The decision promises to spark lively debate as the issue is politically sensitive in the United States. The Biden administration announced Monday, May 16, that it would lift a series of restrictions on Cuba, a country that has been under Washington’s embargo since 1962.
Specifically, the Biden administration will reinstate a program that has been suspended for several years that has eased immigration procedures for members of the same family, according to a State Department statement. It also promises to increase visa application processing capacity in Havana.
The United States will also remove the $1,000 per quarter per sender/recipient limit that has hitherto limited money transfers to Cuba, and will also authorize money transfers outside of the family. However, the State Department warns that these financial flows must not “enrich” individuals or organizations violating human rights. This cap was decided by former President Donald Trump, who took a number of measures against Cuba during his tenure. However, financial sanctions against Cuban personalities or entities remain in effect, the Biden administration said.
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The Biden administration will also increase flights between the United States and the island and authorize air travel to cities other than Havana. It will also authorize certain group travel, which is currently banned.
“Develop Economic Opportunities”
These announcements, immediately hailed by the Cuban government as “a small step in the right direction” “but of limited scope”, are the result of a review of American policy towards the communist regime initiated by US President Joe became Biden.
The measures announced Monday are “practical decisions aimed at responding to the humanitarian situation” in Cuba and at developing “economic opportunities” for Cubans, a senior U.S. government official said.
In Havana, Secretary of State Bruno Rodriguez acknowledged that these are “positive measures” but that “in no way alter the blockade or the key measures of Trump’s economic siege.”
“Neither the objectives nor the main instruments of the failed United States policy against Cuba change,” he added in a statement published on the ministry’s website, recalling his government’s “disposition” to “conclude a treaty.” respectful and equal dialogue with the United States government.
Democratic President Joe Biden is trying to strike a delicate balance between a declared desire to “support the Cuban people” and further their democratic aspirations on the one hand, and determination against the communist regime on the other. In the summer of 2021, he condemned the repression of large-scale demonstrations in Cuba and imposed a series of sanctions on Cuban officials.
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Criticism even from Democrats
The issue of relations with Cuba is politically hot in the United States, which is home to a large immigrant community of Cuban descent.
“Today’s announcement risks sending the wrong message to the wrong people at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons,” said Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and yet like Joe Biden a member of the Democratic Party.
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For its part, the conservative opposition has long been closely associated with the virulent criticism of the communist regime. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has therefore accused the Biden government of counting “sympathizers” of Cuba’s communist regime in its ranks. The elected official from Florida, where the majority of the Cuban diaspora resides in the United States, also reiterated that the administration’s decision represents “the first steps toward a return to Obama’s failed Cuba policy.”
During his tenure, Barack Obama, whose vice president was Joe Biden, had adopted a policy of historic openness to the Caribbean island that had allowed for a brief revival in relations between the two countries. However, by the time Donald Trump arrived in the White House, he had tightened sanctions against Havana, returning to the policies of the Democratic President.
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