Federal policy on Cuba, 2017
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On June 16, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum outlining new restrictions on travel to Cuba and limiting the ability of American companies to do business with Cuban companies that fund the communist country’s military and intelligence agencies. During a speech in Miami, Florida, Trump said, "We will very strongly restrict American dollars flowing to the military, security and intelligence services that are the core of Castro regime. They will be restricted. We will enforce the ban on tourism. We will enforce the embargo. We will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people, so they can open private businesses and begin to build their country’s great, great future -- a country of great potential."[1]
The Trump administration kept in place former President Barack Obama’s (D) decision to end the "wet foot, dry foot" policy. The policy allowed Cuban migrants who made it to the U.S. to stay in the country, instead of being sent back to Cuba. Speaking about the policy, Trump said, "We will keep in place the safeguards to prevent Cubans from risking their lives to unlawful travel to the United States." The administration also decided to keep the U.S. embassy in Havana open and continue U.S.-Cuba commercial flights.[2][3][1]
This page tracked major events and policy positions of the Trump administration and the 115th United States Congress on Cuba from 2017. This page was updated through 2017. Think something is missing? Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Major events and policy announcements:
- August 9, 2017: State Department says it is investigating incident involving unexplained hearing loss of U.S. diplomats in Cuba
- August 24, 2017: State Department confirms at least 16 U.S. government officials harmed by health attacks
- September 29, 2017: State Department reduces embassy staff in Havana; confirms at least 21 were harmed by health attacks
- October 3, 2017: State Department orders 15 Cuban officials to leave embassy; confirms at least 22 were harmed by health attacks
- June 16, 2017: Policy changes toward Cuba
- November 25, 2017: Castro dies; Trump calls on Cuba to provide freedom for Cubans or face consequences
August 9, 2017: State Department says it is investigating incident involving unexplained hearing loss of U.S. diplomats in Cuba
On August 9, 2017, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. was investigating what caused unexplained hearing loss and other physical problems resembling concussions in several U.S. diplomats who were in Cuba during the fall of 2016. Some of the diplomats ended their tours early and returned to the U.S. for medical care. According to AP, "After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose."[4][5]
During a press conference on August 9, 2017, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, "We don’t have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents. We can tell you that on May 23rd, the State Department took further action. We asked two officials who were accredited at the Embassy of Cuba in the United States to depart the United States. Those two individuals have departed the United States. We take this situation very seriously. One of the things we talk about here often is that the safety and security of American citizens at home and abroad is our top priority. We’re taking that situation seriously and it’s under investigation right now."[6]
On August 9, 2017, the Cuban government said in a statement, “Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception.” The government also addressed the expulsion of two Cuban diplomats saying that it was “unjustified and baseless.”[4]
Cuba has allowed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on the island to investigate the incident. The AP noted that investigators were examining whether "the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba’s formal chain of command."[4][5]
August 24, 2017: State Department confirms at least 16 U.S. government officials harmed by health attacks
During a press conference on August 24, 2017, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that "at least 16 U.S. Government employees, members of our embassy community, have experienced some kind of symptoms," including hearing loss, headaches, and nausea, as a result of what was described as a health attack. Nauert added, "This is something that we have not experienced in the past." The attacks were carried out on U.S. diplomats who were in Cuba during the fall of 2016. Nauert also told reporters that the officials were getting medical treatment and that the attacks were not ongoing.[7][8]
September 29, 2017: State Department reduces embassy staff in Havana; confirms at least 21 were harmed by health attacks
On September 29, 2017, the State Department "ordered the departure of nonemergency personnel assigned to the U.S. embassy in Havana, as well as all family members" in response to the health attacks that harmed at least 21 embassy employees, according to a State Department official. Emergency personnel are the only individuals who will remain in Cuba until the source of the attacks is identified. The attacks caused "ear complaints, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, visual complaints, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues, and difficulty sleeping."[9]
The State Department official also said that a travel warning would be issued to U.S. citizens advising them not to travel to Cuba because of the attacks carried out on U.S. embassy staff. When asked by a reporter why the State Department thought Americans traveling in Cuba could be at risk, the official said, "With regard to the threat to American citizens, the – there’s no more important mission for the State Department or a U.S. embassy overseas than to protect and advise Americans on potential threats to their safety, health, and well-being. The fact that some of these attacks have occurred in hotels where American citizens could be at and that we have no way of advising American citizens on how they could mitigate such attacks, we felt we must warn them on not to travel to Cuba until we understand and know more about the source and means and ways to mitigate these attacks that are occurring."[9]
