Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Joe HendersonJune 13, 2017

Cuba enjoyed a record year for tourism in 2016 when more than 4 million people found their way to that island nation. That was a 13 percent increase from the year before, much of it attributable to relaxed travel rules between Cuba and the United States. That might change if President Trump, as expected, rolls […]

Staff ReportsApril 5, 2017

After calling for a review of U.S. policy toward Cuba, the Donald Trump administration is considering several options, with no clear favorite as of yet. However, the Miami Herald reports that Sen. Marco Rubio spoke with Trump “three times about Cuba.” “We’ve been walking through all these issues with the president and his team, figuring out […]

Joe HendersonMarch 16, 2017

It is not unusual when a Major League Baseball team signs a Cuban defector. There is a lengthy list of players who fled that island nation so they could barter their skills for the considerable cash that comes with playing in the United States. Usually, those stories have been treated as valiant escapes from a […]

Associated PressFebruary 18, 2017

About 680 Cubans have been returned to the island from various countries since then-President Barack Obama ended a longstanding immigration policy that allowed any Cuban who made it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident, state television reported Friday. Cuba’s government had long sought the repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 26, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott threatened Florida ports with sanctions if they do business with Cuba. He underscored it with a pair of tweets, the first in Spanish: “No podemos tolerar una dictadura brutal en Cuba.” Translation: We cannot tolerate a brutal dictatorship in Cuba. In another tweet, channeling his inner Donald Trump, Gov. Scott noted, “We […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 13, 2017

The ongoing war of words between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and President Barack Obama is continuing until Obama’s last day. Friday’s installment: a gubernatorial excoriation of Obama’s overtures to the Communist island nation, including this week’s cessation of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy. Scott, predictably, sees this as yet another example of Obama’s failings. “President Obama’s […]

Associated PressJanuary 12, 2017

The Obama administration is ending the “wet foot, dry foot” policy that granted residency to Cubans who arrived in the United States without visas. That’s according to a senior administration official, who said the policy change was effective immediately. The official said the U.S. and Cuba have spent several months negotiating the change, including an […]

Joe HendersonJanuary 12, 2017

Marco Rubio promised during his campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate that he would stand up to Donald Trump when necessary. “Necessary” didn’t take long to arrive. It came Wednesday during a confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for Secretary of State. Rubio responded with what I thought was his finest hour as […]

Jim RosicaDecember 21, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott is telling Cuban President Raul Castro to bring “absolute freedom and democracy to Cuba,” in a letter released Wednesday morning. The letter, in English and Spanish, was delivered to Cuban ambassador Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez in Washington. Scott tells Castro, whom he addresses as “Mr. Castro,” that “following the death of your brother Fidel, the […]

Associated PressDecember 11, 2016

Former Attorney General Janet Reno, the first woman to hold the top Justice Department job who died last month, never took the easy way out when making the tougher decision was the right thing to do, ex-President Bill Clinton said at a memorial service Sunday. Clinton, who appointed Reno in 1993, told several hundred friends, […]

Tag: Cuba

Joe Henderson: When U.S. plays the bully, other nations just take their money elsewhere

Marco Rubio working ‘behind-the-scenes’ to shape Donald Trump Cuba policy

Joe Henderson: Miami trial shines light on smuggling Cuban baseball players to U.S.

680 Cubans returned home since end of ‘wet foot, dry foot’

Rick Scott cannot condone Cuba’s ‘oppressive behavior.’ What about China’s?

Rick Scott: Barack Obama ‘turned his back’ on Cuba

Obama scrapping ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy for Cubans

Marco Rubio quickly keeps promise to stand up to Donald Trump in Senate

Rick Scott to Raul Castro: Bring “absolute freedom and democracy to Cuba”

Family, friends, colleagues gather for Janet Reno memorial