A few weeks ago, the HBO program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (which is an excellent comedy/news/investigative journalism show that gets USDemocrazy’s full endorsement) tackled the subject of the US embargo on Cuba, condemning it as irrational, harmful, and ineffective.

Though it was a very funny and on-point segment, Oliver got one crucial detail wrong.

He criticized President Obama for renewing the embargo after calling it a failed policy in 2004. The problem? Rescinding the embargo without Congressional approval hasn’t been an option for any American president since 1996.

In that year, a standoff between Cuban-American activists and the Cuban government ended in two unarmed American planes being shot down. The incident prompted President Clinton to sign a law making the embargo permanent until the Communist government falls. A recent piece from The Atlantic tells the full story.

In his autobiography, President Clinton called the law “good election-year politics in Florida,” where Cuban-Americans (who largely support the embargo as a means to undermine Castro’s regime) are a powerful voting bloc.

In other words, don’t expect this policy of questionable wisdom to be reconsidered anytime soon.