Specifically, repeal the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and any affiliated acts that restrict trade, communication, travel or any other free flow of goods, services or people to and from Cuba. Why? I'll make this a quick one:
Without getting into too much detail on the history and evolution of the embargo, which is available here, lets just cover 1) why we did it, 2) what we hoped to accomplish, 3) did it work and 4) what actually happened. Last we'll cover a quick list of benefits for taking this action.
1. Why we did it. The embargo was put in place in 1960 to punish the Cuban government for nationalizing properties owned by US Citizens and companies.
2. What we hoped to accomplish. We wanted to restrict the country's ability to function in the international community so it wouldn't host more Soviet missiles aimed at us, and we hoped Cuba would bend to our will and be more democratic and see that we were right and they were wrong.
3. and 4. Did it work? No, What actually happened? The government in Cuba remains to this day a pseudo democratic setup, but one ruled by a dictator Fidel Castro until 2008, and is now ruled by his brother Raul. Not only has the government structure been closely held and largely unchanged since 1960, but two of Cuba's closes allies remain Venezuela and Russia, both led by authoritarian dictators who strangle the rights of the people, kill dissenters and loot national assets for their own and their friends' benefit. So basically, total failure of a policy. They are now just as likely to host foreign military assets that threaten U.S. security as they were in 1963 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
5. The US would benefit by lifting the embargo: By lifting the embargo we would enable US businesses and citizens to openly travel to, interact with, trade with and influence Cuban development and progress; currently we have limited if any influence, whereas Hugo Chavez has plenty of access and influence, which is not good for anyone. Our national security would also benefit from more open relations with Cuban officials.
The only way the US does itself a disservice is by maintaining this failed approach to diplomacy with Cuba. Americans want to go there and trade with Cuba and don't want it allied with other shady dictatorships that have repeatedly threatened our nation. The only way to accomplish these objectives is to lift the embargo immediately and begin a new era of open diplomacy with Cuba.
