Many Cuban-Americans in Florida voted for Trump. This news will cause mixed feelingspublished at 02:23 British Summer Time
Will Grant
Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent
Seeing the travel ban extended to Cuba will cause both celebration and consternation in Florida.
Many conservative Cuban-American voters gave Donald Trump their vote in November and carried the state for him easily in the election. They have long advocated for harsh sanctions against the island’s government and its leadership.
For its part, the Cuban government staunchly disputes its classification as a “state sponsor of terrorism” – the reason cited by the White House for the island’s inclusion in the ban. It says the entire premise is unjust and intended to further harm its economic interests by forcing its isolation from the international banking system.
However, the idea that ordinary Cubans applying to reach the US through family reunification, or under other visas and legal pathways, might be prevented from doing so by this decision may stick in the craw of many Cuban-Americans, even in Miami – the home of anti-Cuban Government sentiment.
There is already a growing resentment among some in Florida at seeing the Trump administration deport Cubans back to Cuba. They have always enjoyed a privileged migration status in the US, stretching back to the Kennedy administration.
If this latest step is seen as harming Cubans who are wanting to escape communist rule, it could be enough to give some in Florida buyers’ remorse.
Image source, EPA
