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1 1 (July 20, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveimq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Setrs informing the IegsIlative debate since 1914 Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview Cuban Political and Economic Developments Cuba remains a one-party authoritarian state with a government that has sharply restricted freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and other basic human rights since the early years of the 1959 Cuban revolution. Miguel Diaz-Canel succeeded Radl Castro as president in 2018 and as head of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) at its eighth party congress in April 2021. The departure of Castro and other older leaders from the PCC's Politburo reflects the generational change in Cuban leadership that began several years ago. While in power (2006-2018), Radl Castro (who succeeded his brother, longtime leader Fidel Castro) began to move Cuba toward a mixed economy with a stronger private sector, but his government's slow, gradualist approach did not produce major improvements. Cuba adopted a new constitution in 2019 that introduced some reforms but maintained the state's dominance over the economy and the PCC's predominant political role. The Cuban economy has been hard-hit by the economic shutdown associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; Venezuela's economic crisis, which has reduced Venezuelan financial support; and U.S. economic sanctions. Cuba reports the economy contracted almost 11% in 2020 and 2% in 2021. Some economists estimate a slight contraction in 2021 but project over 3% growth in 2022. This forecast could change due to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the global economy, including increases in food and fuel prices. In early 2021, Cuba unified its dual currency system; the long- debated reform spurred inflation, estimated at almost 300% by the end of 2021 but forecast to decline to 10% by the end of 2022, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Cuba's public health response to the pandemic initially kept cases and deaths low, but both increased in late 2020 and surged until August 2021. The country experienced another surge in cases in January 2022 due to the Omicron variant, but deaths remained low because of high vaccination rates. As of mid-July 2022, Cuba reported 8,529 deaths since the pandemic began (with one of the lowest mortality rates in the hemisphere) and had fully vaccinated 88% of its population with its own COVID-19 vaccines. Increased Repression. Beginning in November 2020, the government cracked down on the San Isidro Movement (MSI), a civil society group opposed to restrictions on artistic expression. On July 11, 2021, anti-government demonstrations broke out in Havana and in cities and towns throughout the country, with thousands of Cubans protesting economic conditions (food and medicine shortages, blackouts) and long-standing concerns about the lack of freedom of expression. The government responded with harsh measures, including widespread detentions of Updated July 20, 2022 more than 1,000 protesters, civil society activists, and bystanders. Hundreds of the July 11 protestors have been tried and convicted, including more than 25 minors. As of the end of June 2022, the human rights group Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD) reported that Cuba had 999 political prisoners (up from 152 on July 1, 2021), of which 730 were imprisoned and considered prisoners of conscience by CPD, 240 were under some form of conditional release, and 30 were imprisoned for other politically motivated acts. U. S. Policy Since the early 1960s, when the United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba, the centerpiece of U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted of economic sanctions aimed at isolating the Cuban government. The Obama Administration initiated a policy shift away from sanctions and toward engagement and the normalization of relations. Changes included the rescission of Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of international terrorism (May 2015); the restoration of diplomatic relations (July 2015); and eased restrictions on travel, remittances, trade, telecommunications, and banking and financial services (2015-2016). In contrast, the Trump Administration introduced new sanctions in 2017, including restrictions on transactions with companies controlled by the Cuban military. By 2019, the Trump Administration had largely abandoned engagement and significantly increased sanctions, particularly on travel and remittances. In its initial months, the Biden Administration announced it was conducting a review of policy toward Cuba, with human rights a core pillar, and would review policy decisions made by the prior Administration. In the aftermath of the Cuban government's harsh response to the July 11 protests, the Biden Administration criticized Cuba's repression and imposed targeted sanctions on those involved. In July and August 2021, the Treasury Department imposed four rounds of financial sanctions on three Cuban security entities and eight officials. Between November 2021 and July 2022, the State Department announced four rounds of visa restrictions against 50 individuals involved in repressing protesters. In May 2022, the Administration announced several Cuba policy changes aimed at increasing support for the Cuban people. The Administration increased immigrant visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in Havana and said it would reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program. It eased some travel restrictions by reauthorizing scheduled and charter flights to locations beyond Havana, reinstating group people-to-people travel. It eased some restrictions on sending cash remittances to Cuba by eliminating the dollar and frequency limits for family remittances and restoring the category of donative remittances. The Administration

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