October 3, 2017: State Department orders 15 Cuban officials to leave embassy; confirms at least 22 were harmed by health attacks
On October 3, 2017, the Department of State "informed the Government of Cuba it was ordering the departure of 15 of its officials from its embassy in Washington, D.C.," and confirmed that 22 U.S. government officials were harmed by health attacks carried out in Cuba, according to a State Department official. The official noted that the "move does not signal a change of policy or determination of responsibility for the attacks on U.S. Government personnel in Cuba. We are maintaining diplomatic relations with Havana."[10]
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, "The decision was made due to Cuba’s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention. This order will ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations. ... We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks."[11]
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez commented on the move, saying, “This is a political decision, a retaliatory measure." He added that Cuba “has never perpetrated or would ever perpetrate attacks of any type against diplomats or their families, without any exception.”[12]
The attacks were reported in November 2016, April 2017, May 2017, and August 2017.[12]
June 16, 2017: Policy changes toward Cuba
On June 16, 2017, the Trump administration announced changes in policy toward Cuba to achieve the following objectives:[3]
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While speaking in Miami, Florida, Trump criticized former President Barack Obama's change in policy toward Cuba, saying, "It's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administration’s terrible and misguided deal with the Castro regime. ... They made a deal with a government that spreads violence and instability in the region and nothing they got -- think of it -- nothing they got -- they fought for everything and we just didn’t fight hard enough. ... The previous administration’s easing of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the Cuban people -- they only enrich the Cuban regime. The profits from investment and tourism flow directly to the military. The regime takes the money and owns the industry. The outcome of the last administration’s executive action has been only more repression and a move to crush the peaceful, democratic movement."[1]
Trump then called on the Cuban government to "Put an end to the abuse of dissidents. Release the political prisoners. Stop jailing innocent people. Open yourselves to political and economic freedoms. Return the fugitives from American justice -- including the return of the cop-killer Joanne Chesimard. And finally, hand over the Cuban military criminals who shot down and killed four brave members of Brothers to the Rescue who were in unarmed, small, slow civilian planes."[1]
November 25, 2017: Castro dies; Trump calls on Cuba to provide freedom for Cubans or face consequences
After former Cuban President Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, President Donald Trump reiterated his plan to end former President Barack Obama's (D) executive actions that began normalizing relations with Cuba if the Cuban government failed to provide "religious and political freedom for the Cuban people and the freeing of political prisoners."[14][15]
Obama's executive actions and regulatory changes included allowing commercial flights between the United States and Cuba, expanding imports and exports, expanding commercial telecommunications and internet services, and increasing the amount of Cuban cigars and Cuban rum Americans could bring home.[16][17]
In a tweet on November 28, 2016, Trump wrote, "If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal."[14]
Trump's statement on Castro's death
| “ | Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro's legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights. While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve. Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I join the many Cuban-Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me, with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba.[13] | ” |
| —President Donald Trump[18] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump on the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba," June 16, 2017
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba," June 16, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "Fact Sheet on Cuba Policy," June 16, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Associated Press, "Hearing loss of US diplomats in Cuba blamed on covert device," August 9, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CNN, "US embassy employees in Cuba possibly subject to 'acoustic attack,'" August 10, 2017
- ↑ State.gov, "Department Press Briefing - August 9, 2017," August 9, 2017
- ↑ State.gov, "Department Press Briefing - August 24, 2017," August 24, 2017
- ↑ NPR.org, "At Least 16 U.S. Embassy Staff In Cuba Treated After 'Health Attacks,'" August 25, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 State.gov, "Senior State Department Officials on Cuba," September 29, 2017
- ↑ State.gov, "Background Briefing: State Department Official on Cuba," October 3, 2017
- ↑ State.gov, "On the Expulsion of Cuban Officials from the United States," October 3, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Orders Cuba to Cut Embassy Staff in Washington," October 3, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Twitter, "Donald J. Trump," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Trump Threatens to Reverse Obama's Cuba Policy Unless Cuba Makes a 'Better Deal'," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Charting a New Course on Cuba," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Obama Lets Americans Bring Home More Cuban Cigars and Rum," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump: Fidel Castro is dead!" accessed November 28, 2016
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