A majority of Americans, including Hispanics, support the United States government moving to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, and an even greater number support lifting travel restrictions to the island nation, according to a new
Washington Post poll.
Overall, 64 percent of respondents expressed support for re-engaging diplomatically with Cuba, while
75 percent of Hispanics said they agreed with changing longstanding U.S. policy.
The support shown in The Washington Post poll is slightly higher than an October survey by
The New York Times, which showed 56 percent favoring a re-establishment of ties with Cuba.
In the Times poll, 29 percent said they were opposed to the move, which was slightly lower than the 31 percent who expressed similar feelings in the Post survey.
On Dec. 17, President Barack Obama announced he was taking executive action to make the "most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years" that will "end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries."
According to the
White House, Secretary of State John Kerry will initiate talks regarding the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, which were ended in January 1961.
The administration will also move to re-establish an embassy in Havana and engage in high-level exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba.
While congressional Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, have voiced strong opposition to loosening the embargo on Cuba,
GOP voters appear to be more divided on the issue of Cuban-American relations, according to the Post.
In 2009, 36 percent of Republicans supported ending the trade embargo and 40 percent favored an end to travel restrictions. In the last five years, however, that percentage has increased by more than 20 points, with 57 percent now backing a reversal in trade policy. A majority, 64 percent, also said they favored lifting the travel ban.
Where the public is less supportive and Republicans are not divided is on the question of how Obama has handled the issue, according to a
CBS News poll.
Overall, 44 percent voiced approval with the way (through executive action) Obama has approached the issue, while 36 percent disapprove. Republicans overwhelmingly disapprove (67 percent), a majority of Democrats (72 percent) approve, and independent voters are divided.
Despite the public's support of changing U.S. policy toward Cuba, the Obama administration will face strong opposition from Rubio, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I intend to use my role as incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee to make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt by the president to burnish his legacy at the Cuban people’s expense," said
Rubio in a statement after Obama's announcement.
"When America is unwilling to advocate for individual liberty and freedom of political expression 90 miles from our shores, it represents a terrible setback for the hopes of all oppressed people around the globe," he said.
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