Sanctions are not working  Sanctions are pointless and counterproductive. They’ve made no political difference in the last 43 years, why would they now? They mean that the US can be blamed for all the failures of the Cuban economy and to justify repressive measures for security, [1] and therefore encourage the retrenchment of both. In times when the Cuban economy is booming, as in 2005 when the economy grew by 8%, the impotence of the sanctions becomes clear. [2] President Bush claimed to want to empower civil society in Cuba but he also argued that the best way to achieve this in China was to trade and spread ‘American values.’ [3] Cuba’s geographical and cultural proximity makes it very likely to change quickly when they are able to freely interact with the United States through travel and trade. [4] [5]  [1] Griswold, Daniel, ‘Four Decades of Failure: The U.S. Embargo against Cuba’, 2005.   [2] Peters, Philip, ‘U.S. Sanctions against Cuba: A Just War Perspective’, p.392.   [3] Griswold, Daniel, ‘Four Decades of Failure: The U.S. Embargo against Cuba’, 2005.   [4] Meet the Press, ‘John Kerry’,31 August 2004.   [5] Griswold, Daniel, ‘Four Decades of Failure: The U.S. Embargo against Cuba’, 2005.