WASHINGTON (TND) — The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will relax some economic sanctions against Cuba, allowing private business owners to access U.S. banks and online payment systems.
State Department officials announced they will amend portions of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, which controls relations between U.S. and Cuba, to allow access to some internet services for Cubans. These changes come as part of attempts to “support the evolution of a freer, more open society in Cuba,” according to the announcement.
“We believe that the growth of an independent entrepreneurial private sector in Cuba is fully aligned with our values, is the best hope for generating economic development and employment in Cuba, and the growth of this sector is also consistent with the President’s guidance to implement measures that will benefit the Cuban people while continuing to minimize resources to the Cuban Government,” a senior official said.
“These measures also will work in the United States interest, as providing this support for Cuba’s private sector will help to stem irregular migration from the island by creating more economic opportunity on the island," the official added.
Former Democratic Florida Congressman Joe Garcia cheered the move, saying “I congratulate the Biden administration for its commitment to civil society, and this economic engine that is helping transform the lives of millions of individual Cubans."
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However, Cuban American Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., said the decision makes the U.S. appear foolish.
“As I warned, the Biden Admin is now giving the ‘Cuban private sector’ access to the U.S. financial system,” Rep. Salazar wrote on X. “This would make a mockery of American law, considering no progress has been made toward freedom on the Island and repression has intensified.”
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