Cuba has been sanctioned for longer than any other country in modern history. But almost a decade ago the Obama administration softened sanctions on the island and restored diplomatic relations with Havana, admitting that over half a century of immiserating the island had failed to oust the communist government. The economic rebound was swift. But in the final weeks of the Trump administration, the White House put Cuba back on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, alongside Iran, Syria and North Korea, for nakedly political reasons and without providing evidence.

Cuba watchers expected that Biden would restore Obama’s raft of achievements. After all, on the campaign trail in 2020 Biden promised that as president he would “reverse the failed Trump policies that inflicted harm on Cubans and their families.”

Instead, Biden has one-upped Trump by going further than the previous administration in attacking Cuba’s tourism industry – the main engine of the island’s economy. Two years ago, the Biden State Department barred foreigners who visit Cuba from visa-free travel to the U.S.

It kind of is America’s fault.

When confronted with the consequences of decades of timidity, centrists start sounding like what happens when you pull the string on the back of a trump supporter.