
Kudos to Barack Obama for loosening restrictions on family visits and remittances.
''This is a reaching out to the Cuban people,'' said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who was quoted Monday in the Miami Herald.
''This policy extends a hand to the Cuban people,'' said Dan Restrepo, a special assistant to the president who announced the changes in Spanish.
Obama's new rules will, among other things:
* Lift all restrictions on transactions related to the travel of family members to Cuba.
* Remove restrictions on remittances to family members in Cuba.
* Authorize U.S. telecommunications network providers to enter into agreements to establish fiber-optic cable and satellite telecommunications facilities linking the United States and Cuba.
In a statement, Obama also called on Cuban officials to reduce fees on cash remittances. The Cuban government now imposes a 10 percent surcharge on exchanges of American currency. The value of the dollar in Cuba drops even further - to around 80 cents for every Cuban convertible peso - once the exchange rate is taken into account.
Obama's new rules will, among other things:
* Lift all restrictions on transactions related to the travel of family members to Cuba.
* Remove restrictions on remittances to family members in Cuba.
* Authorize U.S. telecommunications network providers to enter into agreements to establish fiber-optic cable and satellite telecommunications facilities linking the United States and Cuba.
In a statement, Obama also called on Cuban officials to reduce fees on cash remittances. The Cuban government now imposes a 10 percent surcharge on exchanges of American currency. The value of the dollar in Cuba drops even further - to around 80 cents for every Cuban convertible peso - once the exchange rate is taken into account.
Links:
White House fact sheet on the new regulations
Latin American Working Group statement
The Havana Note on other steps Barack Obama could take
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