Republicans threaten to stop US embassy opening in Cuba

Barack Obama’s political opponents plan to use control of the Senate to slow down or derail the détente

Marco Rubio during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington
Republican Marco Rubio vowed that he would try block the appointment of a US ambassador to Cuba Credit: Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP

The backlash against a deal for the United States to reopen its embassy in Havana and thaw its relations with Cuba is underway in Florida, where Republicans are threatening to use their control of the Senate to sabotage the plans.

President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that he was ending America’s five-decade policy of isolating Cuba and that he hoped to reinstate full diplomatic relations with the communist island “in the coming months”.

While the President’s political opponents are unable to stop him from formally restoring US ties with its communist neighbour, they can throw up practical hurdles to slow down or even derail the détente.

Republicans have a majority in the the House of Representatives but their victory in last month’s congressional elections means that in January they will also take control of the Senate.

Marco Rubio, a hawkish Cuban-American senator from Florida, vowed that he would try to use his position on the Senate’s foreign affairs committee to block the appointment of a US ambassador to Cuba.

He also threatened to use the Senate’s budget powers to withhold the funds needed to fully reopen the embassy building in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución.

“I intend to use every tool at our disposal in the majority to unravel as many of these changes as possible,” Mr Rubio said.

His call to fight Mr Obama’s diplomatic initiative was echoed by Lindsey Graham, another Republican senator.

“I will do all in my power to block the use of funds to open an embassy in Cuba. Normalising relations with Cuba is bad idea at a bad time,” Mr Graham said.

The stand-off illustrates the political reality Mr Obama faces in his final two years in office with Republicans fully in control of Congress. While he retains vast powers over US foreign policy the Republicans also have a wide array of tools to try to thwart him.

Josh Earnest, Mr Obama's spokesman, said it was "odd" that Mr Rubio would oppose an embassy in Cuba when he had recently spoken about the importance of the US embassy in China.

"'Senator Rubio said, 'Our embassy [in China] should be viewed as an ally of those within the Chinese society that are looking to express their fundamental rights and to worship freely,'" he said. "We think the exact same thing can be said of the new American embassy in Cuba."

The US is currently represented in Havana by a “special interests section” that operates under the auspices of the Swiss embassy. The section is led by a senior US diplomat who would remain the acting envoy to the Castro regime if Republicans blocked the appointment of an ambassador.

Mr Obama will also need the cooperation of Republicans to lift the 54-year-old trade embargo that bans US companies from importing or exporting to Cuba.

The President called for “an honest and serious debate” about ending the embargo” but few in Washington believe there is any chance the Republicans will agree before Mr Obama leaves office in early 2017.

US policy towards Cuba may become a major issue in the 2016 presidential election, especially among the Republicans who are vying to become their party’s candidate for the White House.

The issue is especially important to Cuban-American voters in the key swing state of Florida, who have traditionally demanded that candidates take a hardline against the Castro regime.

Mr Rubio and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, are both Republican presidential contenders and rushed to denounce Mr Obama’s deal with the Cubans.

But Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican senator who is likely to run in 2016 on a more dovish foreign policy platform, said he thought “opening up Cuba is probably a good idea”.

Hillary Clinton, the overwhelming favourite to be the Democrat candidate for president, advocated for restoring ties with Cuba while she was serving as Mr Obama’s secretary of state.

“I support President Obama’s decision to change course on Cuba policy,” Mrs Clinton said, adding that the policy of isolation had “only strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power”.