The US is imposing wide-ranging travel bans on Cuba, aimed at cutting the flow of tourists to the island, in order to punish Havana for their “destabilizing role” in the Western hemisphere which Washington regards as its own.
The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that so-called “People-to-People” educational and cultural trips to Cuba would no longer be permitted, eliminating the most common way Americans visit the island nation. These trips had been used by thousands of US citizens to visit the country even before diplomatic relations were restored in 2014.
While academic, journalistic and professional travel will still be allowed, the statement also declared a ban on all private aircraft and boat travel to the communist-ruled country.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the US would be tightening its sanctions regime against Havana, and that the measures would go into effect tomorrow. National Security Advisor John Bolton also chimed in on Twitter, saying that the US would “continue to take actions to restrict the Cuban regime’s access to U.S. dollars.”
Mnuchin explained that the new restrictions are a response to Havana’s foreign policy efforts in the Americas.
Cuba continues to play a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up U.S. adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua by fomenting instability, undermining the rule of law, and suppressing democratic processes.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly cited Cuba’s support for the left-wing Venezuelan government as an excuse for the failure of US-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido to take power in the country. Despite that the self-declared interim president’s attempted military coup falling flat earlier in the year, Washington continues to promote him as the country’s only legitimate authority.