Trump slams Obama's deal with Cuba and says he is 'cancelling it'

Daily Mail UK ^ | June 16, 2017 | By Francesca Chambers

[COUNTrecount]

Trump slams Obama's deal with Cuba and says he is 'cancelling it' as he puts Castro on notice to the delight of Little Havana's exiles

Trump will announce Cuban policy change at the Manuel Artime Theater, which is named of a Cuban-American Bay of Pigs veteran

Break with Obama is primarily over tourism (his administration looked the other way) and spending at military-run establishments (it will be barred)

Commercial flights and cruise liners will still be allowed to ferry Americans to the island nation 90 miles south of Florida

Passengers will face the threat of a Treasury audit if they do not have a government-approved reason to be there, however American visitors still allowed to bring back all the rum and cigars they can manage

President Donald Trump said Friday that he was 'cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba' and putting new travel and trade restrictions in place.

Barack Obama's agreement with Raul Castro's government led to an increase in violence and instability in the country, Trump said, and enriched the communist regime.

'They fought for everything and we just didn't fight hard enough, but now those days are over. Now we hold the cards. We now hold the cards,' Trump declared in Miami. 'Therefore effective immediately, I am cancelling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba.'

Trump said the US will not negotiate a new deal with Cuba until it releases the political prisoners it claims it does not have, turns over fugitives from American justice, hands over military criminals, respects freedom of assembly and expression and holds free and fair elections.

The ban on tourism will be upheld until that time and American companies will be barred from engaging in financial transitions with Cuba's military-operated businesses, he said.

[Sergio]

Thanks for the link.

[COUNTrecount]

Notice how POTUS gets things done while all eyes are on FAKE NEWS and Muh Russians?

[okie 54]

While I think we should normalize relations with Cuba, but to be sure any deal 0bama made was sure to be bad for the USA. After all not many countries violate human right any worse than China and we are in debt up to our eyeballs with them.

[seacapn]

Some of this is okay, but it’s simply not Trump’s (or the US government’s) decision or place to tell INDIVIDUAL US travelers where they may go or what they may do overseas.

That’s just government overreach and should be opposed. It doesn’t matter if it’s Cuba or anywhere else - once you start trying to restrict people in that fashion, there is no endpoint.

We can easily imagine a future liberal administration that uses the same legal frameworks to (for example) ban Americans from heading to South Africa to stop a racially-motivated genocide down there.

Sorry. Not the government’s place to tell private, free citizens where they can go. I can’t support that.

[Dacula]

My son left this morning for a missions trip to Cuba. I’m a little worried now.

I will add him to my Prayers.

[COUNTrecount]

Trump does not want to fill the Cuban/communist coffers with American $$$.

‘If an individual follows regulations for travel to Cuba, then they can travel, whether they get there by air, boat or any other means,’ an official said.

Americans will no longer be able to travel to Cuba individually unless they fall into one of 12 previously established categories that will continue to include people-to-people but only if they are part of a group with a set schedule.

Official government visits, family visits, journalistic activity, research, education, religious activities, professional sports or performances, humanitarian trips and certain government-approved voyages for exports will still be allowed.

The US government also permits Americans to visit if they are providing ‘support to the Cuban people.’

A senior official explained that Trump was not cutting diplomatic relations off or restricting travel to Cuba entirely because ‘we want this relationship to be one in which we can encourage the Cuban people through economic interaction.’

‘I think this is an effort to review what the president has called a very, very bad deal, not that he is opposed to any deal, but he is opposed to a bad deal with Cuba,’ the official said.

The US government is hoping to squeeze on the Grupo de Administración Empresarial, S.A., or GAESA. It’s the military-run company that controls the bulk of Cuba’s establishments.

[damper99]

This policy will only last until next week when a judge puts an injunction on it for discriminating against Cuban nationals. Probably will be from the 9th circuit again.

[FamiliarFace]

From the article:

***Official government visits, family visits, journalistic activity, research, education, religious activities, professional sports or performances, humanitarian trips and certain government-approved voyages for exports will still be allowed.

The US government also permits Americans to visit if they are providing ‘support to the Cuban people.’ ***

I will keep your son in my prayers, but I think he will be fine being on a mission trip.