Obama Drops Cuba Remittance, Travel Restrictions

Andrew Nagy
Posted: April 13, 2009

The Obama administration announced today it is lifting travel and remittance restrictions on Cuban-Americans and taking steps to spur telecommunications with the island nation.

The move comes just four days before the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago is set to start.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Cuban-American families can now freely travel to visit relatives in Cuba, and that limitations on money transfers are abolished, effective immediately.

According to Newsweek, Gibbs described the major shift in policy as "reaching out to the Cuban people."

The press secretary also announced that the president was permitting U.S. telecommunication companies to apply for business licenses in Cuba. Gibbs said the president specifically encouraged companies to focus on strengthening cell phone, Internet, radio and satellite television technologies between the United States and Cuba.

For more on this story, see the April 21 Cigar Insider.

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