Google CEO Eric Schmidt calls for an end to the Cuban embargo

Following a recent visit to Havana, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is calling for reform and liberalization in Cuba, and he’s advocating the end of the U.S. embargo to do so.

The Silicon Valley magnate and billionaire is advocating an end to the U.S. embargo and the empowerment of Cuban citizens through the free dissemination of information and technology. His propositions are tentative, but with the influence of the Google conglomerate at his disposal, not wholly speculative.

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Just last week, Schmidt headed a Google delegation, which traveled to Cuba in order to promote greater Internet accessibility in the underdeveloped island nation. Schmidt documented the trip in an article-length post on his Google+ profile where he maintained an optimistic outlook as to the island’s potential for development if opened up to the establishment of independent information channels and foreign investment.

As of now, it remains unclear what Schmidt’s—and Google’s, by extension—exact objectives in Cuba are, but what is certain is the tech giant’s interest in leading the charge as the once impregnable Castro regime slowly opens up to new developmental opportunities.

Per Schmidt’s Google+ post, “Under Fidel Castro’s younger brother, Raul, difficult economic conditions have brought many small liberalizing steps in the last few years.”

As Schmidt sees it, Cuba’s technological infrastructure is—not surprisingly—lagging far behind the rest of the world’s. In his post, Schmidt  goes on to describe the current situation by explaining that, “If Cuba is trapped in the 1950?s, the Internet of Cuba is trapped in the 1990s. About 20-25% of Cubans have phone lines but mostly subsidized landlines, and the cell phone infrastructure is very thin. Approximately 3-4% of Cubans have access to the Internet in Internet cafes and in certain universities. The Internet is heavily censored and the infrastructure, which we toured, is made out of Chinese components.”

However, despite the clear shortcomings of the information-systems infrastructure within the island, Schmidt maintains that the problem can be resolved in a relatively simple manner. As part of his propositions for reform, Schmidt calls for an end to the U.S. embargo in order to promote an influx of information services and technologies.

Beyond being detrimental to Cuba’s potential for development, the Google CEO emphasizes the embargo’s unfavorable effects on the U.S., as well.

Eric Schmidt puts it simply, “The ‘blockade’ makes absolutely no sense to US interests: If you wish the country to modernize the best way to do this is to empower the citizens with smart phones (there are almost none today) and encourage freedom of expression and put information tools into the hands of Cubans directly.”

Currently, the Cuban embargo remains a politically charged issue—especially in South Florida where a majority of the Cuban exile community is found, and support or disapproval for the policy are evenly split.

And yet, as Schmidt’s recent visit makes evident: the embargo is not only hurtful for Cuban citizens, but for U.S business interests and investment opportunities, as well.

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