PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP reverses portions of Obama’s policy on relations with Cuba during Florida visit.
In Miami visit, he reverses portions of Obama directives
Before a wildly enthusiastic audience in Miami’s Little Havana, President Donald Trump on Friday scaled back much of his predecessor’s policy on Cuba — taking a step back toward the kind of policies that attempted, but failed, to topple the nation’s ruling regime for more than five decades.
After denouncing the Cuban government and praising the Cuban people, the president delivered the message his audience was primed to hear.
“Effective immediately I am canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba,” the president declared, prompting the most enthusiastic, sustained applause of his 35-minute speech — and some cries of “Viva Trump!”
Actually, he isn’t doing either of those things. Trump is keeping much of former President Barack Obama’s Cuba policy. And the changes aren’t going into effect immediately; the order Trump signed at a table with the presidential seal was a directive to agencies to implement rules containing the new policies, something that could take months.
Trump’s order will result in changes aimed at curbing tourist travel to Cuba and dealings with businesses owned by the Cuban military.
Orlando International Airport’s first commercial flight to Cuba in more than 55 years took to the air Nov. 29 as 156 passengers flew on a JetBlue plane — a moment airline executives hailed as historic.
Since then, the daily flight from Orlando averages about 160 passengers, an airport spokesman said Friday.
JetBlue has no immediate plans to change routes, the airline said in a statement. “We will review the policy and the specific regulations once they are available to determine any impact to our operations or to our customers,” the statement said. Other tour groups also have conducted flights from Orlando to Cuba.
Airport executive director Phil Brown was not available for comment Friday.
Other major players in Central Florida traveled to Cuba for the first time recently, including the University of Central Florida.
The university sent 10 students on a study abroad trip this spring following other schools that already had well-established programs there
for several years.
UCF spokeswoman Rachel Williams said it was too early to tell if any changes would be made to the program because of the new travel restrictions although it seemed unlikely.
Trump’s objective is to force change in the country run by Raul Castro, brother of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
The recasting of U.S. policy toward Cuba was praised by the state’s Republican political leaders, many of whom were present for the speech. Warm-up speeches, filled with praise for Trump and criticism of Obama, came from Gov. Rick Scott; U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a MiamiDade County Republican.
“More than anything else, this change empowers the people of Cuba,” Rubio said. “America is prepared to outstretch its hand and work with the people of Cuba, but we will not, we will not empower their oppressors.”
Missing from Friday’s event was one of the region’s fiercest critics of the Cuban regime, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another Cuban-American Republican from Miami-Dade. Ros-Lehtinen has been strongly critical of Trump on many other issues and on Friday tweeted pictures showing how she was spending the day in Washington, including a visit to the National Air and Space museum with her grandchildren.
Many business leaders and elected officials from both parties see economic benefits to the U.S. from increased trade with Cuba, and don’t see why that nation should be treated any differently from all the other countries with poor human rights records that the U.S. does business with. Others say the Cuban people benefit as well from increased tourism.
“You would be hard pressed to find a Cuban living on the island who would say that U.S. engagement has not improved their lives,” James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, said in a statement. His group wants to increase U.S.-Cuba trade and travel.
Florida-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement it was pleased that cruises offered by its three cruise brands (Norwegian, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas) would be allowed to continue. Norwegian said the trips as well as shore excursions offered in Cuba comply with Treasury Department rules. It said 70,000 passengers had booked to sail to Cuba.
Individual travel to Cuba under so-called “people-to-people” educational and cultural trips will be stopped. Those trips were largely a fig leaf for tourist visits to Cuba. Such travel will now require people to go as part of a group, with documentation about the activities taking place — which, administration officials said, aren’t supposed to include touristy activities such as spending time at the beach. And they’ll have to hold onto the documentation for five years.