Follow us on social

Shutterstock_415425625-scaled

Bipartisan Senate bill would finally end US embargo on Cuba

The proposal, which would largely repeal one of America’s most controversial policies, will face an uphill battle in Congress.

Reporting | Latin America

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Monday that would remove key parts of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, which has been in place for over six decades.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who proposed a similar bill in 2021, described the proposal as a way to end the embargo “once and for all.”

“[O]ur bipartisan legislation will turn the page on the failed policy of isolation while creating a new export market and generating economic opportunities for American businesses,” she said in a statement.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), one of the bill’s two Republican co-sponsors, said it would “expand market opportunities for U.S. producers by allowing them to compete on a level playing field with other countries.”

The proposal, which failed to get a hearing when introduced in 2021, would end one of Washington’s most controversial foreign policy practices. The Cold War-era embargo has cost the Cuban economy at least $130 billion over the past six decades, according to the UN. Though a 2000 law allows some U.S.-Cuba agricultural trade, experts argue that the sanctions regime is a primary reason for Havana’s ongoing economic woes.

Late last year, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the embargo, with only the United States and Israel voting against the resolution. U.S. allies and foes alike have criticized the embargo for its comprehensive provisions, including measures that make it difficult for other countries to do business with Cuba.

William LeoGrande, a professor at American University and a leading expert on U.S.-Cuba relations, praised the bill’s contents as “essentially lifting the embargo” but said the proposal “really doesn’t have any chance” of passing.

“It’s symbolic,” LeoGrande said. “It’s staking out a position.”

In the Senate, the bill would have to make it past Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a leading Cuba hawk and the current chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And chances that a Republican-controlled House would even take up the bill are vanishingly small.

It is also unclear whether President Joe Biden would sign the bill if passed. Despite early indications that he would pursue changes in Cuba policy, Biden largely avoided the issue during his first two years in office. Most other centrist Democrats have done the same, largely due to concerns that such a move would lose voters in Florida’s sizable Cuban-American community. 

But, as Florida becomes increasingly Republican, LeoGrande argues that presidential leadership could help persuade centrists to drop their opposition, as demonstrated by former President Barack Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with Havana.

“Obama changed the conversation about Cuba by simply saying, ‘this policy doesn't make sense anymore,’” LeoGrande said.

Unfortunately, he added, Biden “shows absolutely no inclination to exercise that kind of leadership on this issue.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the bill.


(Shutterstock/ Delpixel)
Reporting | Latin America
Nuclear missile
Top image credit: Zack Frank

Put this nuclear missile on the back of a truck — but we still don't need it

Military Industrial Complex

Last week, analysts from three think tanks penned a joint op-ed for Breaking Defense to make the case for mobilizing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, a pivot from one exceedingly costly approach to nuclear modernization to another.

After Sentinel faced a 37 percent cost overrun in early 2024, the Pentagon was forced to inform Congress of the cost spike, assess the root causes, and either cancel the program or certify it to move forward under a restructured approach. The Pentagon chose to certify it, but not before noting that the restructured program would actually come in 81 percent over budget.

keep readingShow less
Maduro, Trump
Top photo credit: Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (Shutterstock/stringerAL) ; President Donald Trump (Shutterstock/a katz)

Why we need to take Trump's Drug War very seriously

Latin America

Donald Trump has long been a fan of using the U.S. military to wage a more vigorous war against drug cartels in Latin America. He also shows signs of using that justification as a pretext to oust regimes considered hostile to other U.S. interests.

The most recent incident in the administration’s escalating antidrug campaign took place on October 3 when “Secretary of War” Mike Hegseth announced that U.S. naval forces had sunk yet another small boat off of the coast of Venezuela. It was one of four destroyed vessels and a total of 21 people killed since late September. The administration claims they were all trying to ship illegal drugs to the United States.

keep readingShow less
Israel Gaza deal
Top photo credit: United States and Israel flags are projected on the walls of the Old city of Jerusalem in celebration after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

Will this deal work? Netanyahu has gamed everything his way so far.

Middle East

Two years into the Gaza conflict and perhaps on the cusp of a successful phased ceasefire, what can we say?

On the basis of media reporting about Yahya Sinwar’s strategic rationale for attacking Israel on October 7, 2023, it seems that he believed Israel was on the brink of civil war and that the impact of a large-scale assault would severely erode its political stability. He believed that Hamas’s erstwhile allies, especially Hizballah and Iran, would open offensives against Israel, which, in combination with Hamas’s invasion, would stretch the nation’s military capabilities to the breaking point.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.