Trump is rolling back more of Obama’s ridiculous policies with respect to Cuba:
USA TODAY – President Trump cracked down Wednesday on U.S. travel and business with Cuba, a major step toward rolling back another Obama-era policy.
Under new regulations that take effect Thursday, the Trump administration is banning U.S. citizens from doing business with dozens of entities that have links to Cuba’s military, intelligence and security agencies.
The list includes stores, hotels, tourist agencies and even two rum makers frequently visited by Americans who have flocked to the communist country in recent years.
BRADENTON HERALD – Americans will be banned from doing business with 180 entities tied to the Cuban military, including hotels, stores, marinas, tourist agencies, industries and even two rum makers owned by the government. U.S. companies will be barred from investing in a sprawling economic development zone in Mariel that Cuba envisions as crucial to its commercial future.
The long-awaited rules will take effect Thursday. The regulations, intended to cut off cash to Cuban leader Raúl Castro’s government and tighten U.S. travel to the communist island, stem from a directive President Donald Trump signed in Miami in June that outlined his new policy. Trump has distanced himself from former President Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba, criticizing him for getting a “one-sided” deal.
“We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.
Here’s the details via USA Today:
Among the changes being made:
• End ‘people-to-people’ visas
One of the biggest changes is to restrict “people-to-people” visas that thousands of Americans have used in recent years to travel to Cuba. The U.S. maintains an economic embargo against Cuba that prohibits travel there solely for tourism. Congress allows for Americans to travel only through certain visa categories, including religious, humanitarian, journalistic, diplomatic and business trips.
The Obama administration expanded those categories, allowing U.S. travelers for the first time to book a flight online to Havana, buy a people-to-people visa at the counter of a U.S. airport and then go on their trip.
Now, those travelers will need to be accompanied by a U.S.-based tour guide who must ensure they are engaging in approved activities that help the Cuban people.
• Restrict educational visas
The new regulations also restrict Americans traveling to Cuba on educational visas, requiring traveling as part of a larger group overseen by a U.S.-based company.
• Bar certain hotels and run factories
Approved travelers will also have fewer places to frequent in Cuba. The administration released a list of hotels, marinas, stores and rum factories owned by the Cuban military that will now be off-limits to Americans. The list includes 84 hotels: 27 in the capital Havana, 13 in the popular beach resort of Varadero and others spread around the island.
The list even includes the Hotel Ambos Mundos, a favorite of American author Ernest Hemingway.
I’m glad to see Trump continue to undo Obama’s commie-loving policies. But I’ll be even happier when we no longer have an embassy in Cuba.