Biden considers reauthorizing remittances and sending more diplomats to Cuba

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The U.S. government on Monday announced it is considering reauthorizing remittances to Cuba as well as the transfer of more diplomatic officials to the island, reversing two ex-president Donald Trump’s measures.

President Biden decided to explore these measures following July 11 protests in Cuba, the largest in several decades, as reported by a U.S. official.

The package of measures includes the setting up of a “working group on remittances” intended to “identify the most effective way” for the money to “directly reach the hands of the Cuban people.”

In November last year Trump banned the sending of remittances to Cuba, a measure with which the U.S. rapidly increased the economic suffocation of the island and which Biden has maintained during his first six months in office.

Another of the measures under study the Biden administration announced Monday is the transfer of more personnel to the U.S. Embassy in Havana with the goal of “facilitating diplomatic, consular and civil society participation” and also for “security” reasons.

This would be another reversal of a decision by Trump, who emptied the U.S. embassy after accusing – with no evidence – the Cuban government of being behind mysterious attacks against a number of officials between 2016 and 2017.

In addition to remittances and diplomatic personnel, Biden also ordered his Government to work with the private sector and Congress to make the internet “more accessible” in Cuba, something the president had anticipated last week.

President Biden also announced that his government will pursue its policy of imposing economic sanctions against Cuban officials.

Finally, the White House announced that it will “intensify” diplomatic efforts with its regional and international allies to support the alleged “aspirations of the Cuban people” and that it will bolster the delivery of “humanitarian aid” to the island.

In his first six months in office, Biden has shown no rush in fulfilling his electoral pledge to restart relations with Cuba, and has in fact given signs that his policy towards the island will be harsher than expected.