With the sign of the Helm-Burton amendment by the then U.S president William Clinton, on March 12th, 1996; the blockade against Cuba became a law and the series of executive norms which are part of it.

Nevertheless, that same law preserved the President´s wide powers in that nation through the issue of licenses to allow diverse prohibited economic transactions due to the blockade.

As part of the announcement from December 17th, 2014, the President Barack Obama admitted the failure of the U.S. policy against the island and he himself committed to get involved into a debate with the U.S Congress to lift its economic blockade.

During the next months, Barack Obama applied some measures which were aimed at modifying the application of some aspects of that policy; however, even though they mean a positive step. They have a limited effect.

Certainly, the U.S Congress is the main institution to repeal the laws which keep the blockade against Cuba and even ordering its end, but that act might be preceded by the dismantling of the immense majority of its restrictions through executive actions.

On October 14th, the U.S Treasury and Trade departments issued a series of measures about Cuba and as it was explained, those changes came into effect on Monday 17th, October and they prove the powers of the U.S President to change the practice application of blockade.

The majority of the recent U.S. measures are aimed at increasing the already authorized transactions in previous measures, besides; they keep the prohibition of investments between the U.S.A and Cuba, except in the telecommunications sector.

That fifth group of measures does not provide new elements in the financial area where Cuba get the highest impacts of the U.S. blockade in spite of the U.S. authorities approved the use of dollar in their international transactions. That regulation has not been carried out yet.

The reality shows that in spite of the statement said by the U.S. administration about the need of ending the obsolete blockade policy. It continues causing deep affectations to the Cuban economy and countless damages to its population.

On these circumstances, the Cuban government reiterates that the process of normalization of the bilateral relations needs the lift of that pointless policy which means the highest obstacle for the economic, trade and financial relations of Cuba with that neighboring nation and the rest of the world, as well as for the development of all the potentials of the Cuban economy.

Once he has concluded his term of office, within two months, the president Barack Obama will leave the White House, but the blockade would continue into effect.

We do not know if the new U.S administration will continue the policies applied by the current U.S. head of state or if it continued to make irreversible the process that was started by the two nations, almost two years ago.

Certainly, it will be a long and difficult path to achieve a civilized relation between two neighboring nations which are featured by deep differences.