24 June, 2017
Though the move is certainly a move away from Barack Obama's 2015 rapprochement with Havana, it is not a reversal.
Part of the Obama re-engagement included giving ordinary Americans the ability to travel to Cuba under one of 12 reasons, including educational trips.
According to the Miami Herald, back in September, while at a campaign event in Miami, Trump told a crowd - which the Herald reports was heavily populated with Cuban exiles - that former President Barrack Obama's decision to ease trade and travel restrictions on Cuba hadn't benefitted the Cuban people and was misguided.
Trump's policy aims to shift the flow of USA money from the Cuban military that controls much of the economy to the emerging private sector. Nor will Cuban-Americans' ability to make unlimited family visits and remittances to Cuba be affected.
President Donald Trump on Friday is expected to announce plans to tighten restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and clamp down on USA business dealings with the military, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
When asked how much of a setback the new policy could represent, "not much", says Torrico, adding that because little real progress was made in bilateral ties, especially since Cuba's main demand - that the embargo be lifted - was largely ignored.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed June 15 that Trump would "make an announcement on US-Cuba policy", but refused to elaborate.
Frank Calzon, the president of the nonprofit Center for a Free Cuba, insisted the current policy is not working as they continue to strive for freedom and human rights for the people of a communist nation. Travel to Cuba by US airlines and cruise ships will continue, however. The Department of Treasury will create the new regulations and none of the changes will take effect until the regulations are completed. The embassies opened during the Obama administration will not be closed, and diplomatic relations won't be changed significantly under the new policy.
Under Trump's new travel restrictions, commerce with businesses run by the military branch of the Cuban army will be strictly forbidden.
While Trump made his position against restoring ties with Cuba clear during the campaign period, saying the island's government must first meet human rights standards set by Washington, his presidency has so far centered mostly on issues of national interest. Though Trump will announce his new policy this Friday, nothing will change until the agencies implement those regulations.
But the White House's crackdown on Cuba's human rights record is puzzling, considering Trump has previously praised other countries and leaders with similarly checkered histories, such as Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte.
But Trump's planned rollback of Obama's policy has drawn opposition from American businesses and the travel industry, which have begun making inroads on the island, as well as many lawmakers, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans. Cuba will also not be reclassified as a state sponsor of terrorism under the new policy.
