Hillary Backs Obama’s ‘New Direction’ In US-Cuba Relations

Hillary Clinton CGI America, an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, Denver, Colorado - 24 Jun 2014 (Rex Features via AP Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former Secretary of State and presumed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton backed President Barack Obama’s decision to open diplomatic relations with Cuba, noting that she had called for a new direction during her time in the administration.

“It is great news that (U.S. prisoner Alan Gross) is finally home with his family, where he belongs,” she said in a statement. “As Secretary of State, I pushed for his release, stayed in touch with Alan’s wife Judy and their daughters, and called for a new direction in Cuba.”

“Despite good intentions, our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power,” Clinton continued. “As I have said, the best way to bring change to Cuba is to expose its people to the values, information, and material comforts of the outside world.”

“The goal of increased U.S. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the Cuban people,” she said. “And the other nations of the Americas should join us in this effort.”

As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent noted, Clinton wrote in her recent memoir of her time as Secretary of State that she had urged Obama to consider lifting the Cuban embargo.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: