If you have a Cuban heritage and you have been wanting to travel freely to your country of descent, then Obama just might have made your day. According to news reports, the new president intends to allow Americans to visit relatives in Cuba, something which has not been considered by past administrations. In addition to this, the Obama administration is also looking at allowing remittances to be sent from the United States to Cuba. This is certainly good news for those involved.
As a presidential candidate, Obama promised to open up the channels of communication and interaction between the two countries. AP has a story on this:
President Barack Obama plans to announce the policy change before the Summit of the Americas April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.
Although some restrictions have been eased temporarily in legislation Obama signed last month, lifting the bans would meet a pledge he made during the presidential campaign and could signal a new openness with Cuba.
“The intent is to try to test the waters and see if we can get Cuba to move in another direction,” one official said. “One way of getting the regime to open up may be to let people travel, increase exchanges and get money flowing to the island.”
How about the people who do not have relatives in Cuba and still want to go there on vacation? After all, Cuba does have a lot to offer the traveler. Well, nothing on this yet.