The EU has opened up bilateral negotiations with Cuba,
as of yesterday.
Not sure why this would be relevant to the US - it's not as if Cuba has anything economically that the US needs and/or will lose to the EU - Cuba is piss-poor and not about to become some economic juggernaut that the US will miss out on.
I'm very skeptical of this argument of yours. When has the US ever wanted to miss an opportunity, however small? It's a country 90 miles away that's near to massive American ports and has a population of 11 million people, who have hundred of thousands of their relatives living within our country. We've got great leverage and opportunity in Cuba that most other countries simply do not have.
If Cuba is going to continue to ignore the human rights and freedom of movement of the Cuban people, why would the US normalize relations with them - does the US have normalized relations with North Korea, another society where its citizens aren't allowed to leave, as an example? The others you mention aren't in the same situation and aren't mere "swimming distance" from the Florida coast.
Central African Republic, Egypt, Ukraine, China, Myanmar, Nigeria, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran.
All breaking news countries with recent and egregious violations of human rights. How come we don't embargo and isolate them? The only difference is that isolation is
not the status quo for these countries; that's only an incredibly limited tradition with Cuba. Quite frankly, in all other circumstances, we in the Western world seek diplomatic solutions within the country. We seek to improve the nation and empower its people through humanitarian aide and foreign investment. I simply am not sold on "isolationism" being the solution for Cuba, when we pursue complete different paths with almost all other countries.
So, as noted, there's nothing that Cuba offers that isn't available on dozens of other Caribbean islands and in Latin America - proving again that Cuba needs the US far more than the US needs Cuba.
In terms of nice beaches.
Cuba doesn't need to apologize to the US - it needs to apologize to its own people and the apology should come in the form of human rights protections, the opening of political prisons, and the granting of freedom of movement. Once Cuba makes meaningful movement towards a free and democratic society, then they may have something to offer the US.
BAH! What, are you looking for a miracle? I'm about as confident in that as I am in Russia changing its national anthem to Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out," or China dismantling its one-party state and creating a independent Tibetan state. Democratization and economic liberalization takes time; it's a rare circumstance that a government completely changes its tune and dissolves itself. Not to mention, when that does happen, it usually means flames, riots and general social unrest.
Cuba is an autocratic echo chamber. It restricts free movement, and its censorship of ideas and "dangerous" material puts China to shame. The EU is doing us liberals in the West a big one, and conditioning their negotiations on human right reforms. With trade and travel restrictions gone, it'd be an absolute boon to the Cuban dissident movement to better share information and ideas among themselves and with the larger world. I believe it is a disappointment that the US cannot bring itself to do the same.