A majority of those polled support restoring ties between the United States and Cuba, a result that came in just as President Obama was marking the first visit to Cuba by a U.S. president in almost 90 years.
According to a new CBS News/New York Times poll released Monday, 52 percent approve of Obama’s handling of relations with Cuba. Another 62 percent think restoring diplomacy with the island nation is mostly good for the U.S., though people are torn on whether it will lead to more democracy in Cuba.
Forty percent thing warming relations will lead to more democratic change in Cuba, while just 3 percent think Cuba will retreat further and half think it will make no difference.
Fifty-five percent support the president’s decision for the U.S. and Cuba to resume diplomatic ties, something announced by Obama in December 2014, while just 25 percent oppose it.
When it comes to Obama’s goal of closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, more than half (52 percent) want it to remain open. And while most Republicans and independents want the prison to remain open, a slim majority of Democrats want it to be closed.
The random telephone-based poll of 1,022 U.S. adults was conducted March 11-15.
