 President Barack Obama [AP Photo/Chris Carlson] |
The day after the Obama administration loosened restrictions on traveling to Cuba, the handful of Miami-Dade travel agencies licensed by the Cuban and U.S. governments got another boost. A federal judge in Miami struck down a Florida law passed last year that required those agencies to post up to a $250,000 bond and pay as much as $25,000 in registration fees.
| New Cuba Policy In April, President Barack Obama lifted policies enacted in 2004 by President George W. Bush that limited trips by Cuban-Americans to the island to one two-week visit every three years. Cuban-Americans can now visit family in Cuba once a year for as long as they want. Obama also announced changes that allow visits with more distant relatives and even relatives by marriage. He also introduced looser rules about what goods can be sent to Cuba and raised caps on remittances. |
More travelers and remittances do give the Cuban regime more hard currency, “which is exactly what it wants and needs,” says Susan Kaufman Purcell, director of the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy. But, she adds, “it will make selected Cubans less (financially) dependent on the regime,” and give them more freedom.
The new rules appear to have already increased travel, which had shown signs of heady growth. In early May, just a few weeks after the change, the Reuters news agency reported that 20% more Cuban-Americans visited Cuba in the first four months of this year than did in 2008.
Marazul Charter, which runs air charter operations from the U.S. to Cuba, saw a 90% increase in business in April and May, says Marazul President Armando Garcia. He increased charter operation seats from 366 per week in April to 900 in June.
 Travel from the U.S. to Cuba jumped 20% during the first four months of the year. [AP Photo/Javier Galeano] |