Fidel Castro's government did not collapse following the U.S.S.R.'s 1990 withdrawal of $6 billion in annual subsidies from Cuba. With the subsequent end of the Soviet Union itself there seemed to be no hope for Castro's revolutionary state. Yet, after almost ten years, the end is still not in sight and Cuba is making a gradual transition into the world economy via internal liberalization and the rapid growth of foreign investment from nearly every industrialized nation--except the U. S. American policy toward Cuba, rather than relaxing, has remained strongly weighted toward isolation and economic sanctions, and has even gone so far as to insist that U. S. allies and trading partners adopt the same stance. The passage of the Helms-Burton, or Libertad, Act of 1996 strengthened American opposition to normalization of relations with Cuba and laid down strict conditions for the resumption of relations. Although President Clinton signed the bill, his administration has often taken a softer line toward Cuba and has made overtures with offers of extensive aid for a transition government that would ensure democratic government, human rights, and the return of American property seized in the revolution. Yet Castro has vacillated between a willingness to engage in talks and attempts to increase Cuban hostility toward the United States. Thus active government policy toward Cuba has not relaxed significantly, despite a growing chorus of criticism from American business interests, fearful of being shut out of the developing economy, and many others who feel that normalization of relations is the only way to effect a transition to democracy and an open economy.
There are several important reasons why U.S. policy toward Cuba remained severe in the 1990s and has only begun to relax slightly in the past two years. The first reason is the influence of Cuban TmigrTs and American business interests who want the return of their property in Cuba...