Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Monday, the Biden administration took numerous steps to distance itself from the foreign policy approach of former President Donald J. Trump in relation to Cuba.
The State Department announced that the administration had undertaken four steps that would carry out President Joe Biden’s “focus on empowering the Cuban people to help them create a future free from repression and economic suffering.”
According to a State Department fact sheet, the administration has reinstated the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) program, authorized additional travel for scholars and people with family in Cuba, and pledged to make a pair of actions the administration believes will support Cuban entrepreneurs.
“Today, the Administration announced measures to further support the Cuban people,” Department of State spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, “providing them additional tools to pursue a life free from Cuban government oppression and to seek greater economic opportunities.”
The CFRP program and travel expansion were the more concrete of the four measures. The former will increase visa processing and give an easier path to Cubans who wish to immigrate to the U.S. and rejoin their families. The latter will allow for greater access from the U.S. into Cuba.
“We will make it easier for families to visit their relatives in Cuba and for authorized U.S. travelers to engage with the Cuban people, attend meetings, and conduct research,” Price said.
The help for Cuban entrepreneurs was less rigidly defined but, in general, the United States committed to making it easier for aspiring Cuban businesspeople to access U.S. businesses and training.
Additionally, the administration is removing a cap that prevented Cubans in the United States from electronically sending more than $1,000 per quarter to their family in Cuba. Price said the new system will allow, essentially, an unlimited flow of money “to the Cuban people in ways that do not enrich human rights abusers.”
It is unclear what accountability structure will be in place to ensure that human rights abusers do not profit from American money being sent into the longtime communist nation, but Price expressed optimism.
“With these actions, we aim to support Cubans’ aspirations for freedom and for greater economic opportunities so that they can lead successful lives at home,” Price said. “We continue to call on the Cuban government to immediately release political prisoners, to respect the Cuban people’s fundamental freedoms, and to allow the Cuban people to determine their own futures.”