Last week, the two countries took another step toward full normalisation with the announcement of an agreement to resume direct postal service.
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State Department spokeswoman Kerry Humphrey said late Wednesday that the countries “are making progress but still negotiating”.
USA enthusiasm for the since quite a while ago segregated island crested for the current year after President Obama reported that the US would start normalizing relations with the Comrade government there.
The two leaders held a face-to-face meeting in April during a Summit of the Americas conference in Panama.
The U.S. Secretaries of State, Commerce and Agriculture and the Cuban-born Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security have all made official visits to start discussions on unsexy but vital technical matters like produce inspection and port regulations. Havana has been swamped by USA celebrities.
In a statement, Obama said “important steps” had been taken to mend ties, including re-establishing diplomatic relations and opening embassies. So the Cuban authorities will enable the new flights from the United States in a slowly way, in order to ensure that the government can manage the increased travel. “We’re working on a new relationship, one based on respect, where baseball is the language spoken”.
Flying today to Cuba requires wrangling with charter airlines that are expensive and hard to book.
American has offered charters to Cuba since 1991 and will have operated approximately 1200 such flights by the end of this year; it now has flights from Miami, Tampa and Los Angeles to the Cuban cities of Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Havana, Holguin and Santa Clara. Travelers from Cuba must courageous long, chaotic lines to buy paper tickets.
However, Washington will maintain a ban on touristic activities to Cuba. Hotels and private hostals are booked for months.
“Hopefully it keeps going more than just flights”.
“I haven’t seen more commerce, really”.
“A year of stepped-up attacks on the Cuban people’s freedoms should not leave anyone thinking that somehow there will be a positive transition in the second year” of renewed relations, says Ms. Quintana of Heritage. Cuba warns the measures will not work until the trade embargo is lifted so Cuba can operate in dollars.
The news comes as travel between the USA and Cuba surged by over 70% this year, according to Reuters.
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In addition, thanks to the change in USA policy toward Cuba, Washington is “in a stronger position” to engage “the people and governments of our hemisphere”, Obama said. However, it is likely that US carriers will wage aggressive campaigns to win those rights.
