Trump Eyes Stricter US Sanctions Against Cuba Regime/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Trump ordered a sweeping review of U.S. policy toward Cuba, seeking tougher sanctions and possibly banning tourism. Havana condemned the move as cruel economic aggression. Tensions rise amid renewed focus on human rights and financial restrictions.
Trump Cuba Policy Quick Looks
- Trump orders Cabinet to review Cuba policy in 30 days
- Possible ban on tourism and tighter educational travel rules
- Focus on curbing funds to Cuba’s military and security forces
- Move reverses Obama-Biden era thaw in US-Cuba relations
- Cuba condemns US policy as human rights violation
- US maintains economic embargo and UN opposition stance
- Visa restrictions tied to Cuba’s medical missions remain
- Rubio leads push for stronger sanctions against Havana
Deep Look
Trump Orders Review Of Cuba Policy, Eyes Tougher Sanctions And Tourism Ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to tighten America’s stance toward Cuba, instructing his top Cabinet officials to swiftly review and propose tougher sanctions and restrictions on the communist-run island.
In a memo signed Monday, Trump directed officials to complete their review within 30 days, signaling a sharp pivot away from the Obama-Biden era’s efforts to normalize relations with Havana.
Trump’s order calls for a focus on how Cuba treats political dissidents and how to curb financial transactions that benefit Cuba’s government, military, intelligence, or security services “at the expense of the Cuban people.”
Tourism Ban, Travel Restrictions On The Table
A potentially major change under consideration is a ban on all tourism to Cuba. The administration is also looking at further limiting educational travel to strictly controlled group tours operated only by American citizens.
Such moves would dismantle much of the engagement that flourished under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who relaxed travel rules and removed Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in their final days in office.
Trump’s policy review “supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
Cuba Blasts New Aggression
In Havana, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wasted no time blasting Trump’s directive.
“The Presidential Memorandum vs #Cuba released today by the US government strengthens the aggression & economic blockade that punishes the whole Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development,” Rodríguez posted on X. “It’s a criminal behavior that violates the #HumanRights of an entire nation.”
Ongoing Tensions Over Medical Missions, Immigration
The Trump administration has previously imposed travel restrictions on Cuban and foreign officials linked to Cuba’s lucrative medical missions abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled those missions “forced labor,” alleging that the Cuban government confiscates most of the doctors’ earnings.
Earlier this month, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told The Associated Press that Washington is attempting to tarnish Cuba’s medical missions and condemned the reversal of policies that once welcomed Cuban immigrants.
Rubio Leading Push For Harsher Measures
Sen. Marco Rubio, a longtime hawk on Cuba whose family fled the island in the 1950s before Fidel Castro’s communist revolution, has spearheaded efforts for tougher sanctions.
Rubio insists continued pressure is vital to weaken Cuba’s government and prevent money from flowing to military-run businesses he says prop up the regime.
Whether Trump’s move results in sweeping new restrictions or a more targeted tightening remains to be seen. But it signals that, under his administration, the U.S. is once again leaning toward isolating Cuba rather than engaging with it.
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