Historic agreement expands visiting rights to Cuba — and more

Historic agreement expands visiting rights to Cuba — and more
BY AMY SHERMAN POLITIFACT FLORIDA
12/19/2014 1:08 PM 12/19/2014 1:08 PM

In a historic move, President Barack Obama announced on Dec. 17 that the
United States will begin talks with Cuba on normalizing relations after
five decades and re-open an embassy in Havana.

The announcement included Cuba releasing USAID worker Alan Gross and a
CIA agent who had been jailed in Cuba for nearly 20 years. Meanwhile,
the U.S. released three Cuban spies imprisoned in Florida.

During his 2008 campaign, Obama promised to grant Americans unrestricted
rights to visit family in Cuba and send money. It is one of hundreds of
promises PolitiFact has tracked on our Obamameter.

In April 2009, Obama announced that he had taken steps to increase
remittances and make it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba to see
relatives. We gave Obama a Promise Kept for those key developments at
the time, but his latest announcement takes that a step further.

Obama's recent announcement increases the allowable amount of non-family
remittances from $500 to $2,000 per quarter to any Cuban national, with
the exception of Cuba government officials or communist party officials.
Also, remittances for humanitarian projects and development of private
businesses in Cuba will no longer require a specific license. Remittance
forwarders will also no longer be required to hold a specific license.

In 2009, Obama made it easier for family members to travel; in 2011 he
expanded travel in several other categories, including for educational,
cultural or religious reasons and for journalists.

With the more recent announcement, the White House said it will expand
travel under the licenses for the 12 existing categories. (However, it
will remain illegal for tourists to travel to Cuba because it is banned
in federal law.) The change also means that Americans can use their
credit cards in Cuba and bring back $400 worth of goods from Cuba,
including up to $100 of cigars and alcohol combined.

"We are taking steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of
information to and from Cuba," Obama said. "This is fundamentally about
freedom and openness, and also expresses my belief in the power of
people-to-people engagement. With the changes I'm announcing today, it
will be easier for Americans to travel to Cuba."

Under the new policy, all categories will have general licenses which
means people won't have to seek prior approval from the U.S. government.
The .U.S. Treasury will release more details in the coming weeks.

"The Administration is signaling that it wants more of these visits
approved," Boston University Professor Paul Hare told PolitiFact. "But ,
that said, the prices of these visits are still high, and the control of
where people stay and what they see will still be in place. … But
permission for the use of U.S. credit cards and U.S. bank arrangements
in Cuba will make it much easier for NGOs (nongovernmental
organizations), universities, etc. to run fuller programs in Cuba and
for visitors to spend more beyond the cost of their formal visit
arrangements."

Obama's actions — increasing the amount of remittances and making it
easier to travel to Cuba -- mean that this remains Promise Kept.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OBAMA'S U.S.-CUBA REGULATIONS
In announcing this week that the U.S. and Cuba would resume diplomatic
relations for the first time since 1961, President Barack Obama eased
restrictions on a host of activities that include travel to Cuba, use of
credit cards in Cuba, remittances, to name a few. Below, some key
changes in U.S.-Cuba regulations:

▪ Increases the allowable amount of non-family remittances from $500 to
$2,000 per quarter to any Cuban national, with the exception of Cuba
government officials or communist party officials.

▪ Remittances for humanitarian projects and development of private
businesses in Cuba will no longer require a specific license.

▪ Remittance forwarders will also no longer be required to hold a
specific license.

▪ Expands travel under licenses for 12 existing categories. (However, it
will remain illegal for tourists to travel to Cuba because it is banned
in federal law.) All categories will have general licenses which means
people won't have to seek prior approval from the U.S. government. The
U.S. Treasury will release more details in coming weeks.

▪ Americans can use their credit cards in Cuba and bring back $400 worth
of goods from Cuba, including up to $100 of cigars and alcohol combined.

Source: Historic agreement expands visiting rights to Cuba — and more |
The Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article4676661.html