President Obama made it part of his legacy to ease tensions between the United States and Cuba, restoring diplomatic relations between the two nations and opening an American embassy in Havana.
But, like so many other pieces of Obama's legacy, it is unclear what will happen to his Cuba policies under President Trump.
Charles Sennott, executive director of The GroundTruth Project, joined Boston Public Radio on the line from Havana to discuss how Cubans think a Trump presidency may impact their future.
"There's a lot of worry about what will happen to the future of Cuba under Trump," Sennott said.
"They're wondering: is Trump, the guy who likes hotels and casinos, going to show up here? Or the guy who talked tough on Cuba during the campaign?"
So far, Trump hasn't revealed what policy changes he might make. But the way his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, answered questions about Cuba during his nomination hearings may suggest which way the Administration is planning to go. Tillerson said Trump should review Obama's Cuban policy executive orders, and that Trump should veto any legislation lifting the trade embargo on Cuba.
"He addressed the issue of Cuba and basically said the deal was not a great deal, because it didn't put much of a burden on the Cuban government to do better on human rights, to do better on freedom of religion, of politics, and free expression," Sennott said.
On the ground, Sennott said the Cubans he spoke to hoped that relations between their country and the United States would continue to thaw.
"The expectation and maybe the hope is that it will continue to move forward—maybe a little more slowly under Trump than it did under Obama," Sennott said.
To hear more from Charles Sennott, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
