Cuba doubts next US president will reverse thaw

Cuba doubts next US president will reverse thaw
Tuesday, January 12, 2016 | 3:45 PM

Havana, Cuba (AFP) – Cuba's top diplomat for US affairs said Tuesday she
cannot imagine the next president of the United States undoing the
historic rapprochement the two countries embarked on under Barack Obama.

"I can't imagine a new president, whoever it is, deciding to break off
relations with Cuba and close the (US) embassy," said Josefina Vidal,
the Cuban foreign ministry's top official for US affairs, in an
interview published by Cuban state news agency ACN.

She admitted however that the November 8 elections in the United States
introduce an element of uncertainty to the thaw between the communist
island and its long-time Cold War foe.

"There are other issues where they could backtrack, such as cooperation
in different areas," she said.

The crowded field of Republican presidential candidates has been nearly
unanimous in its hostility toward Obama's decision to restore ties with
Cuba after more than five decades, while the Democratic candidates back
the move.
Vidal said the rapprochement was not yet "irreversible," and warned that
the next US president could revoke some of Obama's executive orders to
ease restrictions on Cuba or simply "devoid them of meaning via inaction."

She urged Washington to move faster on lowering economic and trade
barriers -- a reference to the crippling embargo in place since 1962,
which Obama has failed to persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to
lift.

As he approaches the end of his term, Obama has indicated he is keen to
visit Cuba, but insists such a visit would hinge on the communist regime
curbing crack-downs on political dissent.

Source: Cuba doubts next US president will reverse thaw - News -
JamaicaObserver.com -
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Cuba-doubts-next-US-president-will-reverse-thaw