Guillermo Belt has a picture of his family posing in front of a balcony at the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., where they lived in the 1940s. When he stepped into the reopened embassy on Monday, that same balcony was one of the first things that caught his eye.

"I was in Cuba, technically speaking," he told the Washington Examiner. "It was hard to believe that after all that time I got to step on Cuban property."

Belt's grandfather, who had the same name, served as Cuban ambassador to the U.S. in the 1940s, which is why his namesake got the invitation to the embassy. The Cuban ambassador also worked in Colombia, where he once bailed out a young Fidel Castro for joining rioting leftists.

The former ambassador did not support the 1950s communist movement, despite its leaders trying to convince him to join. Belt claims his grandfather had warned the U.S. State Department about communists taking power in Cuba. Belt's entire family, aside from his great-grandparents, left Cuba in 1959.

Although Belt did not share his grandfather's experiences in Cuba, he says he inherited the ambassador's views on communism.

"My interest as a Cuban American is for the people of Cuba," he told the Examiner. "I have no interest in the government or politics associated with Cuba. Cubans are incredibly creative. But communism stifles creativity."

Belt supports the revived U.S.-Cuba relationship. He envisions a political system that could allow Cubans to enjoy higher standards of living as well as more innovation and creativity. But he is concerned about how Cuba would transition from a communist to a democratic government.

Belt worries that American businesses may not realize the hardships of transition and may start to sell products Americans regularly buy but that Cubans cannot afford.

As an engineer specializing in telecommunications, Belt would like to travel to Cuba to help Cubans get plugged into modern technology. But he does not fit into any of the 12 categories of people who are allowed to travel to Cuba, so he'll have to wait.

Although his interests lie more in people than politics, Belt has strong opinions on America's policy in Cuba.

"I don't think that under any circumstance, the U.S. should bend to the Cuban government on closing Guantanamo Bay," Belt said. "It's none of their business. It's our property."

Belt would like to see Congress lift the 54-year embargo on the island nation but only if it includes conditions on Cuban human rights. "I think it was correct to put the embargo on Cuba. I think it was correct to hold the embargo for 54 years. I think it is time to try something new," he told the Examiner.

Belt worries that a future president will jeopardize Obama's "progress" on Cuba. "What I hope is that U.S. interests become very strong quick enough that it becomes [impossible] for future administrations to backtrack," he said.

Emily Leayman is an intern at the Washington Examiner