The unrest on Cuba’s streets is the biggest challenge to the country’s communist government in decades. And it poses a dilemma for the Biden administration, which previously said it wants to ease U.S. sanctions against the Cuban regime.
U.S. President Biden needs a way to maintain pressure on the government while moderating penalties that have unavoidably worsened the economic plight of ordinary Cubans. This will require something of a balancing act.
Discontent has been simmering for months. The Cuban economy shrank 11% in 2020. Dwindling foreign-currency reserves have led to shortages of food and electricity.