President Biden loosens Trump-era remittance restrictions to Cuba, restores international flights to the island

President Joe Biden is redefining the U.S.-Cuba relationship again, reversing many of former President Donald Trump’s reforms.

The White House is restoring U.S. flights to cities other than the Cuban capital of Havana, permitting educational and professional group travel, reestablishing the family reunification program, and removing caps on the amount of money that can be sent to families on the island, according to senior administration officials. The family remittance cap is currently $1,000 per quarter.

“These are actions that we see as in the national interest of the United States,” one staffer told reporters Monday. “They’re practical steps that we’re taking to find ways to expand support for the Cuban people.”

The reforms incorporate improving the U.S. Embassy in Havana’s visa processing capacity, which had been scaled back over concerns regarding “Havana syndrome,” a mysterious illness afflicting U.S. diplomats abroad.

“We are working closely with all the relevant bureaus, at the Department of State and across the interagency as well, on plans to investigate and get to the bottom of the anomalous health incidents,” an aide said. “As we do so, we are working to increase staff with an appropriate security posture.”

Biden’s decision has already been criticized by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez, a son of Cuban immigrants.

“As the Diaz-Canel regime continues its ruthless persecution of countless Cubans from all walks of life for their participation in last year’s pro-democracy uprising, today’s announcement risks sending the wrong message to the wrong people, at the wrong time and for all the wrong reasons,” Menendez said [Washington Examiner].