Rubio ups heat on Cuba

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is threatening to block President Obama from naming an ambassador to Cuba unless he sees “substantive progress” in ongoing negotations between Washington and Havana.

Rubio, who is running for president, said he wants to see progress on Cuba’s political and human rights reforms, the return of U.S. fugitives currently in Cuba, lifting of restrictions on U.S. diplomats when they are in Cuba, and for Havana to resolve outstanding property claims by U.S. citizens against the Castro government. 

{mosads}“I intend to work with my colleagues to block the Administration’s efforts to pursue diplomatic relations with Cuba and name an Ambassador to Havana until substantive progress is made on these important issues,” the Florida Republican said in a letter Monday to Secretary of State John Kerry. 

Rubio has been a leading critic of the administration’s decision to try to normalize ties. 

It also comes in the wake of the administration’s decision to remove Cuba from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. The country has been on the list since 1982, and its removal paves the way for normalized relations, including the opening of embassies. 

Rubio said that including his four areas of concern in the administration’s ongoing negotiations would allow the United States “to leverage the prospect of improved bilateral relations to obtain tangible benefits for both the American and Cuban peoples.”

Rubio likely wouldn’t be able to single-handedly block any potential nominee from President Obama, but he could use procedural tactics to drag out any confirmation process. He could also try to gather enough support from his colleagues to block a nominee from being confirmed by the Senate.