Maximum Pressure on Cuba, With Will Freeman

This episode unpacks how the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign is accelerating Cuba's economic collapse and what a firsthand trip to the country reveals about life amidst the crisis.

Host:

James M. Lindsay, Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR

Guest:

Will Freeman, Fellow for Latin America Studies, CFR

We Discuss:

What the Trump administration is ultimately seeking to accomplish with its Cuba policy.

How secondary sanctions differ from the existing trade embargo.

What life on the ground in Cuba looks like today, with a mass economic crisis including widespread malnutrition and near-total electricity blackouts.

Whether ordinary Cubans blame the United States or their own government for the crisis.

Whether Cuba's government is attempting to pivot toward a China-style state capitalist system.

What Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is, why it controls so much of Cuba's economy, and who actually benefits from it.