The President’s Inbox

Maximum Pressure on Cuba, With Will Freeman

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This episode unpacks how the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign is accelerating Cuba's economic collapse and what a firsthand trip to the country reveals about life amidst the crisis.

 

Host:

James M. Lindsay, Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR

 

Guest:

Will Freeman, Fellow for Latin America Studies, CFR

 

We Discuss:

  • What the Trump administration is ultimately seeking to accomplish with its Cuba policy.
  • How secondary sanctions differ from the existing trade embargo.
  • What life on the ground in Cuba looks like today, with a mass economic crisis including widespread malnutrition and near-total electricity blackouts.
  • Whether ordinary Cubans blame the United States or their own government for the crisis.
  • Whether Cuba's government is attempting to pivot toward a China-style state capitalist system.
  • What Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is, why it controls so much of Cuba's economy, and who actually benefits from it.
  • Whether the Trump administration's pressure is targeting GAESA directly.
  • Why a Venezuela-style external coup or regime collapse is harder to engineer in Cuba.

    •  

    Mentioned on the Episode:

     

    "Cuba's 176 Market-Liberalization Measures," NBC News, June 20, 2026

     

    "July 11, 2021 Protests in Cuba," WOLA, July 2022

     

    "Miami Herald Investigation: GAESA's Secret Dollar Reserves," Miami Herald, August 6, 2025

     

    For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/maximum-pressure-on-cuba

     

    Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

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