Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Biden’s options with Cuba are constrained by Trump’s sanctions

The Trump administration’s decision to label Cuba a terrorist nation will complicate President Joe Biden’s ambitions to re-establish ties with Havana, Northeastern professors say. But they add that, even if commercial activity with the Communist country remains halted, Biden has some options for resetting Cuban-American relations.

Nine days before former President Donald Trump left office, his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced he was returning Cuba to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, citing its hosting of 10 Colombian rebel leaders, along with a handful of American fugitives wanted for crimes committed in the 1970s.

The parting maneuver was one of a series of actions against Cuba that included tightening restrictions on U.S. travel and remittances and imposing sanctions on shipments of Venezuelan oil to the island.

The terrorist designation effectively handcuffed whatever plans Biden had to normalize relations with Havana and will take a long time to unwind, says José Buscaglia, professor of cultures, societies, and global studies at Northeastern.

Reversing the designation is a formal process requiring Congressional approval, Buscaglia says, and Biden would have to show lawmakers that Cuba hasn’t provided support for terrorist acts in the preceding six months, nor will it in the future.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

06/18/25 - BOSTON, MA. - The John D. O’Bryant African American Institute hosts the 2025 Northeastern Juneteenth event on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in the Cabral Center. Students from the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Boston discussed what Juneteenth means to them after hearing from Northeastern speakers Rev. Dr. Keith Bailey, Dr. Deborah Jackson, Chancellor Ken Henderson and Chief Inclusion Officer Richard O’Bryant. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Northeastern community celebrates Juneteenth, reflects on freedom and belonging

06.18.2025
Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)

How do Israelis and Iranians feel about the Israel-Iran war?

06.17.2025
01/22/25 - BOSTON, MA. - Stock photo of the TikTok logo on Jan 22, 2025.

TikTok ban delayed for third time. Why Northeastern experts aren’t surprised

06.20.25
Northeastern Global News