The owner of Cuban restaurant Pambiche in Northeast Portland would like to be able to sell Cuban exports to his customers.
Matthew Warner / Flickr
The funeral of the Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro began Monday with the exhibition of his ashes in the iconic Plaza de la Revolución in Havana.
The big question is how the absence of Fidel Castro will affect the pace of economic reforms initiated by his brother Raul Castro.
John Maribona, owner of Cuban restaurant Pambiche in Northeast Portland, said he would like to be able to sell Cuban exports, like rum and coffee, to his customers.
He's been waiting patiently for years for the U.S. embargo on Cuba to be lifted. Now that Castro has died, Maribona said he believes the United States should move forward immediately with its economic policies.
“Do we have to wait until Raul dies? Because there are already other people behind them," Maribona said. "People were also born and bred to uphold the values of the revolution, so it's hard to say.”
Maribona also hopes President-elect Donald Trump, as a business man, can see the loss of economic opportunities with Cuba and decide to act and lift the embargo.
Although Trump has been critical of President Barack Obama's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the Caribbean island, it is not clear to what extent he plans to reverse the changes.
