Little U.S. support for ending Cuba embargo

It seems that Americans are in no particular hurry for a change in Cuba policy:  Forty percent of Americans say the Cuba embargo should remain in place while 36 percent want it ended, and nearly half say they wouldn’t visit the island even if allowed, according to a BBC/Harris Poll released Tuesday. Nearly three in ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

It seems that Americans are in no particular hurry for a change in Cuba policy: 

It seems that Americans are in no particular hurry for a change in Cuba policy: 

Forty percent of Americans say the Cuba embargo should remain in place while 36 percent want it ended, and nearly half say they wouldn’t visit the island even if allowed, according to a BBC/Harris Poll released Tuesday.

Nearly three in 10 Americans believe President Barack Obama’s gestures toward Cuba have not been enough, 35 percent believe they went far enough and 10 percent say they went too far, the poll showed.

The good news for embargo opponents is that younger Americans are less supportive of the policy than older voters. Most Americans — 63 percent — see Cuba as "unfriendly" but not an enemy. I have to imagine that most of these voters wouldn’t be in favor of slapping new sanctions on other merely "unfriendly" nations, but the poll is a reminder that once policies have been in place. 

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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