President restricts interactions with Cuba

Businesses connected to island’s military banned

President Trump cracked down Wednesday on U.S. travel and business with Cuba, rolling back another Obama-era policy.

Under regulations that take effect Thursday, the Trump administration bans U.S. citizens from doing business with dozens of entities that have links to Cuba’s military, intelligence and security agencies.

The list includes stores, hotels, tourist agencies and even two rum makers frequently visited by Americans who have flocked to the communist country in recent years.

The Obama administration ended more than 50 years of diplomatic isolation with its Cold War foe in December 2014. The move re-established embassies in Havana and Washington, made it easier for Americans to visit the long-isolated island and was punctuated by several meetings between President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro in Havana.

Trump repeatedly questioned this easing of hostilities. He vowed to cut the opening throughout the presidential campaign and claimed in June that the United States gave away too much in exchange for too little.

The White House blamed Cuba for attacks against U.S. diplomats on the island, prompting the State Department to cut back its staff in Havana and halt the processing of visas for Cubans trying to reach the USA.

The administration said blocking Americans from providing money to Cuban businesses run by the military will drive visitors to support Cuba’s growing class of private entrepreneurs, who run their own hotels, restaurants, taxis and small stores.