The U.S. lifts restrictions on flights to Cuba

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to an order released Wednesday, June 1, by the Department of Transportation, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden lifted a series of restrictions imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump, on flights to Cuba.

“Through this order, the U.S. Department of Transportation, at the request of the Department of State, revokes prior actions restricting certain air services between the United States and Cuba,” the text reads.

On January 10, 2020, the Department of Transportation suspended, until further notice, all public charter flights between the United States and Cuban destinations other than Havana’s José Martí International Airport at the request of then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

This measure made it more expensive and difficult for Cuban-Americans to visit the provinces amid the pandemic.

Pompeo also imposed a cap on the number of public charters to José Martí International Airport.

According to the Trump administration, both measures were intended to “limit the regime’s ability to obtain economic benefits that it uses to finance repression”.

In May, the Biden administration announced that it would lift some of the restrictions imposed on Cuba under Trump to facilitate immigration procedures, money transfers, and flights to the island, a decision applauded by Havana.

With these measures, the Biden administration, which promised to review policy toward Havana when it arrived at the White House in January 2021, intends to “support Cubans’ aspirations for freedom and greater economic opportunities so they can lead a successful life at home.”

Cuba called it a “limited step in the right direction” but stressed that it “does not modify” the embargo in place for six decades.

Trump tightened the economic embargo that the United States has applied since 1962 to Cuba to force a regime change, reversing the opening favored by his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama (2009-2017).

Under a single-party Communist regime since the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959, the policy toward the island is a politically sensitive issue in the United States, which is home to a large community of immigrants of Cuban origin.

Indeed, flexibilization generated unease among Republicans and even some Democrats, especially after the 2021 protests that resulted in one death, dozens of injuries, and more than 1,300 arrests, according to Miami-based Cubalex.

With information from AFP