Continuing a wave of relaxations in its sanctions regime against Cuba, the United States (US) Transportation Department (DOT) on Wednesday eased travel restrictions for Americans to Cuban airports other than Havana by revoking a series of Trump-era measures on “certain air services.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the move as being “in support of the Cuban people, and in the foreign policy interests of the United States” stating that the resumption of scheduled and chartered flights will be “effective immediately.”
The sanctions date back to 2019 and 2020, when the Trump administration capped chartered flights to Cuba at 3,600 and subsequently suspended all private charter flights. It also banned flights to any Cuban airports except Havana, with erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that Cuba “uses tourism and travel funds to finance its abuses” and that “dictators cannot be allowed to benefit from US travel.”
Since then, public charter flights were permitted to and from Havana only “for emergency medical purposes, search and rescue, and other travel deemed to be in the interest of the United States.”
This formed part of the Trump government’s “maximum pressure” strategy, under which Cuba was also added to the US’ state sponsor of terrorism list, a designation that the Biden administration has yet to remove.
The latest move comes against the backdrop of similar relief announcements last month, when the US lifted limits on travel and remittances and expedited visa processing at the US embassy in Havana.
The Biden administration has also moved to reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program to provide immigration services for relatives of Cubans residing legally in the US. Under the programme, Cubans can reside in the US while they wait for their visas to be issues and can even apply for work permits while they await permanent resident status.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Biden expanding flights to Cuba, lifting Trump-era restrictions and reinstating family reunification program.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) May 16, 2022
The programme currently has a backlog of 20,000 applications, after it was abruptly halted back in 2017 due to the spread of the mystery “Havana syndrome” among US diplomats in Cuba.
The suspension of the programme has pushed many to seek other routes to enter the US. In fact, the US Customs and Border Patrol detained Cubans 79,800 times at the southern border between October 2021 and March 2022 following the closure of the Havana embassy.
Nevertheless, bilateral ties remain tense and drought with the same concerns over human rights and democracy. On Wednesday, for instance, the US Embassy in Havana strongly criticised the trial of two Cuban artists, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and Maykel Castillo, who were respectively sentenced to seven and ten years in jail over their participation in the San Isidro Movement last July, which the Cuban state has denounced as a US-orchestrated “soft coup” attempt.
(1/3) We denounce yesterday's trial attempting to sentence @LMOAlcantara and Maykel "Osorbo" Castillo to prison. To no one's surprise, the trial was neither free nor fair. The regime used trumped up charges. They are being persecuted for their art and opinions.
— Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Cuba (@USEmbCuba) June 1, 2022
The US has, however, made efforts to foster regional cooperation, which appears to be geared towards gaining support for the 9th Summit of the Americas, which is to be held in Los Angeles next week. In fact, it also lift Trump-era energy sanctions against Venezuela last month.
The State Department had earlier indicated that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela may be excluded from the Summit owing to the absence of democracy in the three countries.
This in turn has pushed several leaders from across the region to say they would boycott the event if everyone is not invited. While the US has said it could instead invite low-ranking representatives, this has done little to assuage the concerns of regional partners, including Mexico, which the US heavily relies on to control migration across the southern border.