24 June, 2017
United States President Donald Trump is expected to visit Miami as early as Friday to announce a new Cuba policy that could tighten rules on trade and travel, rolling back parts of former president Barack Obama's opening-up to the island, according to a U.S. official and people familiar with the matter.
It is being speculated that Trump will roll back portions of Obama Era policies that softened relations with Cuba, CNN has reported. The city in southern Florida has a large and influential population of Cuban-Americans and Cuban emigres. According to the Miami Herald, Diaz-Balard has expressed his support for Trump's anticipated announcement, and has said he is "confident" that the president will deliver on promises to crack down against what he derogatively referred to as the "Castro regime".
Tourism to Cuba remains illegal under US law, but has become allowable under many circumstances.
Cuba experts believe Trump will focus on smaller changes that will make it more hard for Americans to travel to Cuba and for US businesses to do business directly with the Cuban government. On Thursday, seven Republican lawmakers from outside Florida whose districts see agricultural, industrial or commercial opportunities in Cuba wrote Trump to argue that keeping a foothold Cuba is important for US national security.
"We strongly urge you to weigh carefully any rollback of policies that would endanger these benefits", the letter reads.
During his time in office, Obama exchanged prisoners with the Cuban government, reestablished diplomatic relations with Havana and became the first US President since 1928 to visit Cuba. "Allowing this to happen could have disastrous results for the security of the United States", read a letter sent to Trump by seven House Republicans, according to ABC news. Sources say Trump was seriously considering that move until officials at the Treasury and State Departments stepped in and warned of the epic legal battles the White House would face if he did.
The US airline and travel industries have made clear they do not want to see reinstatement of Cuba restrictions.
Two weeks before Election Day, Trump received an endorsement from the Brigade 2506 veterans at the Bay of Pigs Museum, a show of support that came after Trump had pledged at a local rally to "reverse" Obama's Cuba policy.
Mr Obama implemented his normalization measures through executive actions, and Mr Trump has the power to undo much of it.