What President Obama's Cuba Speech Revealed About Travel and Diplomatic Relations
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Like Obama said, the U.S. has diplomatic relations with China and Vietnam, so turning a deaf ear to Cuba and Cubans made no sense. U.S. travel companies are chomping at the bit to get into Cuba.
In a White House speech, President Obama said the U.S. is taking steps to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba, and that U.S. citizens would be able to use their credit cards and debit cards when visiting the island nation.
Acknowledging that only Congress could overturn the decades-old U.S. embargo of Cuba, Obama said the U.S. will reestablish an embassy in Havana, normalize relations, and U.S. financial institutions will be able to open accounts with Cuban financial institutions.
Money-transfer rules will also be loosened, he said.
Confirming earlier reports about an historic breakthrough in relations coinciding with a prisoner exchange, Obama didn't provide any detail on how travel restrictions would be eased.
But the White House issued a statement indicating that travel will be eased for the existing 12 categories of people allowed to travel to
