In reviewing the transcript of former President Carter’s press conference in Havana on Wednesday, he says many things we’ve all heard before: End the embargo. Remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List.  Restore basic freedoms in Cuba. What's refreshing though is that these comments emanate from one individual, who, as a former U.S President and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, knows more than a bit about the intersection of foreign policy making and human rights.  

Consistency is something often lacking in discussions about U.S.-Cuba policy, such that Carter's two-pronged message, calling on both the U.S. and Cuba to take affirmative steps to improve relations, carried with it the exotic flavor of equity. In calling for the repeal of the U.S. embargo and the end of restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Cuba for Americans and Cubans, Carter pointed out the hypocrisy of a U.S. policy that curtails the rights of its own citizens under the guise of punishing a rights-abusing regime.

“I believe we should immediately eliminate the trade embargo that the United States has imposed on the people of Cuba and also allow travel without any kind of restriction from the U.S. to Cuba and vice-versa…”

One does not have to agree with everything the former President said to appreciate the significance of a distinguished American statesman publicly calling for an end to the U.S. embargo and decrying Cuba’s lack of freedoms in a single breath.

After discussing the upcoming Communist Party Congress and the government’s process to solicit public comment on the proposed policy documents, Carter said, (my translation)

“I hope that in the future, this will be added to those documents, and that there will be complete freedom for all Cubans to express themselves, gather and travel, according to international norms of human rights that apply in Cuba.”

President Carter’s example should inspire those who want to re-cast our Cuba policy as one that truly advances U.S. national interests instead of a domestic political agenda. 

As  Carter departed Cuba on Wednesday afternoon, the speculation commenced.  What will he say tin his debrief with the White House? Does he carry a message from Cuban President Raul Castro? Did his advocacy on behalf of Alan Gross yield progress?

While we can't answer these questions just yet, one interesting revelation did emerge yesterday during a public talk given by Bob Pastor, President Carter’s National Security Advisor for Latin America. Pastor, who accompanied Carter on this week’s trip, told an audience at the City University of New York (CUNY) that Alan Gross was not aware he was carrying U.S.-financed communications equipment with him when he traveled to Cuba.

While it’s a little difficult to fathom that Alan Gross didn’t realize who had footed the bill for the equipment he took to Cuba on multiple trips, perhaps Mr. Pastor is planting the seed of a narrative that would facilitate the Cubans releasing Gross on humanitarian grounds…  We’ll have to wait and see.