The Biden Administration revoked this Wednesday a series of restrictions on travel to Cuba that were imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued the order to request of the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, which among other things allow the arrival of charter flights to airports on the island other than Havana.
According to the official, the action was carried out to support the Cubans and the foreign policy interests of the United States.
“Through this order, the United States Department of Transportation, at the request of the Department of State, revokes previous actions that restrict some air services between the United States and Cuba,” reads the agency’s text.
Last month, the government of President Joe Biden announced the plan as part of a broader review of this country’s policy towards Cuba with the intention of facilitating entry into the island, immigration procedures and money transfers.
Under Trump, travel restrictions were issued in 2019 and 2020.
This included a ban on flights to eight international airports that included : Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Manzanillo, Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba.
In addition, the Republican Administration imposed a cap on charter flights to Cuba of 3,600 a year, and subsequently suspended flights to the island.
These measures have made it more expensive and complicated for Cuban-Americans to visit the provinces.
The Secretary of State at the time, Mike Pompeo indicated that Cuba used tourism and air travel money to finance its abuses and interference in Venezuela.
Under the new s dispositions, charter flights to the island would be resumed.
In May, Cuba cataloged the plan of Biden and his team as a limited step in the right direction, although President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel insisted on the need to modify the embargo in force for six decades.