Mondino cannot say that he was not warned. Milei’s speech to the General Assembly in September It was a forceful declaration that the defense of freedom throughout the world would henceforth be a pillar of his country’s foreign policy. “From this day on,” he asserted, “know that the Argentine Republic will abandon the position of historical neutrality that characterized us and will be at the forefront of the fight in defense of freedom.” He chastised the world body for allowing “bloody dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela to join the Human Rights Council.” If the Argentine foreign minister did not understand the message, it is because she was not paying attention.

Milei is not given to euphemisms nor does he pander to conventional wisdom. During his presidential campaign last year, one of his slogans was “Long live freedom, damn it!” Translation: “Long live freedom, damn it!”

The restoration of freedom in Cuba will never be a UN priority. But even if it were, abolishing the US embargo is not the way to achieve it. Recent history has made this emphatically clear.

When President Barack Obama announced in 2014 Although it would normalize relations with the Havana regime, he stated that the rapprochement would maintain the United States’ “commitment to freedom and democracy” and would result in “making the lives of ordinary Cubans a little easier, freer.” and more prosperous.” Greater engagement was the best way to promote freedom and human rights for the people of Cuba, Obama said. “This is what change looks like.”

It wasn’t.

After Obama’s administration, Havana’s harassment of dissidents intensified. There was a repression against churches and religious groups. Human rights activists and protesters were soon arrested. at a higher rate than ever. In other words, lifting restrictions on US trade with Cuba, made life worse for ordinary Cubans. Because? Because, among other reasons, the Cuban government owns or controls almost all of the country’s important companies. Authorizing more business with Cuba meant putting more wealth into the regime’s coffers. By enriching the dictatorship, Obama only made it stronger.

For decades, politicians, journalistsand think tanks They have parroted claims that the US embargo is responsible for Cuba’s misery and that if only it were repealed, the island would experience such a wave of tourism, consumer goods and democratic influence that Havana’s communist fortifications would collapse.

But if trade could have overthrown the regime, it would have done so already. After all, the US embargo No prevent the export of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets to Cuba every year. In fact, in recent years the United States has been one of Cuba’s largest sources of imports. And in any case, Cuba has always been free to trade with the rest of the world.

What prevents the embargo is not US business with Cuba but US business with Cuba in credit. American producers can export agricultural products to Cuba, as long as they are paid in cash. But they cannot access federal loan guarantees or other forms of corporate welfare. The embargo is not rooted in revenge. It was a response to the fact that after imposing communism on the island, Fidel Castro nationalized (i.e., stole) American refineries, sugar mills, power generators, banks, and other property worth billions of dollars.

I have already mentioned before my visit in 2002 to Oswaldo Payáthe brave founder of the Cuban Christian Liberation Movement and, at the time, Cuba’s leading human rights dissident. When I asked him if the US embargo should be lifted, he responded: “Reach out to Cuba, but first ask that the Cubans’ hands be untied.” Extend your hands to Cuba, but first untie the hands of the Cuban people.

It is shameful that the UN supports the dictators in Havana instead of the nation that has done more for the freedom of the people of Cuba than any other. It is doubly shameful that those who voted in favor of the resolution included the former communist satrapies from Eastern Europe that were liberated when the United States triumphed in the Cold War.

It must be recognized that Milei does not care how many governments Argentina must oppose to defend freedom. “Our country categorically opposes the Cuban dictatorship and… condemns all regimes that perpetuate the violation of human rights and individual freedoms,” he said last week. His former foreign minister may not have gotten the message. His successor will not make that mistake.

This column is excerpted from Arguable, Jeff Jacoby’s weekly email newsletter. To subscribe to Arguable, visit globo.com/arguable.

You can contact Jeff Jacoby at [email protected]. Follow him on X @jeff_jacoby.