The new rules include prohibitions against Americans spending money on businesses controlled by the military, which has a wide reach in the Cuban economy.
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The president has been critical of Obama-era actions that meant to warm decades of icy relations with the communist island nation – efforts punctuated by a trip to Havana a year ago, on which he became the first sitting USA president to visit Cuba in almost a century.
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Jason Pye of FreedomWorks, along with seven other conservative organizations, sent Trump an open letter Thursday pressing him not to unravel Obama’s policies that expanded travel to and trade with Cuba.
While the administration says the policy aims to empower the Cuban people, others have expressed concern that tightening restrictions could hurt them.
It’s unclear, and likely will be until the policy is formally enacted within 90 days of tomorrow, just how strict the enforcement will be, but it could make it illegal to purchase Cuban cigars and rum, as both businesses are owned, at least partially, by the government.
According to their report titled “Inside Marco Rubio’s campaign top shape Trump’s Cuba crackdown”, eight officials who were involved in drafting President Trump’s policy towards Cuba to feel his agenda achieved “escape velocity” thanks to Rubio.
The memo outlining the new policy does not say whether Trump will close any embassies or break off diplomatic relations, which were restored by the Obama administration in 2015.
Trump’s new policy will eliminate such self-certified visits by individuals while still allowing them to be done as group tours, and also retaining some individual travel under other authorized categories such as religious, artistic and journalistic activities, officials said. Americans pursuing this type of travel would have to go in groups, the official said.
Officials offered few insights about policy specifics, saying: “This is really the president’s policy to announce”.
Javier Yanez decorated with US and Cuban flags in Old Havana, Cuba, in 2014.
Google is helping improve the island’s sluggish Internet and in 2016 Airbnb paid $40 million to Cubans who rent out their homes.
Donald Trump will today order an overhaul of one of Barack Obama’s major legacies, by bringing the curtain down on America’s historic détente with Cuba.
Members of Congress were also consulted, and the White House said that Democrats were included in that effort. Dozens of US businesses and agricultural interests are operating in Cuba or want to, potentially worth billions of dollars a year.
To get the new restrictions lifted, the Cuban government would have to hold “free and fair” elections, release political prisoners and allow workers to be paid directly, officials said.
Three officials who briefed reporters ahead of Trump’s address, on White House-imposed condition of anonymity, said no policy changes would go immediately into effect.
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Human rights advocates acknowledge that Cuba has made little progress in that area, despite the Obama overtures.
