Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

The Cold War chill!

minus
plus

Raul Castro has stepped down as president and his brother Fidel is dead but US relations with Cuba are frostier than in years, with their reopened embassies nearly empty and President Donald Trump hinting at measures that could further lower the temperature.


A new Cuban president, 58-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, took office on Thursday after decades of rule by the Castros since they toppled a US-backed ruler in 1959, nationalising US properties, allying with the Soviet Union and sending thousands of Cubans into exile in Florida.


The Castros were personally reviled by at least the older generation of Cuban-Americans, and some political analysts believe Diaz-Canel’s ascent to power will make it easier overtime for US politicians to normalise relations. In the short term, though, the path ahead looks rocky.


In his first speech as president, Diaz-Canel, a stalwart of the ruling Communist Party, clearly stated he intends to preserve the one-party socialist system.


Moreover, Castro, who will retain considerable political clout as head of the party, delivered a long parting speech in which he poured scorn on the Trump administration.


In turn, the White House was dismissive of the presidential change, saying the Trump administration did not see the Cuban people gaining greater freedoms and had no intention of softening its policy towards the government.


Trump took office last year promising to roll back Democratic former President Barack Obama’s policy of engagement, which included re-establishing diplomatic relations. The Republican president made it harder for US businesses to invest in Cuba, while restoring some limitations on travel to the island that had briefly become a hotspot for American visitors for the first time in decades following Obama’s loosening of restrictions.


Trump’s latest choices for his foreign policy team — Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo and new


national security adviser John Bolton — have advocated a hard line on Cuba. — Reuters


Sarah Marsh and Frank Jack


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon