Monday, August 24, 2009

Treasury all but deregulates Cuban American travel

Last April, President Obama announced that he would issue rules removing all restrictions on family travel. Lots of media reports say that policy is now in effect, but that’s not the case because the Treasury Department has not issued regulations to carry it out.

While we wait for those regulations to be issued, the policy that is in effect is one that was created by Congress last March. It repealed the Bush rules for family visits (once every three years, no exceptions for additional trips) and replaced it with a new rule allowing visits once every year no questions asked, and permitting additional trips if travelers obtain a license from the government.

Now the nice folks at Treasury have issued a directive (pdf) that defines the criteria for those additional trips, including a form where a traveler has to check two boxes. The criteria are not very daunting; they could have made it simpler with one box and a statement, “I’m Cuban American, I went once this year, and I feel like going again.”

The effect is that, except for having to fill out the form and wait for a license to arrive in the mail, travel has effectively been deregulated for Cuban Americans.

That’s nice, President Obama, but what about the rest of the country?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the update on the Obama plan to bail out the bankrupt Cuban economy. Perhaps your next post can note the irony that after 50 years of hare-brained economic policies and repression, the Castro regime must now rely on those who left Cuba to make new lives in the United States to now come back and keep that putrid regime afloat?

chingon

Anonymous said...

chingon --
and what is your objection for americans to travel to cuba and see for themselves, instead of having gusano dictators like yourself telling everyone what to do and think.

the point, you moron, is to allow ALL Americans to travel to cuba, not to be held hostage by a policy controlled by a minority of a minority.
once again you brainless birther, you just completely miss the point of the blog in order to maintain your extreme right wing view, which we all know and are really very bored with.

you just cant accept any movement towards normalization can you -- how pathetic.
(Ok back to you and your fascist rant in return)

Anonymous said...

Anonymous August 24, 2009 12:06 PM,

Could you please sign using a handle? It makes it easier to tell apart who is insulting whom.

Vecino de NF

Anonymous said...

chingon -- try something constructive for once, or are you in favor of complaining about cuba denying rights but not about america denying rights? wait, chingon means hypocrite in gusanito.

leftside said...

the Castro regime must now rely on those who left Cuba to make new lives in the United States to now come back and keep that putrid regime afloat?

This might have an ounce of truth if we were to ignore the funsamental fact that the Revolution has survived for almost 50 years with (almost) no help from Americans - Cuban or otherwise. Why he thinks a few thousands extra tourist trips will somehow make or break the Revolution shows a very poor understanding of history. Aren't "good" Cuban-Americans careful to make sure little money ends up with the Government anyhow?

Anonymous said...

Leftside,

Are you saying that relaxing US travel restrictions to Cuba for Cuban-Americans are irrelevant as far as the wellbeing of the Cuban revolution experiment or that the remittances from Cuban-Americans are irrelevant to the same? Would you extend your analysis to the embargo and general travel restrictions?

Vecino de NF

Anonymous said...

Witless regime parrots have come out to squawk. Abu Ghraib, squawk, Guantanamo Bay, squawk, "terrorists" in Miami, squawk....nothing about the criminal treatment of the Cuban people by a decrepit regime.

chingon

leftside said...

Vecino, I think we have almost 50 years to prove that the Revolution is not dependent on any US money. As Fidel said, it will live or die on its own merits.

Anonymous said...

chingon -- cubanology is dead, get with the 21st century you worthless piece of gusano

Anonymous said...

i think it would be hard to compare the relatively small amount of cuban americans coming to cuba, and the impact they have as compared to the estimated million plus average americans who would travel to cuba in the first year or two of ending restrictions.
and ending the embargo would have a great impact on US-Cuba relations (not to mention the ending of the extra-territorial aspects of it)
while cuba has never been dependent upon US tourists or business since the revolution (for american side reasons) -- the lifting of travel restrictions and embargo will have a tremendous impact and energy that no one can predict where it will lead. (and no, this is NOT implying the cubans are afraid of those changes, but tear down that embargo wall and lets see what happens)
it would simply be another step in the evolution of the revolution. and this doesn't even address the criminal or moral elements of why the embargo should end, and why i should be allowed to travel to cuba sin restrictions

Anonymous said...

chingon squawks but this idiot STILL hasn't answered why he's against all americans being able to travel to cuba, instead of only the cuban americans. now that's the type of democracy he's in favor for. what a complete waste of space

the perfect example of head in the sand, or his butt

Anonymous said...

Regime parrots, even your insults are pedestrian. But I do find it humorous that all you brain-dead Fanon/Galleano worshipers whose stock-in-trade is decrying the pervasive US economic and political "exploitation" of the developing world piss and moan so much not for yanqui to go home but for yanqui to come to Cuba.

chingon

Anonymous said...

Leftside,

Then if "... we have almost 50 years to prove that the Revolution is not dependent on any US money. As Fidel said, it will live or die on its own merits." why bother with lifting the US embargo or relaxing travel restrictions? Is it just rhetoric?

Vecino de NF

Anonymous said...

vecino, come on you are expected more than chingon.
is it rhetoric, well duh. the point is ALL americans should have the right to travel to cuba, regardless of the affect it has on the revolution. you can't scream lack of freedoms of cuba and support some of those same restrictions for americans.
to try and throw it away on the assumption of impact is immaterial. america the home of the individual should have the right for individual travellers and business to interact with cuba, if they want to. if they don't fine, but isn't it against american principals for the govt to impose itself on its citizens

cuba may not be dependent on us money, but the end of embargo, travel restrictions and hostility will help the cuban people. or are you against that?

Anonymous said...

chingon, please take more ESL courses because it's obvious you just can't read.
still waiting for your answer as to why you are against all Americans to decide for themselves if they want to come to cuba or not.

what a maroon

Anonymous said...

chingon -- are you a cuban agent, because you are just so much over the top you can't be serious.
maybe they missed one of the Five, you can be 5 1/2

Anonymous said...

Anonymous August 26, 2009 10:14 AM,

The question still stands: do the embargo and the travel restrictions affect affect the Cuban people in a sustantial manner? (genocidal is the word that has been thrown about to describe their effect). Your closing sentence appears contradictory. If Cuba is not dependent on US money then why even bother arguing about lifting the embargo and relaxing the travel restrictions as a way to benefit Cubans. Both provide the perfect way for Cuba to develop in a socialist manner without US interference.

As far as Americans being allowed to travel to Cuba, it would be nice to remember Ricardo Alarcón's reponse to a university student when the student asked why Cubans were not allowed to travel abroad. Mr. Alarcón said words to the effect that it is impossible for everyone in the World to travel everywhere due to the air traffic congestion that would result. Maybe some American tourists can ask Mr. Alarcón to explain that one.

Vecino de NF

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