuba."
Alarcon noted that Obama's public promises regarding Cuba are fairly limited, but include eliminating "the restrictions that Bush added to the ones that exist, limiting remittances and trips to the island by Cubans living in the U.S. Since these were executive decisions, Obama can annul them with another executive decision.
"Objectively speaking, this isn't either the end of the blockade [the U.S. trade embargo] or the end of an aggressive policy, but it's very good news for Cubans on both sides of the [Florida] Straits. It's something healthy. If he doesn't do it, forget it. He won't do anything."
While optimists believe Obama might, with the help of a Democratic majority in Congress, overturn the embargo completely, O'Neil and other analysts noted that because of the state of the American economy and the continuing turmoil in Iraq and Afghanistan, Latin American issues are not likely to be near the top of any White House priority list in the foreseeable future.
>> The annual pilgrimage to the Tabacalera A. Fuente factory and fields in the Dominican Republic, hosted by the Fuente and Newman families, has been set for July 14-16, 2009.
It will be the 12th year for the Cigar Family Celebration, in which the Fuentes and Newmans greet more than 100 enthusiasts for a tour of their cigar-making empire in and around Santiago, Dominican Republic.
The highlight of the program, however, will probably not involve cigars at all, but rather the first graduation ceremony for the Cigar Family High School established by the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. The 23-acre facility now includes primary and secondary schools serving 490 students, a community center, medical center, sports facilities and an organic farm.
Capacity for the event is limited, of course, with about 150 spots expected to be available. The logistics are still being fine-tuned and registration won't begin until February of 2009. The cost is anticipated to be in the $300 range, which does not include the cost of airfare or lodging. The three-day program includes a full tour of the Fuente factory in the duty-free zone in Santiago, Dominican Republic and a day at the Chateau de la Fuente farms along with the Cigar Family High School graduation ceremony. An add-on party at the Casa de Campo resort is also being planned for the 17th and 18th.
As always, Celebration attendees will get a chance to experience some of the rare cigars made in tiny quantities at the Tabacalera A. Fuente and stored in the "back rooms," accessed only by the Fuentes and Newmans for their guests.
Short fillers: Find our latest tasting review, of "The King of the World," better known as El Rey del Mundo, in our News & Views archives for December 26.
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
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Reprinted by permission. "Heard in the Humidor" is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company. Copyright 2008-2009; All rights reserved.
