In the debate last week on the foreign policy success or otherwise of President Obama, I made the point that he had offered Cuba the normalisation of diplomatic relations without pressing for anything (even rhetorically) in return. Why not use this high-profile move to make the case strongly for a democratic transition in Cuba as has happened in central Europe, supported and monitored by the sensible parts of the planet? What’s to lose by siding boldly with freedom in this case?

Not much. Yet even that was beyond him.

Now even the Washington Post has noticed this blunder:

Yet there is scant evidence so far of a sea change in Cuba — perhaps because Mr. Obama continues to offer the Castro regime unilateral concessions requiring nothing in return. Since the United States has placed no human rights conditions on the opening, the Castro regime continues to systematically engage in arbitrary detention of dissidents and others who speak up for democracy. In fact, detentions have spiked in recent months. The state continues to monopolize radio, television and newspapers.

The administration has defined one of its goals as opening Cuba to the Internet, but the nation still suffers from some of the lowest connectivity rates in the world. The regime established a few dozen Wifi spots but charges people $2 an hour to use them; the average salary is $20 a month. The state retains a chokehold on the economy, including tourism; the benefits of a 50 percent increase in U.S. visitors are being garnered by Raúl Castro’s son-in-law, the industry’s boss.

In other words, the communist Castro dynasty running Cuba are looting what they can while they can.

The hoped-for explosion in individual enterprise has not materialized either. On the contrary: The number of licensed self-employed workers has been dropping. If there are commercial deals as a result of the latest U.S. measures, it is Cuban state organizations that will benefit; only they are allowed to engage in foreign trade.

What’s most evident over the past year is that the Castro brothers are effectively preventing real change and reform even as they reap the rewards of Mr. Obama’s opening. The president’s only response has been more unilateral concessions, along with talk of a visit to the island before he leaves office. Autocrats everywhere must be watching with envy the Castros’ good fortune.

It is genuinely impressive how feeble Obama is as an international negotiator. In this easy case when he has a position of overwhelming strength he pulls his punches, leaving the least deserving people in the whole situation to profit. Makes you wonder what makes him tick.