According to the Under Secretary of State, Democratic policy is intended to benefit the Cuban people.
Around these same dates (May 2023), but a year earlier, the Democratic administration of Joe Biden announced new measures in its foreign policy towards Cuba, which were meant to address the attitude adopted by the Donald Trump government against Castro. 180 degree turn. Dictatorship.
Twelve months after this change in attitude began, the Under Secretary of the State Department, Brian A. Nichols celebrated the first anniversary by arguing that the US government had kept promises made to Cuban families.
“A year ago, the United States announced a number of political measures to empower the Cuban people. We are committed to reuniting Cuban-American families, expanding travel and Let us fulfill our commitment to resume remittances.
According to Nichols, the democratic policy aimed to benefit the Cuban people by increasing support for independent Cuban businesses. In this sense, he promised that “we will announce more measures soon”, but did not give details of what they would be or the exact date of public communication.
In recent days, the United States Embassy in Havana has also dedicated itself to highlighting a series of changes in relations between the two countries, which have been described as “accomplishments”. For example, it recalled that from May 2022 the US authorized flights within Cuban provinces, which Trump had limited to only Havana.
Many commercial airlines and charters have joined the business, which is why it is currently possible to travel from Miami to Matanzas, Holguin, Santa Clara, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba on daily flights.
In addition to being used by the Cuban-American community in exile who wish to visit their relatives in Cuba, the route also serves as an alternative for thousands of Americans who bypass travel restrictions to the communist island. have been These citizens take advantage of a special license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that authorizes travel under people-to-people contact.
In addition, the $1,000 per quarter limit on remittances per person per household was suspended, and it was proposed to remove the restriction without establishing a periodic cap.
However, of all the “achievements” listed by US officials, the one that has caused the most controversy on social networks is the resumption of consular procedures at the embassy in Havana. In this sense, they recall that a year ago the process of immigrant visas such as the Cuban Family Reunification Program began, eliminating the inconvenience of traveling to Guyana.
Many Cubans indicate that the visa interview process is too slow and call for the reinstatement of non-immigrant visas in order to travel to the US to visit and spend time with family and friends with the intention of establishing residency in the US nation. Can go
Published May 17, 2023
The US Embassy in Cuba has not resumed non-immigrant visa processing for Cubans. (Screenshot © France 24 Spanish – YouTube)
Around these dates, but a year earlier, the Democratic administration of Joe Biden announced new measures in its foreign policy towards Cuba, which meant a 180-degree turn in relation to the attitude adopted by the Donald Trump government against the Castro dictatorship. .
Twelve months after this change in attitude began, the Under Secretary of the State Department, Brian A. Nichols, celebrated the first anniversary, arguing that the US government had kept promises made to Cuban families.
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A year ago, the United States announced a series of policy measures to empower the Cuban people. We are fulfilling our commitment to reunite Cuban-American families, expand travel, and restart remittances. We have also extended support to Cuban companies…
— Brian A. Nichols (@WHAAsstSecty) May 16, 2023
“A year ago, the United States announced a number of political measures to empower the Cuban people. We are committed to reuniting Cuban-American families, expanding travel and Let us fulfill our commitment to resume remittances.
According to Nichols, the democratic policy aimed to benefit the Cuban people by increasing support for independent Cuban businesses. In this sense, he promised that “we will announce more measures soon”, but did not give details of what they would be or the exact date of public communication.
In recent days, the US Embassy in Havana has also dedicated itself to highlighting various changes in relations between the two countries, which they describe as “accomplishments”. For example, it recalled that from May 2022, the US government had authorized flights within Cuban provinces, which Trump restricted to Havana only.
Many commercial airlines and charters have joined the business, which is why it is currently possible to travel from Miami to Matanzas, Holguin, Santa Clara, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba on daily flights.
In addition to being used by the Cuban-American community in exile, the route also serves as an alternative for thousands of Americans who are bypassing travel restrictions on the island who want to visit relatives in Cuba. . These citizens take advantage of the license, a special request from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which authorizes travel under people-to-people contact.
In addition, the $1,000 per quarter limit on remittances per person per household was suspended, and it was proposed to remove the restriction without establishing a periodic cap.
See more
We ensure that remittances flow more freely to the Cuban people without enriching human rights abusers.#after one year pic.twitter.com/cQtn4adsFO
— Embassy of the United States of America in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) May 16, 2023
Of all the “achievements” listed by US officials, the one that has sparked the biggest debate on social networks is the resumption of consular procedures at the embassy in Havana. In this sense, they recall that the process of immigrant visas started a year earlier, such as the Cuban Family Reunification Program, removes the inconvenience of traveling to Guyana.
Many Cubans indicate that the visa interview process is too slow and seek reinstatement of non-immigrant visas to visit the US to spend time with family and friends without the intention of establishing residency in the US nation.
