Travel restrictions to Cuba soon to be eased by U.S.
Travel to Cuba may soon be possible
Newscast Media HAVANA, Cuba–Congressional and Obama administration officials said The White House is preparing measures that would expand opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba and send money there. The measures would make it easier for Americans to get U.S. government licenses for cultural, educational and sports exchanges, according to congressional aides briefed on the new policy. They would not end the longtime economic embargo or the ban on U.S. tourists visiting the island.
The Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and policies in the George W. Bush administration had restricted travel, however, the Obama administration is seeking to restore a policy from the Clinton administration that encouraged “people-to-people” contacts with residents of the Communist-ruled nation.
“These are not revolutionary,” one congressional staff member said of the changes. “They’re not going to cause political blowback, because we did all this stuff before.” Like other officials, the staffer spoke on the condition of anonymity because the new policy has not yet been announced.
Since the stricter regulations on travel took effect in 2004, U.S. outreach to the Cuban people has largely been channeled through official democracy programs. Those efforts have had limited results, in part because “the covert political nature of these programs has put at risk not only U.S. operatives, but also their beneficiaries” in Cuba, according to a recent report by the U.S.-Cuba Relations Project of the Brookings Institution. Andy Gomez, a University of Miami professor and a report author, said the expansion of people-to-people programs would come at a critical time, coinciding with a growth in civil-society groups, including a lively bloggers’ community, in economically strapped Cuba.
“The time is ripe for us to build bridges with the Cuban people,” he said. But Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a prominent Cuban American legislator, said the timing was wrong. “Promoting travel and widespread remittances will give the regime a much-needed infusion of dollars that will only allow the Castro brothers to extend their reign of oppression and human rights violations,” he said in a statement.
Cuban authorities’ announcement last month that they would free 52 political prisoners has provided an opening for the new U.S. measures, analysts said, although the administration has been discussing the changes for months.
