Breaking: US And Cuba Exchange Prisoners. Set To Normalize Relations?

Cleaning up one of the last bits of the Cold War.

Cuba released U.S. citizen Alan Gross from prison Wednesday after five years in captivity. The U.S. released three alleged Cuban spies in return. The exchange is a result of a year of secret backtalks between the U.S. and Cuba. Raul Castro and President Obama will both speak, separately, around noon Eastern time.

Apparently the talks were and are so wide ranging as to encompass the resumption of diplomatic relations. The two countries have had official relations since the Eisenhower administration.

A lot of people on the right and in the Cuban-American expat community are going to go ballistic about this but let's be honest, it's time. Yes, the Castro regime is a brutal dictatorship but we do business with a lot of thuggish regimes. Some are even our friends (Hello Saudi Arabia). I think we've made our point after 60 years. We're basically the only country that doesn't have some sort of relationship with Cuba so it's not like we're breaking down some grand coalition here.

The Russians are using Cuba as part of their plans to reinvigorate their power projection plans. Now with the Ruble in free fall and Russia teetering on the edge of economic collapse (thanks fracking!), maybe we can peel Cuba away from them.

Plus...really cheap Caribbean vacations for Americans and the chance for more Cubans to come here will do a lot to bring down the decrepit shell of Castro's revolutionary paradise.

On the domestic political front, it will be fascinating how Hillary and Jeb react to this. It's a touchy issue in the all important swing state of Florida.

posted by DrewM. at 10:01 AM

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