Trump is back at again with the apparent reversal of all legislation relative to the Obama Administration. This week on his agenda is U.S.-Cuba relations. According to Raw Story, POTUS is seeking to rescind the “wet foot, dry foot” immigration policy, implement travel restrictions, and discourage transactions with Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
Former President Barack Obama’s alterations to the U.S.’s relations with Cuba was criticized by Republicans during his term, although Congress supports it and wishes to strengthens it. However, Trump does have the support of a bipartisan group of politicians including Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, Florida Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, and Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
Obama terminated the very policy Trump is trying to resuscitate, which ended preferential treatment to Cubans who reached U.S. soil. With this policy change, Obama claimed, “By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries.”
Specifically, Diaz-Balart said in criticism of Obama’s decision: “With just eight days left in his administration, President Obama has found one more way to frustrate the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people and provide yet another shameful concession to the Castro regime.”
John Kavulich from the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Counsel confirmed that Trump has been seeking to make changes to U.S. policies in terms of relations with Cuba since February 2017, but “issues unrelated to Cuba have intervened.” Kavulich told the Daily Caller that he believes the president also has the intentions to implement travel restrictions and transactions with Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of Cuba.