Reversing yet another policy move by Barack Obama, President Trump plans to re-institute restrictions on travel to Cuba and us business dealings with entities tied to the Cuban military and intelligence services, officials said Thursday.
“By rolling back reforms that have benefited USA citizens, everyday Cubans and our economy, we are taking a step backward, not forward”, he said in a statement.
Trump said he was putting the Castro regime “against the wall”, by not only demanding “free elections” on the island, but also the release of political prisoners.
“With God’s help, a free Cuba is what we will soon achieve”, President Trump said.
Stopping short of reversal, President Donald Trump planned to announce a revised Cuba policy aimed at halting the flow of USA cash to the country’s military and security services while maintaining diplomatic relations.
Trudeau said there have been no conversations with Cuban officials about what role Canada might play in helping to foster a better U.S. -Cuba relationship.
Trump on Friday announced his new Cuba policy in Miami, Florida, rolling back several Obama era policies to ease restrictions on trade and travel.
Along with a range of other policies yet to be finalized by the Treasury and Commerce departments, Trump said he would move to “very strongly restrict” American dollars from benefiting the Cuban military through its powerful Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.
Trump is challenging Cuba to negotiate better agreements for Americans, Cubans and those whose identities lie somewhere in between.
Also not expected are any changes to US regulations governing what items Americans can bring back from Cuba, including the rum and cigars produced by state-run enterprises.
“He is [Trump is] ushering in a Cold War – a return to the Cold War – between Washington and Havana”, Acosta said. US airlines and cruise ships will still be allowed to serve the island 90 miles south of Florida.
America severed ties with Cuba in 1961, shortly after Fidel Castro launched a revolution that toppled a US -friendly government, and the two countries had been at loggerheads ever since. Remittances to Cuba won’t be cut off.
UPDATE I: 2:13 PM EDT – The full extent of Trump’s announcement is unclear.
A heavy police presence remains in the area as President Trump is expected to make his address sometime just after 1 p.m. It argued that the policies should be expanded instead so that more people would be able to visit Cuba, and Cubans could enjoy the expanded relations for much longer.