The US government is relaxing its course on Cuba somewhat. The State Department announced on Monday evening (local time) that it would restart consular services and visa processing at the US Embassy in Havana to allow more Cubans to visit relatives in the United States. The current upper limit for money transfers from the United States to relatives in Cuba will be lifted.
Overall, a little more travel between the two countries should be made possible again. In addition, the Cuban private sector should have better access to American Internet services and e-commerce platforms.
“We will ensure that remittances to the Cuban people flow more freely while not enriching those who commit human rights abuses,” the officials said. US companies and citizens will continue to be banned from doing business with companies that are on the sanctions list for ties to the Cuban government or military.
The Cuban foreign ministry called the decision a “limited step in the right direction” in a statement. However, it does not change anything about the US embargo against Cuba or the central “economic siege measures” of former US President Donald Trump.
At the end of April, the United States and Cuba held direct talks on migration at a high diplomatic level for the first time in four years. Among other things, it was about the implementation of existing immigration agreements – also in view of the recent increase in illegal migration from the socialist Caribbean state to the USA. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs had criticized, among other things, that the United States was not adhering to a bilateral agreement that guaranteed 20,000 visas for Cubans every year. A senior US government official has now said that this magnitude should be reached as soon as possible.
The staff at the US Embassy in Havana was reduced to a minimum years ago because of the “Havana Syndrome”. Dozens of US diplomats and their families living in the Cuban capital had been complaining of mysterious headaches, hearing loss, dizziness and nausea since 2016. Similar complaints were later reported elsewhere in the world. A US intelligence report in February said some cases of “Havana Syndrome” may have been deliberately triggered by some form of electromagnetic radiation.
During his tenure in office, former US President Donald Trump scaled back a rapprochement with Cuba initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama. Now Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, is turning things around again. The government official stressed that there was no connection between the current plans and the upcoming America Summit in Los Angeles in June – a gathering of states from North, Central and South America. Several heads of state had recently questioned their participation in the summit if Cuba or other countries were not invited because of criticism of their political leadership. The government official stressed that the decisions on the invitations are still ongoing. (apa)