国际英语资讯:Interview: Trump policies could roll back U.S.-Cuba ties, says Mexican academic_时事

国际英语资讯:Interview: Trump policies could roll back U.S.-Cuba ties, says Mexican academic

MEXICO CITY, June 15 -- Progress in U.S.-Cuba ties is likely to suffer a setback under U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Mario Torrico, a research professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso) in Mexico City.

According to media reports, Trump is set to announce in Miami on Friday a rollback to the thaw between Washington and Havana, a promise he made during his election campaign last year.

"It appears the new U.S. president will arrive with a different Cuba policy that is opposed to that of his predecessor Barack Obama, as we have seen in (the areas of) environment and immigration," Torrico told Xinhua in an interview.

While Trump made his position against restoring ties with Cuba clear during the campaign period, saying the island's government must first meet human rights standards set by Washington, his presidency has so far centered mostly on issues of national interest.

"He has focused more on domestic policy and other aspects, such as how to impose restrictions on Middle East travel -- for which he has had to confront his country's judicial branch -- environmental policy and ties with NATO," said Torrico.

"Cuba is an important political topic at the regional level, but it carries little economic weight compared to other issues of interest to Trump," added Torrico, who also coordinates the master's program in public policy at Flacso.

Trump is set to announce the new policy towards Cuba from Miami, Florida, home to the large community of Cuban exiles who fled their country after the 1959 revolution.