President Trump on Friday is expected to announce a shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba that includes restrictions on business with government or military entities, as well as further restrictions on tourist travel, Politico reported Thursday.
Trump will make the announcement in a speech in Miami following the administration’s full review of current U.S. policy.
The administration aims to reinforce certain aspects of the 65-year-old trade embargo, in the interest of preventing business dealings with the nation that they say only serve to keep the communist government in place while doing little to help the population.
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“My administration’s policy will be guided by key U.S. national security interests and solidarity with the Cuban people,” reads a draft of the presidential directive obtained by Politico. “I will seek to promote a stable, prosperous, and free country for the Cuban people. To that end, we must ensure that U.S. funds are not channeled to a regime that has failed to meet the most basic requirements of a free and just society.”
The directive delivers on one of Trump’s major campaign promises regarding the U.S. approach to Cuba, and will undo much of former President Obama’s actions toward Cuba. It instructs the Treasury Secretary to direct the Commerce Department to forward the new policy 90 days after the issuing of the directives on Friday.
Tourist travel to Cuba was already illegal, but Obama relaxed rules on “people to people” educational trips. Trump is tightening the restrictions on those trips, the report said. Trump’s changes could also mean some U.S. companies currently doing business in Cuba could lose licenses.