Obama was in the middle of establishing talks with Cuba when he left office. Has Trump alluded to his stance on Cuba and whether he plans to establish connections after Castro's death?
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newsweek.com/2016/10/14/… hints at his attitude in 1999...– DJohnMCommented Feb 20, 2017 at 22:01
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1 Answer
He has stated that he would "terminate" the deal by Obama unless Cuba agrees to "make a better one".
Trump has threatened to reverse the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba before. At a speech in Miami on September 16, he stated that "all of the concessions that Barack Obama has granted the Castro regime were done with executive order, which means the next president can reverse them. And that is what I will do unless the Castro regime meets our demands."
He also mentioned this on Twitter after the election:
If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal.
So, basically, he seems unwilling to pursue stronger bilateral ties with Cuba and wants to negotiate a better deal with Cuba.
Other than that, he didn't seemed to give any further information on his stand on Cuba.
However, it's also unlikely that he would reverse what Obama has done to improve ties. As the article by Vox (linked above) states:
If you’d only read that one tweet from Trump on Monday morning, you’d be forgiven for thinking Trump is a hard-liner on Cuba. But the reality is that Trump’s position on Cuba, much like his positions on many other issues, has fluctuated over the years, and has at times been influenced by business interests.
In 1999, Trump wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald in support of the US embargo: “Several large European investment groups have asked me to take the ‘Trump Magic’ to Cuba,” Trump wrote. “My investment in Cuba would directly subsidize the oppression of the Cuban people. ... But I’d rather lose those millions than lose my self-respect.”
(emphasis mine)
