February 23, 2009 2:11PM 

# Senator Lugar: ‘Lift the Embargo and Engage Cuba’ 

By [Juan Carlos Hidalgo](https://www.cato.org/people/juan-carlos-hidalgo) 

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Sen. Richard Lugar (R‑IN), the highest ranking Republican in the Foreign Relations Committee, has released a minority staff [draft report](http://www.lugar.senate.gov/sfrc/pdf/Cuba.pdf) on U.S. policy towards Cuba. It states that Washington’s sanctions against Havana have failed to bring democracy to the island and it recommends lifting the embargo and engaging Cuba.

The report’s recommendations are very similar to [those](https://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-57.pdf) that Ian Vásquez and I wrote for Cato’s recently published *Handbook for Policymakers*.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) 

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