Cuba’s hopes raised by Biden

The Biden administration will review US policy on Cuba, the White House said last week, raising hopes that crippling measures will soon be lifted.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced: "Our Cuba policy is governed by two principles. First, support for democracy and human rights - that will be at the core of our efforts. Second as Americans, especially Cuban-Americans, we are the best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba. So we'll review the Trump administration policies.” Republican Trump targeted Cuba after taking office in 2017, tightening restrictions on US travel and remittances there, and imposing sanctions on shipments of Venezuelan oil to the island.

The policy was popular among the large Cuban-American population in South Florida, helping Trump win the state in November though he lost the election to Democrat Biden, who was former President Barack Obama’s vice-president. Nine days before Trump left office last month, his administration announced it was returning Cuba to the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that could complicate Biden's efforts to revive improved relations with the Communist-run nation that Obama initiated before Trump became president.