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CUBA solidarity campaigners warned of “a major setback” yesterday after revelations that US President Donald Trump is planning to clamp down on travel and commercial ties with the island.
Anonymous White House officials leaked details of policy changes to the media ahead of Mr Trump’s official announcement in Miami’s Little Havana district.
The president is expected to announce plans which will reinstate restrictions lifted by his predecessor Barack Obama in December 2014.
These include tightening the rules for US citizens travelling to Cuba and banning US business dealings with the Enterprise Administration Group SA (Gaesa) — run by the Cuban armed forces — which operates dozens of hotels, tour buses, restaurants and other facilities.
Holidaymakers from the US will be restricted to package tours organised by US firms — unlike British tourists who can stay in bed-and-breakfast hotels and wander the streets of Havana.
Mr Trump will reportedly sell the new restrictions on Cuba as cutting off funding to state institutions that the US accuses of repressing “human rights.”
But critics said it would cripple Cuba’s booming small business sector.
Cuba Solidarity Campaign director Rob Miller said the measures “will be a major setback for US-Cuba relations and will condemn the Cuban people to continue suffering the consequences of the blockade” — which has not yet been formally lifted.
He said Mr Trump had “succumbed to pressure from hardline pro-blockade politicians” in the important electoral swing state.
Mr Miller pointed out that the announcement “flies in the face of US public opinion” — with 65 per cent of respondents to a recent poll backing improved relations.
“This will be a huge disappointment to the people of Cuba who saw a glimmer of hope that the blockade may end,” he added.
Mr Trump’s plans will not completely reverse the detente begun under Mr Obama — as he had promised Florida’s Cuban emigre community during last year’s election.
The “wet foot-dry foot” asylum policy that led thousands to risk their lives on people-trafficking boats will not be reinstated.
