The US announced it is easing restrictions imposed during former president Donald Trump's administration on travel to Cuba and on the sending of family remittances between the US and the island.
“The Cuban people are confronting an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and our policy will continue to focus on empowering the Cuban people to help them create a future free from repression and economic suffering,” the State Department said.
The loosening of restrictions will allow for increased visa processing, including at the Havana consulate, but with most visas still handled at the US embassy in Guyana.
The statement said it will “facilitate educational connections” between the two countries as well as enable professional research including “support for expanded internet access and remittance process companies”.
To boost the flow of remittances, the US government will lift the current limit of $1,000 per quarter, per sender, and also allow non-family remittances to “support independent Cuban entrepreneurs”.
It said it would increase the number of flights permitted between the US and the Caribbean island, and serve cities other than the capital Havana. It will also allow certain group visits, which are currently forbidden.
Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted that the move was “a small step in the right direction” but emphasised that it does “not modify the embargo” in place since 1962.
“Neither the objectives nor the main instruments of the United States' policy against Cuba, which is a failure, are changing,” he wrote.
Democrat Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denounced the lifting of some restrictions, saying that the Cuban regime “continues its ruthless persecution of countless Cubans from all walks of life” following unprecedented street protests last year.
The easing of travel “risks sending the wrong message to the wrong people, at the wrong time and for all the wrong reasons”, he said in a statement.
“Those who still believe that increasing travel will breed democracy in Cuba are simply in a state of denial. For decades, the world has been travelling to Cuba and nothing has changed.”
Republican Marco Rubio, a senator of Cuban heritage, also slammed the announcement, saying on Twitter that the Cuban regime “threatened Biden with mass migration and have sympathisers inside the administration”.
He said “the result is today we see the first steps back to the failed Obama policy on Cuba”, referring to former president Barack Obama's thaw in relations with Havana, including a visit there in 2016.
US President Joe Biden is seeking to tread a fine line between helping ordinary Cubans and encouraging democratic developments while not allowing the Communist regime to benefit from any easing of restrictions.
The thaw comes following a series of mysterious illnesses suffered by US personnel and family members in Cuba in what has come to be known as “Havana Syndrome”.
US officials say they have yet to determine exactly what happened but a senior official told reporters that there is an “appropriate security posture”.
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A man sells beans inside a state-run market in Havana. Many Cubans expressed hope the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the US will mean greater access to jobs and the comforts taken for granted elsewhere. Desmond Boylan / AP Photo -
Yosuan Crespo, a private real estate agent, poses in front of his office in Havana. Many Cubans are already imagining a more prosperous future after the US said it will put an end to 50 years of conflict with the communist-run island. Reuters -
Two women chat at a window of a cafe in Havana. The Cuban private sector is confident that US measures to begin normalising relations with the communist island would improve business activity. Alejandro Ernesto / EPA -
A photo of revolutionary icon Che Guevara is displayed on top of a TV in Havana. The restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States has unleashed expectations of even more momentous changes in Cuba. Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo -
A car drives past the building of the the US diplomatic mission in Cuba. Desmond Boylan / AP Photo -
People line up to take the bus outside the Capitolio in Havana, Cuba. Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo -
A man sells tomatoes on a street of Old Havana in Havana. Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo -
Old American cars in a street of Havana. Fidel Castro imposed a law after assuming power in 1959 that prevented anyone without government permission from importing foreign automobiles. Yamil Lage / AFP -
A street entertainer waits for tourists in Old Havana. The normalisation of ties between the US and Cuba could be a boon to the poor and isolated country. Desmond Boylan / AP Photo -
Bank notes from various countries are displayed on the wall of a beverage shop Havana. Desmond Boylan / AP Photo -
A double-decker bus waits for tourists to board in Old Havana. Enrique De La Osa / Reuters -
US president Barack Obama's policy shift towards Cuba would allow American businesses to export goods such as building materials, farming equipment and communications infrastructure to the island. Above, A tangle of old and new electrical circuits sit on a wall in a building in Havana. Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo -
A woman stands on the street in downtown Havana. Many Cubans are already imagining a more prosperous future after the US said it will put an end to 50 years of conflict with the communist-run island. Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters
