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Posted: 01:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has decided to loosen restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba for Cuban-Americans, senior administration officials confirmed Monday.
The White House plans to announce the change later in the day.
The decision, which comes days before Obama leaves for the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, represents a significant shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Several key components of America’s nearly half-centry embargo on the island nation, however, will be preserved. Among other things, Americans will still be barred from sending gifts or other items to high-ranking Cuban government officials and Communist Party members.
Travel restrictions for Americans of non-Cuban descent will also remain in place.
Before he was elected president, Obama promised to lower some of the barriers in Cuban-American relations. Provisions attached to a $410 billion supplemental budget Obama signed in March also made it easier for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and to send money to family members on the island. In addition, they facilitated the sale of agricultural and pharmaceutical products to Cuba.
The provisions loosened restrictions enacted by President George W. Bush after he came to office in 2001.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has decided to loosen restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba for Cuban-Americans, senior administration officials confirmed Monday.
The White House plans to announce the change later in the day.
The decision, which comes days before Obama leaves for the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, represents a significant shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Several key components of America’s nearly half-centry embargo on the island nation, however, will be preserved. Among other things, Americans will still be barred from sending gifts or other items to high-ranking Cuban government officials and Communist Party members.
Travel restrictions for Americans of non-Cuban descent will also remain in place.
Before he was elected president, Obama promised to lower some of the barriers in Cuban-American relations. Provisions attached to a $410 billion supplemental budget Obama signed in March also made it easier for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and to send money to family members on the island. In addition, they facilitated the sale of agricultural and pharmaceutical products to Cuba.
The provisions loosened restrictions enacted by President George W. Bush after he came to office in 2001.