Cuban-American and Havana-born Ros-Lehtinen, incoming chairwoman of the House’s foreign affairs committee, represents a South Florida district with a large, influential Cuban constituency (the district includes Miami’s Little Havana). Like much of her Cuban electorate, Ros-Lehtinen still harbors deep enmity for Cuba's communist regime, now run by iconic leader Fidel Castro's younger brother, Raúl.
She is likely to use her influence to undermine or reverse the Obama administration’s efforts to increase dialogue and improve relations with Cuba – particularly by blocking efforts to ease sanctions and other restrictions on Cuba.
South Florida Republicans have long earned support from the Cuban community by taking a hard line on US-Cuba relations. The Tuesday victory of Senator-elect Marco Rubio, a South Florida Republican and former congressman whose parents are Cuban exiles, will give Ros-Lehtinen another strident anti-Castro voice in the Senate.
