U. S. Businesses Covet Cuba

And Wage War Against Embargo
Updated: Sunday, September 27th, 2015

        Cuban President Raul Castro arrived in New York City this week -- Friday, September 25th. No sooner had he settled comfortably in at Cuba's United Nations mission than he had a bevy of visitors -- such as {above} New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and top business executives from his commercially minded state. This photo is courtesy of Kevin P. Couglin/Office of the Governor. The 84-year-old Cuban President will make an important speech at the UN tomorrow, September 28th. Meanwhile, the eclectic multitude of American businesses desiring to make money in Cuba is suddenly becoming a bit overwhelming for Cuba.

         Back in April, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo led a large group of business leaders to Cuba hoping to line up commercial opportunities. He was warmly welcomed by Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs. She told Governor Cuomo, "We welcome your interests. I hope you will now work with President Obama and try to end the embargo, which you agree hurts good Cubans and good Americans."

        Tom Donahue is President of the United States Chamber of Commerce. On Friday, September 25th, Mr. Donahue announced the creation of the U.S.-Cuba Business Council that will be tasked with battling the Republican-dominated U. S. Congress to end the U. S. embargo against Cuba, which has been in place since 1962. Mr. Donahue stated Friday: "We've facing a historic opportunity to support a vital and growing Cuban private sector, one that is defined by entrepreneurs whose expanding efforts show that the spirit of free enterprise is already taking hold in the country." Donahue vs. Congress will be very interesting.

        As President of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donahue has also explained to Cuban President Raul Castro about how "eager" American businesses are to have a relationship with Cuba. In the above hallway, President Castro told Mr. Donahue, "The feeling is mutual. Cuba is eager for your business."

         Todd Haymore is Virginia's Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. He spent most of this past week shepherding a top-level trade delegation from Cuba all around his ambitious state, including the Port of Virginia that is competing with other eastern ports to greatly expand commerce with the nearby island. Haymore this weekend told the Washington Post that his excitement over President Obama's detente with Cuba is euphoric. He said, "We're finally starting to see a move toward normalization after decades of strained relations, and Virginia is standing right at the front of the line to take advantage of the new opportunities." Virginia is already third among U. S. States, behind only Louisiana and Georgia, in doing business with Cuba. Soybean, pork, apples, and poultry are currently products Virginia sells to Cuba but Haymore says that just skims the surface of its planned agricultural relations with the island. He also plans to sharply increase Virginia's commerce with Cuba in other areas such as technology, tourism, and health care.  

        This AFP/Getty Images photo was taken at the Vatican in Rome in March of 2014. By then, Pope Francis was the dynamo inspiring U. S. President Barack Obama with these holy words: "Do me a favor. Do Americans and Cubans a favor. Have the courage to normalize relations with Cuba." President Obama replied, "I will do my best." In the ensuing months, he has kept that promise. Last year in Rome the President assured Pope Francis he could reopen embassies in Havana and Washington for the first time since 1961, and he has accomplished that thanks to the influence the Pope has also exercised with Cuban President Raul Castro. And this week in Washington the President indicated to Pope Francis that the U. S. will abstain in the UN next month and not even vote to support its own embargo against Cuba. Last year the UN vote was 188-to-2 against the embargo with Israel being the only nation persuaded to support it. 

           Of course, the three Cuban-American members of the U. S. House of Representatives from Miami are outraged and vowing to "STOP" and "ROLL-BACK" all of the positive advancements in U.S.-Cuban relations forged recently by Presidents Obama and Castro with the strong support of most people in the world.

          Marco Rubio, Miami's Cuban-American contribution to the U. S. Senate and the Republican presidential field, has been advised to "tone down" his visceral rhetoric against normalizing relations with Cuba because polls show the majority of Cuban Americans in his Miami area favor the normalization.

        This Reuters photo shows a Cuban vendor this week trying to sell some of his prints to tourists. A proliferation of entrepreneurship on the island, coupled with the strong desires of Americans such as Governor Cuomo and Tom Donahue to do business in Cuba, is being opposed by the same revengeful and right-wing attitudes that initiated the embargo way back in 1962 soon after both the Bay of Pigs attack and about twelve assassination attempts against Fidel Castro had failed to regain control of the island. Pope Francis and most other people around the world believe that the young artist trying to sell his paintings above should not forever be punished by a handful of revengeful right-wingers in another country.

The American flag at the U. S. embassy in Havana.

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