Though he does not believe the lifting the Cuba embargo will be “as easy or as quickly done as I think President Obama would like,” Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., said he does see promise from “a new generation of Cuban leadership and a new generation of American leadership.” Ribble also noted that “[Cuban President] Raul Castro is still pretty dug-in on certain things that I know will not get past a Republican-held Congress.”
Opposition among the congressional Republican caucus will pose an obstacle to embargo-related reforms. Even House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has voiced his opposition, despite having previously supported lifting the embargo.
A narrower and piecemeal approach to lifting the embargo could help overcome opposition, Ribble told the Post. He highlighted agricultural trade as a potential candidate for further liberalization. Ag trade can take place, but it has been hobbled by the requirement that transactions take place in cash with no financing allowed. Demands recently made by President Castro, such as payment of reparations by the U.S. on account of damage from the embargo, are likely to further antagonize Republican’s opposed to the regime and to lifting the embargo.
A full repeal of the embargo was voiced by other Republicans who participated in the Cuba visit. “What are we, going to try and live with this false belief that some part of the embargo has actually been valid?” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said, arguing that full repeal was the better approach.
“The embargo has been the single greatest thing that contributed to [Fidel Castro’s] ability to consolidate and hold power for several decades,” Emmer told the Post, saying that “if it goes away, there are no more excuses, the government has to be responsible to its people.”
Support in the Senate for lifting the embargo has been consistently voiced by Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and he says though that might be a heavy lift, he supports at least attempting to this year. He also noted his belief that the votes needed to lift the travel ban already exist in the Senate.