Biden administration distances itself from Obama Cuba policy while using similar approach

The Biden administration assured on Wednesday that its policy with Cuba is different from the policy carried out by former President Barack Obama with the island, arguing his way of acting was consequential with the "repression" of the Cuban regime.

"On Cuba, our policy is based on the aspirations of the Cuban people for more freedom and more democracy (...) it is true that the policy of this administration is not identical" to that of the Obama administration, when Biden was Vice President, Ned Price, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, stated.

Price outlined some of the steps that the Biden administration has taken in its interest to enable a closer relationship with Cuba, citing the reinstatement of the Family Reunification program as well as expanding the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Havana to expedite the delivery of visas.

He added that, since 2017 "the Cuban regime has become much more repressive in many aspects," recalling the Cuban authorities' response to the peaceful demonstrations of July 2021, which were tamed with "with repression, arrests and imprisonments throughout the island."

Price also said the Biden administration has made great strides to benefit the Cuban population, arguing that in May it announced the reestablishment of flights from the United States to Cuban cities beyond Havana, routes that were banned by the former Trump Administration.

His comments came after an interview where Ben Rhodes, a former Obama National Security Advisor who led negotiations with Raul Castro said that the word "disappointed" only "begins to describe" how he feels about the Biden Administration's Cuba policy.

Biden promised in his campaign an opening with Cuba after four years of Trump's strong policies towards the communist regime, but, according to experts, the president is still far from the thawing policy initiated by Obama in 2014, who reestablished diplomatic relations with Havana.