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Thursday, May 14, 2015

US Tourists Banned From Visiting Cuba in Foreseeable Future - State

US Tourists Banned From Visiting Cuba in Foreseeable Future - State
Dep't © REUTERS/ Enrique de la Osa
POLITICS
07:36 13.05.2015(updated 07:40 13.05.2015)

US tourists will be prohibited from entering Cuba for the foreseeable
future, despite the recent easing of trade and travel restrictions, US
State Department Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs official
Benjamin Barron said during an online chat.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US citizens are permitted to travel to Cuba for
12 specific purposes that are listed in the US Treasury Department's
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR), Barron explained.

The authorized purposes for traveling to Cuba, according to the CACR,
include journalistic, educational, religious, professional and
humanitarian activities, in addition to family visits and "support for
the Cuban people," among others.
"Americans are not permitted to travel to Cuba for touristic purposes,"
Barron stated on Tuesday. "No one has a crystal ball, but reintroducing
touristic travel to Cuba would require Congressional action."

US citizens, Barron added, that fall into one of the 12 categories of
authorized travel will then need to seek an entry visa from Cuban
authorities.

Americans that do travel to Cuba will be permitted to import up to one
hundred dollars in alcohol or tobacco products, including Cuban cigars,
Barron said.

Barron also mentioned that the US trade embargo on Cuba that has been in
place since 1959 will not be removed until US Congress acts.

Communications between Havana and Washington are expanding, Barron
claimed, on a variety of issues such as migration, law enforcement,
civil aviation, access to information, the environment, human rights,
health, and trafficking in persons.

In December 2014, Obama announced his intention to normalize US-Cuba
relations, which entails reopening the US Embassy in Havana and lifting
trade and travel restrictions on Cuba.

Most recently, Obama announced that Cuba will be taken off the US state
sponsors of terrorism list, a designation that Havana has pressed
Washington to change in order to fully normalize relations between the
countries.

Source: US Tourists Banned From Visiting Cuba in Foreseeable Future -
State Dep't / Sputnik International -
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150513/1022074595.html

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