With a background as a professor and chair of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Dr. Jorge I. Dominguez has a longstanding research focus on Latin America. An area of particular emphasis for Dr. Jorge Dominguez has been assessing Cuban’s economic, trade, and political challenges under Communist rule.
With the incoming Biden administration, U.S.-Cuba policy has reached a pivotal point that is likely define bilateral relations for the next several years. As reported in the Tampa Bay Times, the past decade has been one of blinding policy shifts, with President Barack Obama working to normalize relations through direct commercial flights and cruise line visits to Cuban ports, as well as scientific and art collaborations and exchanges.
The Trump administration rolled back that detente through a raft of new sanctions and travel restrictions, including a late move for Cuba’s inclusion on the list of states that sponsor terrorism. One economically impactful action involved sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba.
With many questions unanswered, the Biden administration seems likely to tread a middle ground. Some level of research and cultural exchange will potentially return and the U.S. may seek to expand its embassy presence in Havana again. At the same time, Biden is likely to push for increased political diversity, countering the one-party system, and greater compliance with humanitarian rules.
