Dear Editor,
According to a BBC news report, US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Cuba on March 20-22 as part of a much broader visit to Latin America and the Caribbean. This would be the first time a sitting US president would have visited Cuba since the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
This is indeed a bold and historic action on the part of President Obama, especially in what appears to be a highly charged presidential election year. Already, Republican presidential candidates are trying to make political capital out of the proposed visit by arguing that no such visit should take place until democracy is restored to Cuba and the Castros are out of power.
President Obama has already restored diplomatic relations with Cuba after some five decades of adversarial relations. He has also lifted travel restrictions to Cuba and airline services which were suspended for years have now been restored.
These developments will go a far way in the restoration of normal relations between the Cuban people and their continental neighbours which have been ruptured for over fifty years. There is only one remaining obstacle and that is the lifting of the trade embargo against Cuba. The embargo has had a punishing effect on the Cuban economy and despite worldwide condemnation still remains in force.
It is interesting to see whether President Obama would be in a position to influence the US Congress to lift the trade embargo before his presidency comes to an end early next year.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
