One year after the Cuban flag was hoisted above its embassy in Washington, D.C., Havana remains one of the least connected global capitals as Raúl Castro’s government continues to block internet access for most on the island, a senior State Department official said Wednesday morning.
While the Obama administration has eased restrictions on telecommunications companies hoping to penetrate the Cuban market, Havana has been slow to reciprocate, the official told reporters during a conference call.
The official said the Obama administration has nearly exhausted the steps it can take in Cuba through executive authority. Any substantial changes going forward will have to be implemented by Congress or the Cuban government, which the official suggested has done little to match the United States’s efforts.
The Cuban government remains fearful that opening up the internet to its people would lead to a slippery slope of U.S. influence over the island. Havana still bans residents from setting up home internet connections and censors opposition sites it considers threats. In downtown Havana, crowds of residents attempting to connect to the internet cluster outside hotels that have Wi-Fi service, while others gather in public parks and sidewalks.
The official said the administration remains “convinced” that the United States’ “shift from a policy of isolation to engagement is the best course for supporting the aspirations of the Cuban people, an emergence of a peaceful, prosperous, and a democratic Cuba” despite sluggish improvements since Obama announced the United States would normalize relations with its Cold War enemy in December 2014. “I think the benefits of that policy are becoming clearer over the years,” the official added. “I would never speculate on what a next administration may do, but I think the extent that this has yielded these positive results for the United States for the Cuban people, it would be difficult to go backwards.”
Fuente: freebeacon.com
