Obama nixes last Cuba travel rules

Banking ban lifted; ‘all these barriers are coming down.’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sent an unmistakable message to Americans on Tuesday ahead of his historic trip to Havana: Cuba is open for business.

Punching fresh holes in the generations-old U.S. embargo, Obama’s administration removed the last meaningful restrictions on travel, putting a Cuba vacation within reach for millions of Americans over the coming years. The sweeping changes also clear a path for Cuban athletes to one day play Major League Baseball and other professional sports.

Although tourism is still technically off-limits, the ban becomes unenforceable, with Americans permitted to travel on their own with no prior permission. White House officials said there would be “no shortage” of opportunities for Americans to fill the loosely defined requirement that they engage with locals in a bid to further U.S.-Cuban understanding.

“The travel ban is on life support here, because for all intents and purposes, anybody can go,” Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who supports Obama’s approach, said in an interview. “All these barriers are coming down.”

The White House announced the package of changes five days before Obama will embark on the first presidential trip to the communist country in nearly 90 years. The more lenient rules, like the trip itself, aim to further the rapprochement that Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro began more than two years ago.

Unveiled Tuesday:

The U.S. eliminated a ban on Cuban access to international banking.

Cuba announced that the first direct mail in a half-century would be flown from the U.S. to Cuba starting today.

Cuban citizens can start to earn salaries in the U.S. in most circumstances without immigrating.

Cuban citizens can open U.S. bank accounts and use them to send remittances home.

The United States is also poised to ease security restrictions for ships coming from Cuba, a step that would ease the way for both ferry service and U.S. cruise ships docking in Havana.

Yet it was unclear whether Cuba would respond by easing its own barriers on U.S. travel and commerce, including a requirement that U.S. companies operating in Cuba hire workers through a state-run agency, a key sticking point.

RAMON ESPINOSA / AP A woman is decked out in the Stars and Stripes at a coffee shop in Havana, Cuba, on Tuesday. Five days ahead of the first presidential trip to Havana in nearly 90 years, the U.S. eliminated a ban on Cuban access to the international banking system.