I'm sure there will be those who feel very strongly both ways, especially close to our home in South Florida. For many, it's a very personal issue. However, it gradually is becoming a little less so as a new generation comes along that doesn't have direct memory of the events that led to the embargo.
In practical terms, the lifting of the trade embargo will definitely benefit South Florida businesses. Overall it will benefit the people of Cuba and the US. We have products they'd like to buy but being able to afford them is limited until they well us products we want. The purpose of the embargo had long ago ceased to exist.
In terms of travel and this is where trawlers are involved, I didn't understand the realities until moving to South Florida. Floridians travel to Cuba all the time and take money. Travel from the US is an important contributor to the Cuban economy. The fact of having to go through a third country only increases the cost and inconvenience. So, overall the travel restriction is definitely not 100%. Now Cubans don't have the same ability to travel here. This leads also to a terrible business of smuggling of athletes. They ultimately reach the US but at great risk and having committed a large part of their future income to the gangs that assisted them. Anytime something is pushed underground, protection by the law disappears. On the other hand travel by boat has been restricted and just like the athletes coming this way, those going to Cuba by boat have subjected themselves to significant risk. If you're working around the law, it doesn't protect you.
The embargo came about in 1960. That's ten years before I was born. The average age in the US is 37, but you'd have to be 54 to have been alive then and probably 70 to remember the time. This was a national security issue that no longer exists.
It seems only natural to change. Otherwise it's like the Hatfields and McCoys where the current generation has no understanding of the original issues. I think gradually you could see Cuba again become a great cruising ground. South Floridians go to the Bahamas all the time, but those desiring to go to Cuba if equivalent resources were there for tourists could be huge.
I heard it once said that all that was keeping the Embargo was that Fidel Castro was still alive. Even though he's relatively inactive today, he remains an issue for many. Their families suffered at what they would say "his hands." They took a treacherous trip here by boat. But by sheer aging of the population the group opposed to "trading with Castro" has diminished.
I have Cuban friends. Many go there several times a year and are close to their family. At this time the reason for the embargo is long gone and so it does harm but lacks purpose.
I look forward to the time Cuba is another cruising ground. One of the benefits of limiting Presidents to two terms is that sometimes they feel more free to take care of long term problems that might be politically difficult. As a businessman I look forward to importing product from Cuban factories. I import today from far less friendly countries. And perhaps that's the point. The Cuban people and American people like each other and have always done so.
Again as boaters the potential is one of the best places we could go. Reestablished as a tourist center. it's likely to be one of the most pleasant places to go.