MIAMI (WSVN) - President Donald Trump is coming to Miami next week to reveal his plans for Cuba, several news outlets reported Friday.
According to the news site Politico, the commander in chief is expected to be in South Florida next Friday to announce new restrictions on travel and business, a reversal of some of the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize relations with the island nation.
The sweeping changes in policy would fulfill a campaign promise by Trump. In October 2016, two weeks before he was elected, Trump told Cuban exiles he would reverse some of the Obama-era policies, during a visit to the Brigade 2506 Museum in Little Havana.
The then-candidate had received a rare endorsement from the Bay of Pigs Veterans Associations. During that appearance, he criticized President Barack Obama’s openness with the Castro regime.
“They don’t know how to make a good deal. They wouldn’t know how to make a good deal if it was staring them in the face,” said Trump.
At the time, members of the Cuban resistance said they were excited to have a candidate who stood by them.
Before he left office, President Barack Obama loosened restrictions on U.S. relations with Cuba. The move opened the doors for trade and tourism with the communist country for the first time in more than five decades, paving the way for the opening of a U.S. embassy in Havana, in August 2015, for the first time in 54 years.
Whether the embassy or the now-defunct “wet foot, dry foot” policy are back on the table remains unclear, although reportedly they are not expected to be at issue.
The trade embargo in place for decades can only be lifted by Congress.
A representative for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said his office was not aware of Trump’s reported South Florida visit.
Meanwhile, at Cafe Versailles in Little Havana, the usual hub of Cuban-American political conversation, the attitude is largely wait and see.
“There can definitely be, like, a good situation that comes out of it,” said Austin Regalado. “I personally have lost a lot of trust in our current president.”
Trump supporter Ralph Reynolds applauded the president’s efforts. “I think that’s good. If he wants to make some differences with Cuba and with the Hispanic community, I think that’s good,” he said.
When asked whether or not she was happy when Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro in 2014, Cuban-American resident Teresa Fernandez said “no.”
Fernandez added, “Nothing is going to change for the people there. It’s still the same thing.”
When asked whether Trump’s actions are likely to make a difference, she said, “We’ll see what Trump’s having in mind. I have my faith in him.”
Not everyone wants to see a reversal in the Obama-era U.S.-Cuba policy. “There’s a lot of commerce that, as Americans, we can have with Cuba and could benefit our economy,” said Jose Plaza. “To roll it back is a mistake.”
Vice President Mike Pence will reportedly join Trump in Miami next week. He is already scheduled to be in South Florida to attend a conference dealing with Central America.
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