US-Embargo wird nicht einfach weggewischt

In jüngster Zeit habe ich verschiedene Artikel über die Annäherung der USA und Kuba verlinkt. Nicht wenige gingen von einem sehr raschen Ende des US-Emgargos aus. CigarCyclopedia.com relativiert Solcherlei im Artikel “End of the Cuban embargo is ‘way down the road’“:

“(…) Summers [National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers] said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” interview show that an end to the U.S. embargo “is way down the road, and it is going to depend on what Cuba does going forward. Cuba’s known what it needs to do for a very long time, and it is up to them in terms of their policies, their democratization, all the steps they can take.”

And there is much more to ending the embargo than simply announcing that it is over. The trade restrictions with Cuba are part of U.S. law, incorporated into a bill known as the Helms-Burton Act that was passed in 1996. Among many other provisions, the bill prohibits the United States from recognizing a Cuban government which has not provided compensation for certified claims of property confiscated by the Castro regime. That process alone will take quite a lot of time to be worked out before any end to the embargo will take place.”

Kurz: Das Ende des Embargos sei zumindest in Sichtweite geraten. Der weitere Fortschritt hänge aber insbesondere vom Verhalten der kubanischen Regierung ab. Ausserdem basiere das Embargo auf US-Gesetzen, die vielerlei Zugeständnisse zwingend verlangen würden. Alleine die Regelung der Entschädigungsfragen im Zuge der Enteigungen während der kubanischen Revolution werde ein hartes Stück Arbeit sein.

Auch Fidel Castro dämpft zu hohe Erwartungen. Reuters schreibt unter “Fidel Castro dampens hopes for better U.S.-Cuba ties“:

“(…) Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro put a damper on rising hopes for better U.S.-Cuba relations by saying President Barack Obama had misinterpreted his brother’s apparently conciliatory words.

The 82-year-old Castro also signaled that Cuba may be unwilling to make concessions to end 50 years of hostilities with the United States because the Cuban government believes it is not to blame for their troubled history.”