WASHINGTON, DC - Following the announcement of Miguel Díaz-Canel as the next President of Cuba, the Cuba Working Group issued the following statement:

“For the first time in nearly six decades, the world will know a Cuba without a Castro at the helm. For the United States, this is an opportunity for a new and improved relationship with our neighbor just 90 miles off the Florida coast - one we cannot afford to let slip through our grasp.

“Cuba’s new leadership holds cautious promise for the Cuban people, potentially ushering in a number of positive changes on the island. Should the United States fail to build on this opportunity, other nations will continue to fill the void, curbing market access for U.S. farmers and businesses, handicapping our national security, and limiting access by the Cuban people to important elements of the United States’ economy, culture, values, and democratic ideals.

“For years, efforts to improve relations between our two nations have been an Executive-led endeavor. While transitions take time, if Congress is serious about repairing American-Cuban ties and improving the well-being of the Cuban people, we must take action to reset relations and ensure the next 60 years are not filled with the same outdated, unproductive, and shortsighted rhetoric and policies of generations past.”