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The White House Just Made It Easier to Travel to Cuba

The White House just made it easier for Cuban baseball players to work in the United States.

GettyImages-461129154
GettyImages-461129154

President Barack Obama is set to become the first American president to visit Cuba in 88 years. Ahead of his March 20 trip, his administration showed that the normalization of ties with the former Cold War foe would continue, loosening travel restrictions that have made it difficult for Americans to visit Cuba for decades.

President Barack Obama is set to become the first American president to visit Cuba in 88 years. Ahead of his March 20 trip, his administration showed that the normalization of ties with the former Cold War foe would continue, loosening travel restrictions that have made it difficult for Americans to visit Cuba for decades.

On Tuesday morning, the White House announced it would ease limits on the use of U.S. dollars in trade transactions. In addition, Cubans can now open American bank accounts and, for those who work in the Unites States, earn a taxable salary. This allows Cuban baseball players and entertainers to work in the United States without defecting.

Perhaps more importantly, Americans and Cubans are now allowed to make “people to people” educational visits. This is a move toward removing the tourism ban that was a cornerstone of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Tourism in a traditional sense — going to Havana for vacation, for instance — is still prohibited. But the regulatory shift announced Tuesday legally opens the door for individuals who declare they are traveling for “educational” purposes.

The new steps “build upon President Obama’s historic actions to improve our country’s relationship with Cuba and its people,” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in a statement. “These steps not only expand opportunities for economic engagement between the Cuban people and the American business community, but will also improve the lives of millions of Cuba’s citizens.”

Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of changes made in the last 15 months as Havana and Washington attempt to end more than five decades of hostility. Ahead of Obama’s visit, this announcement is one of a series of goodwill gestures before he arrives, including Cuban national baseball commissioner Heriberto Suárez’s recent invitation to the Washington Nationals to play a baseball game in Havana in 2017.

Photo credit: Yamil Lage/Getty Images

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