This 50 year-old trade embargo has clearly failed in its goal of liberating the Cuban people.
Despite the sanctions, the totalitarian regime has remained in power while the US has spent millions in enforcing them, with analysts estimating that the embargo costs the US economy between $1.2 and $4.84 billion annually.
Further, the Cuban government has consistently used this policy to justify its own problems, blaming its abundant poverty on the US.
It is imperative that the US end this ineffective strategy and create a different approach for addressing the issue.