Treasury Department reviews Bush measures against Cuba
From Granma Internacional - August 17, 2004
Treasury
Secretary John Snow said Friday that his department was in the process of
reviewing the many comments it had received over its new, tighter policy on Cuba
travel.
"I think the Cuban community is divided," Snow told the Sun-Sentinel during an
interview. "Some feel strongly for the new regulations, some have reservations,"
said Snow, whose department oversees the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or
OFAC, which issues licenses for U.S. travel to Cuba.
The rules took many by surprise when they went into effect on June 30. The
Treasury Department has received more than 2,000 comments on the new
regulations, which may be tweaked before a final rule is published this fall.
Snow said it would be inappropriate to say whether the rules might be changed,
but said people's comments would be "well-considered in the final actions that
are taken."
He said the new regulations, which in part limit Cubans visiting family on the
island to once every three years, rather than every year, were being taken to
"weaken the Castro regime."
"An awful lot of the money that ends up flowing down there is used to sustain
and strengthen the regime," said Snow, although he said he had not yet seen any
data on what economic impact the new restrictions were having.
415-888-3459
reservations@cubatravelusa.com