U.S. limits how much money Americans can send to Cuba

WASHINGTON (UPI) — The United States is restricting travel to Cuba and how much money Americans can send to family members in the Caribbean nation, national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday.

The announcement, made at a Bay of Pigs Veterans Association event in Miami, is a reversal of President Barack Obama‘s attempts to loosen restrictions and normalize relations with Cuba.

Under the new policy, Americans may send up to $1,000 per person every three months. Under the Obama administration, remittances to Cuba were unlimited.

Bolton also announced new restrictions on travel, which will be limited to family visits only.

The national security adviser also used the event to criticize Venezuela and Nicaragua, which, together with Cuba, he described as “the troika of tyranny.”

“The United States looks forward to watching each corner of this sordid triangle of terror fall: in Havana, in Caracas and in Managua.”

Bolton announced new sanctions on the Central Bank of Venezuela, which he said props up the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Bancorp, which he described as a “slush fund” for Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Wednesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to unravel Obama’s normalization efforts.

In March, the State Department said it planned to reduce B2 tourist visa validity for Cuban nationals to three months with a single entry from five years of multiple entries.

And earlier this month, the Trump administration canceled an agreement that would have allowed Cuban baseball players to play in Major League Baseball.

Reporting by Danielle Haynes

United Press International

+ postsBio

United Press International is an international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the 20th century.

This author does not have any more posts.