New guidelines issued for travel to Cuba

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday issued new guidelines for travel to Cuba, more than three months after President Obama announced he would loosen restrictions that bar most Americans from legally visiting the Communist island.

The action frees up U.S. organizations to apply for new licenses to organize Cuba trips and also clarifies which U.S. citizens may travel to Cuba without applying for a Treasury Department license. Most Americans, however, are still barred from legally visiting Cuba, except for specific purposes that are outlined in the guidelines. (Technically, it’s not illegal for Americans to visit Cuba. They just can’t spend money there, under a longstanding U.S. trade embargo.)

The biggest change in the rules, which were announced in January by Obama, is restoring licenses for so-called people-to-people educational exchanges, which the Bush administration had suspended several years ago. These rather broadly worded licenses had opened up Cuba travel to far more Americans.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-cuba-travel-guidelines-20110421,0,1689096.story

[maxsolomon]

1. end the madness.

just open it up and return guantanamo. stop fighting 50 year old wars.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Don't worry - they will suddenly figure out a way to do that

the day after Castro dies.

[Baclava]

2. Call me when the casinos and beach front condos open.

Aren't Cubans still banned from owning boats? The fish must be huge there.

Let's go fishing! Start up those charter businesses.

[goodnews]

4. Yea, get some of those Mafia family values back in Cuba...

fuck yea, that'll show those Commie bastards!

[Warren Stupidity]

5. what a crock of shit

Here is a "new" guideline: if you want to go to Cuba, go, have a nice day, be safe. This is just the same old shit.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

6. Why is the US afraid of Cuba and afraid of giving us the

freedom to travel there?

[robcon]

7. Best way to get rid of Cuba's tyrannical rulers is more contact with foreigners.

There should be no constraints on tourism to Cuba.

[Bozita]

8. "They hate us for our freedoms!"

I seem to have heard that before.

[OKNancy]

9. kick

[On the Road]

10. Man, I Would Love to Go to Cuba

especially with airfare to Europe completely out of sight this year.

I wonder how hard it is to get authorization for those educational exchanges.

[Judi Lynn]

11. US relaxes donation rules for Cuba

Source: Miami Herald

US relaxes donation rules for Cuba
April 23, 2011.


MIAMI: The US government has released new rules defining which Americans may travel freely to Cuba, making it easier for US schools, churches and cultural groups to visit and increasing the amount of money Americans can send to the island to support its growing private economy.

The White House says the changes to US-Cuba policy are aimed at supporting Cuba's civil society and putting distance between Cubans and their communist government. The policies rescinded more restrictive travel and remittance guidelines issued by the former president George Bush in 2003.

Under the official rules, Americans can send up to $US2000 ($1860) a year to Cuba. There will be a limit on the amount any American can send: $US500 a quarter to ''support private economic activity''. The Clinton administration had set that figure at $US300 a quarter.

Religious and educational groups can travel to Cuba without specific licences for certain types of events or study. Travel without specific licences is also allowed for the commercial marketing, sales negotiation, accompanied delivery, or servicing in Cuba of items related to telecommunications ''that have been authorised for commercial export''.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/us-relaxes-donation-rules-for-cuba-20110422-1dre3.html

[HopeHoops]

12. So Cubans can now donate freely to relieve our poverty?

:shrug:

Oh, wait - shouldn't that be the way this works?

[harmonicon]

14. They already do plenty of that.

Cuba offers free scholarships to poor minority students from the US to study medicine. They also send doctors to the US to treat our poor. They may not have a lot of cash money (because that comes from capitalism), but they certainly have what counts when it comes to helping others.

[harmonicon]

13. What a fucking joke.

If I want to go to Cuba and spend all of my money, I damn well will. "Land of the free", my ass. What kind of fucking country tells its citizens where they can and cannot go? Reform in this case doesn't mean shit - it just exposes the fact that the real problem still exists.