Trump Administration Announces New Cuba Travel Restrictions – The New York Times

“Cuba continues to play a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up U.S. adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua by fomenting instability, undermining the rule of law, and suppressing democratic processes,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Tuesday explaining the administration’s move.

Tuesday’s announcement came nearly two months after John Bolton, the president’s national security adviser, said the Treasury Department would crack down on what it called “veiled tourism” and tour operators were not surprised to hear about the changes. But Tom Popper, president of the tour company Insight Cuba called the cruise ban, in particular, “devastating to the travel industry and the Cuban people.”

The federal government has long restricted travel to Cuba, with the rules changing from one presidential administration to the next. Under the changes introduced by the Obama administration, Americans in 2916 were able visit either in groups or individually, as long as they fell into one of 12 categories, including “people-to-people” visits and “support for the Cuban people” trips, the two most popular.

Under “support for the Cuban people” category, individuals can travel to Cuba, but they must have an itinerary filled with meetings and visits with local business owners, artists or others. They must plan on participating in local activities and staying in a private home, instead of a hotel.

“You have to have a full schedule of activities like going to meet with one community project and then another,” Mr. Popper said. “Going to hang out at the beach in the afternoon won’t cut it.”