Alan Gomez, USA Today
Photo Credit: Michael Reynolds/European Press

"After the election, all of a sudden the Cuban side has seen that they ought to do their part to make this opening irreversible, and they are trying to sign deals that had been languishing," said Geoff Thale, program director of the Washington Office on Latin America. "We're going to see a number of agreements on the commercial side between now and Jan. 20."

Thale led a delegation of U.S. security analysts this week to meet with Cuban justice officials about law enforcement cooperation between Washington and Havana. Thale, who has taken multiple delegations to Cuba since the 2014 opening, said Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Relations has always been welcoming and responsive. This time?