For more than 50 years, the United States has maintained a total embargo against Cuba. We have cut economic ties with the intent to democratize this island 90 miles south of our borders by compelling Cubans to submission. Still, Castro's government has outlasted the Soviet Union, China's closed borders, and other relics of days past.
The United States adopts a policy of economic improvement and trade to bring about democratization throughout China, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Yet we think the opposite will promote liberalization in Cuba, which thus far hasn't proven the case. If anything, the embargo boosts Cuban nationalism against the United States, making us a scapegoat for Cuba's hardships. We have the opportunity to bring change by lifting the embargo against Cuba.