Boycott of Cuba Will Not End Until Nixon Goes, Expert Says

Jorge I. Dominquez, assistant professor of Government, said yesterday that he does not expect the United States to drop its insistence on the trade boycott of Cuba as long as Nixon is president despite recent speculation raised by the State Department.

In a speech before a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Saturday, Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger '50 made no specific mention of America's Cuban policy, but he did state his opposition to "the formation of an exclusive bloc."

Kissinger said, "The world has already seen enough of pressure groups, exclusive spheres and discriminatory arrangements."

Kissinger's statement led some observers to speculate that the United States might be preparing to change its Cuban trade policy. The United States has supported the boycott of Cuba by the OAS since 1967.

Dominquez said, however, that Kissinger's statement was not meant to imply any such change in American policy. He said the statement was designed to head off possible future attempts to set up an organization of Latin American states which would exclude the United States.

At the OAS meeting on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Argentina and Peru called for an end to the 12-year-old boycott. The Chilean foreign minister, Rear Admiral Ismael Diuz, asked that the boycott be maintained. He argued that "Castroism constitutes a danger for peace and security of the continent."

Dominquez said yesterday that it will be "awfully hard" for the anti-boycott forces to win unless they gain American support.

In his speech, Kissinger also said that "the policy of the good partner" would now be the American approach to OAS nations. He said to the other OAS members, "We convene as equals."

Albert O. Hirschmann, Littauer Professor of Political Economy, said yesterday that "Kissinger does want to get rid of some of the more paternalistic policies of the past." Hirschmann said that the U.S. position in OAS has changed "slightly" from its former position of dominance.

Hirschmann said that the new American policy towards Panama is indicative of the change in U.S. attitudes towards South America. The United States recently concluded a treaty with Panama which called for eventual control of the Panama Canal by Panama.