The Trump administration on Wednesday tightened travel and commercial ties to Cuba, part of its effort to roll back former President Barack Obama’s historic opening with Havana.
The new rules come nearly five months after President Trump announced he would reverse Obama-era policies that loosened the decades-long trade embargo against the communist island, an attempt to fulfill a promise he made during the 2016 campaign.
The changes, which take effect Thursday, restrict Americans’ ability to travel to Cuba and prevent business deals with certain entities controlled by the Cuban government and military.
But the core of Obama’s policies will remain intact.
Under new Treasury Department rules, individual “people-to-people” trips — which have enabled American travelers to visit Cuba for educational purposes on their own as opposed to with a tour group — will be eliminated.
Such trips will no longer be approved by the U.S. government unless travelers booked a flight or hotel accommodations before Trump’s June 16 announcement.