Washington will also support gratuitous money transfers to Cuban entrepreneurs.
The American administration has decided to grant Cubans more migration visas so that they can reunite with relatives living in the United States. This is stated in a written statement issued by the head of the press service of the Department of State, Ned Price.
The United States is “expanding consular services and processing visa applications, which will allow more Cubans to reunite with their families in the United States through orderly migration channels,” the diplomat said. He added that the United States “will contribute to the growth of Cuba’s private sector by supporting greater access to American Internet services, applications and e-commerce platforms.” “We will support new opportunities for electronic payments and for U.S. business activity with independent Cuban entrepreneurs, <…>,” Price added.
“We will lift the restriction on family money transfers in the amount of $ 1 thousand per quarter and will support gratuitous money transfers to Cuban entrepreneurs both in order to further expand the opportunities for families to support each other and for entrepreneurs to expand their business,” the Department of State representative said.
According to him, the U.S. administration’s policy towards Cuba “remains primarily focused on supporting the Cuban people, including their rights, political and economic well-being.” “We continue to call on the Cuban Government to immediately release political prisoners, respect the fundamental freedoms of the Cuban people and allow the Cuban people to determine their own future,” Price concluded.
In addition, as a high-ranking representative of the American administration told reporters at a special briefing, the United States will increase the number of flights to Cuba. American airlines will be able to send planes not only to the capital’s airport, but also to other air harbors of the island state. The U.S. authorities have announced that they have decided to take these steps, which will be implemented in the coming weeks, after the completion of the policy review regarding Cuba. Nevertheless, as the official noted, Washington does not intend to exclude Cuban companies from the sanctions list.
This decision was criticized by the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. Senate Robert Menendez (Democrat from New Jersey). “Today’s announcement risks sending the wrong signal to the wrong people, as well as at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons,” he said.
