CUBA
WORKING
GROUP
STATEMENT
ON
LEADERSHIP
TRANSITION
IN
CUBA
WASHINGTON,
DC
-
Following
the
announcement
of
Miguel
Díaz-Canel
as
the
next
President
of
Cuba,
the
Cuba
Working
Group
issued
the
following
statement:
“For
the
first
time
in
nearly
six
decades,
the
world
will
know
a
Cuba
without
a
Castro
at
the
helm. For
the
United
States,
this
is
an
opportunity
for
a
new
and
improved
relationship
with
our
neighbor
just
90
miles
off
the
Florida
coast
-
one
we
cannot
afford
to
let
slip
through
our
grasp.
“Cuba’s new
leadership
holds
cautious
promise
for
the
Cuban
people, potentially ushering
in
a
number
of
positive
changes
on
the
island. Should
the
United
States
fail
to
build
on
this
opportunity,
other
nations
will continue
to
fill
the
void,
curbing
market
access
for U.S. farmers
and
businesses,
handicapping
our
national
security,
and
limiting
access
by
the
Cuban
people
to
important
elements
of
the
United
States’
economy,
culture,
values,
and
democratic
ideals.
“For
years,
efforts
to
improve
relations
between
our
two
nations
have
been
an
Executive-led
endeavor. While
transitions
take
time,
if Congress is
serious
about
repairing
American-Cuban
ties
and
improving
the
well-being
of
the
Cuban
people,
we must take
action
to reset
relations and ensure
the
next
60
years
are
not
filled
with
the
same
outdated,
unproductive,
and
shortsighted
rhetoric
and
policies
of
generations
past.”
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