Peter Hakim, member of the Advisor board and president emeritus of the Inter-American Dialogue: “Senator Menendez has long been a staunch antagonist of left-wing authoritarian governments in Latin America, particularly Cuba (his parents’ birthplace) but also Venezuela and Nicaragua. He has been hawkishly committed to U.S. sanctions and other pressures to make life harder for these and other dictatorial governments. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has sharply resisted the easing of the United States’ severe punishment of Cuba, which includes a harsh trade embargo and labeling the country a sponsor of international terrorism (which it is not). He reacted bitterly to the Obama administration’s historic opening to Cuba, angrily claiming he was never consulted about the dramatic policy change. His replacement as committee chair (following his recent indictment) is Senator Ben Cardin, who has a very different view of Cuban policy. He applauded President Obama’s effort to rebuild ties to Cuba and remains strongly supportive of…”