Ten years ago, President Obama decided to try something new with Cuba. Today, 10 years later, the “something new” has brought nothing to Cuba. We have an embassy, and President and Mrs. Obama watched a baseball game in Havana. They did the wave with Raul Castro and lots of people thought that things would change. Nothing did.

Down in Cuba, there is little hope, as we saw in The NY Times:

It wasn’t long ago that Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution was packed with American tourists knocking into each other with selfie sticks while taking photos of the iconic image of the revolutionary Che Guevara and trying to catch a ride in a candy-apple red 1952 Chevrolet Bel-Air.

Today, those polished 1950s-era American convertibles that came to symbolize quintessential Cuba sit empty, the tourists they once carried largely gone.

The drivers spend their lives like most Cubans do: coping with prolonged power outages, standing in line at poorly stocked supermarkets and watching their friends, family and neighbors -- sick of all the hardships -- pack up and leave.

Ten years ago, President Barack Obama stunned the world by restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending more than 50 years of Cold War estrangement between the United States and a country with which it had once been on the brink of nuclear war.

For two and a half years, Cuba brimmed with enthusiasm amid a remarkable wave of investment and tourism, fueled by deals signed by major American companies such as Google, AT&T and Major League Baseball.

But a financial implosion caused by a cascade of factors -- the tightening of U.S. policy by the Trump administration, Cuba’s mismanagement of its economy, the crushing effect of the Covid-19 pandemic -- has kept visitors away and launched an immigration exodus of epic proportions.

Yes, the tourists came and settled their curiosity touching those 1950s car models driving around Havana. The excitement didn't last and now everybody is wondering if the Cuba policy was worth it all.

Add to this that the Obama administration did not demand a single concession from the Castro regime. We gave Cuba an embassy, a presidential visit, lots of attention but nothing came back. Did we demand the release of political prisoners? Did we demand some economic reforms to make the country more appealing to investors? No we didn't.

Raul got his embassy and Obama got to tell the liberal college professors that he changed the policy. In reality, nothing changed, and that was a huge victory for the communist regime.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: Pexels/Evisa Kasaj