The measures will make it easier for families to visit relatives in Cuba, and for authorised US travellers to engage with the Cuban people, attend meetings and conduct research, the State Department said.
“With these actions, we aim to support Cubans’ aspirations for freedom and for greater economic opportunities so that they can lead successful lives at home,” the State Department said. “We continue to call on the Cuban government to immediately release political prisoners, to respect the Cuban people’s fundamental freedoms and to allow the Cuban people to determine their own futures.”
A senior administration official said that the moves announced on Monday are unrelated to the summit, that no decision has been made about inviting Cuba, and that while the US will may discuss and debate with other countries who gets invited, ultimately it will be the Biden administration that decides whether to invite non-democratic governments.
Trump reversed a diplomatic warming that President Barack Obama began with Cuba, when Biden was vice president. Trump cited the Cuban government’s behavior, including support for US antagonists in the Western hemisphere. Biden’s moves aren’t quite a full rollback of the Trump policies, allowing visits by educational groups, but not restoring individual educational travel by Americans that was permitted under Obama, one senior administration official said.
Oh good then they don’t need our R50mil and we can use it to feed our own impoverished nation!👏🏻👏🏻