In this presentation Raul Rodríguez will discuss what is really new in President Trump’s approach to Cuba and its possible impact for the island’s economic and political evolution, its relations with other international actors, and Cubans in the United States.

The use of Cuba policy as an exchange coin to favor the Cuban American right-wing in South Florida is not new. It was President Obama who really introduced a new dynamic by not taking that community into account in his December 17, 2014 re-establishment of relations with Cuba.

While is it unlikely that bilateral relations will return to the past, Presidents Trump’s regulatory changes do stall progress and introduce uncertainly to the business climate and tension to the previous political environment.