Trump orders clampdown on travel and trade
Reverses some of Obama’s reforms, but not all
• President Donald Trump announced a new policy toward Cuba Friday that seeks to curb commercial dealings that benefit the Castro regime and could limit the freedom of some U.S. citizens to travel to the island — but leaves in place many changes implemented by his predecessor.
In a fiery speech delivered in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana, where an older generation of Cuban Americans has long objected to normalization of relations with the communist government of President Raul Castro, Trump ticked off a litany of examples, past and present, of the regimes’ repression of its citizen.
“With God’s help a free Cuba is what we will soon achieve,” Trump said at the Manuel Artime Theater, a highly symbolic venue named after a leader of the Bay of Pigs exile invasion of Cuba in 1961, a failed U.S.backed attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro.
Trump’s change in policy prohibits any commercial dealings with Cuba’s economically powerful military and, according to White House aides, was driven by the president’s concerns that the previous policy was enriching the Cuban military and intelligence services that contribute to repression on the island.
Through civilian-run holding companies, the Cuban military owns or controls much of the economy, particularly the tourism sector. Former president Barack Obama had allowed some transactions with the security services on grounds that money would trickle down to individual Cubans who gained employment and more contact with the outside world.
“We now hold the cards. The previous administration’s easing of restrictions on travel and trade do not help the Cuban people,” Trump said. “They only enrich the Cuban regime.”
Significantly, a new directive signed by Trump will not affect those elements of the normalization begun by Obama in December 2014 that are popular with younger Cuban Americans. Unlimited “family” travel and money sent to private Cubans on the island will remain unchanged.
A packed theatre that included Cuban dissidents gave Trump a raucous reception.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Trump confirmed he is under federal investigation and appeared to single out a senior Justice Department official for criticism, underscoring his growing frustration with the focus on Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt,” the president wrote.
The morning missive appeared to refer to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. Last month, Rosenstein sent a memo to Trump raising concerns over FBI Director James Comey — concerns the White House then cited as a central reason for Comey’s firing.
Days after Comey was abruptly ousted, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Mueller also has expansive powers to investigate any matters that develop from his initial investigation.
It was unclear whether the president’s comment confirming he was under investigation was based on direct knowledge or media reports that Mueller is examining whether the president obstructed justice by firing Comey. Still, the snowballing investigation has deeply angered Trump, who denies he has any nefarious ties to Russia. He’s increasingly focused his anger at both Rosenstein and Mueller, according to advisers and confidants, viewing the two as part of a biased effort to undermine his presidency.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was “increasingly concerned” that Trump will fire both Mueller and Rosenstein.
“The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn’t apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired,” Feinstein said. “That’s undemocratic on its face and a blatant violation of the president’s oath of office.”
Rosenstein took over the Russia probe soon after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. But he, too, may have to hand off oversight of the probe given his own role in Comey’s firing.
THE MESSAGE THE PRESIDENT IS SENDING ... IS THAT HE BELIEVES THE RULE OF LAW DOESN’T APPLY TO HIM AND THAT ANYONE WHO THINKS OTHERWISE WILL BE FIRED.