A US delegation to Cuba last week urgedboth nations to resume tie
Barack Obama, the US president, has lifted restrictions on travel and money transfers to Cuba, the White House has said.
The US also eased restrictions on communications, allowing radio and television firms to seek licences to operate on the Caribbean island, which continues to endure a decades-old US economic embargo.
The president ordered the lifting of "all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in Cuba and to send them remittances," Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said on Monday.
Previously, Cubans living in the US could travel to the isolated Caribbean nation only once a year and only send $1,200 per person in cash to family members there.
The White House also said Obama had asked officials to look at the possibility of direct flights between the US and Cuba, something also banned by previous US administrations.
"The president has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights," Gibbs said."These are actions he has taken to open up the flow of information."
It also comes ahead of Obama travelling to Trinidad and Tobago for the summit of the Americas later this week, where the embargo is expected to be raised by some Latin American leaders.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
Barack Obama, the US president, has lifted restrictions on travel and money transfers to Cuba, the White House has said.The US also eased restrictions on communications, allowing radio and television firms to seek licences to operate on the Caribbean island, which continues to endure a decades-old US economic embargo.
The president ordered the lifting of "all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in Cuba and to send them remittances," Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said on Monday.
Previously, Cubans living in the US could travel to the isolated Caribbean nation only once a year and only send $1,200 per person in cash to family members there.
The White House also said Obama had asked officials to look at the possibility of direct flights between the US and Cuba, something also banned by previous US administrations."The president has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights," Gibbs said."These are actions he has taken to open up the flow of information."
It also comes ahead of Obama travelling to Trinidad and Tobago for the summit of the Americas later this week, where the embargo is expected to be raised by some Latin American leaders.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
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