When Mark Schneider drafted the U.S. government’s plan for a Cuban transition back in the late 1990s, it was mocked by Cuba as a theoretical exercise that wasn’t going to transpire anytime soon. Now, nearly two decades later, the leaders of both countries have unveiled a dramatic plan that paints transformation in Cuba as an imminent reality.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s bold declaration to build a U.S. embassy in Cuba, ease travel and trade restrictions, develop Cuba’s business environment and telecommunications, and conduct a prisoner exchange appeared to come out of nowhere.
Schneider, though, was contemplating such changes long before last week.