FRD's own Posts can be read here or at
https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2019/04/frd-posts-on-bolton.html
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Royal Caribbean Cruises
May 1, 2019
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. chairman Richard Fain told investors that the effect of an announced change in the U.S. policy toward Cuba was hard to determine.
In a teleconference call on first-quarter earnings, Fain commented on two Cuba-related questions.
As far as the possible travel policy changes announced in a speech by national security advisor John Bolton in Miami on April 17, Fain said, "At this point, we don't know if there will be changes, what those changes will be or to what extent they would impact us."
Fain pointed out that only 3% of RCCL itineraries currently go to Cuba.
Bolton's comments led some to believe that travel to Cuba will be further restricted, possibly including cruises, but until amendments to the rules are published by the U.S. Treasury, the travel rules remain as is.
Fain also commented on the administration's changed stance towards enforcement of the Helms-Burton law regarding pre-Castro era ownership of property in Cuba. Fain said the change is likely to prompt litigation with companies that do business in Cuba. "We believe we have solid defenses and are not expecting to change our itineraries as a result," he said.
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Cuba Is a Problem That Trump Is Making Worse
The administration’s
new sanctions are likely to backfire.
By
April 22, 2019
President
Trump and his officials have taken steps lately to make things harder for Cuba,
aiming to persuade its government to stop helping Venezuela’s embattled tyrant,
Nicolas Maduro. That’s a worthy goal, and Cuba’s material support for Maduro is
certainly objectionable, but this is the wrong way to get results.
The administration just announced that
U.S. citizens will be able to sue foreigners for transactions involving
property that Cuba’s government confiscated after the 1959 revolution. This
legal recourse was made available by the Helms-Burton Act in 1996 — but was
then frozen, for good reasons, by successive administrations. Tougher
restrictions on travel and remittances will also come into force. These new
moves follow previous bans on commerce with businesses owned by the Cuban
military and security services; restrictions on individual travel to Cuba;
a veto of Major
League Baseball’s deal with Cuban authorities to hire Cuban players without
obliging them to defect; and the shrinking of the embassy in Havana to a skeleton
staff.
This economic and diplomatic assault will, as intended, inflict
real damage on Cuba — but if history is any guide, that’s unlikely to
make the country’s rulers budge. Instead, opening the floodgates for litigation
against Canadian and European companies doing business in Cuba will fracture
the international front against Maduro — not to mention swamping U.S. courts
with troublesome lawsuits. Since 1964, the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission has certified nearly
6,000 claims valued (with interest) at $8 billion. The State Department
apparently thinks there could be as many as 200,000 still-uncertified
claims.
A full
resumption of normal ties between the U.S. and Cuba should indeed require the
victims of expropriation to be compensated. A process that could have yielded
this result was underway thanks to the warming of relations under President
Obama, including the restoring of diplomatic ties in 2015. The Trump
administration’s plan is much less promising.
Canada and the European Union — the biggest foreign investor in
Cuba — have said they are
“determined to work together to protect the interests of our companies” at the
World Trade Organization and through counter-claims against any U.S. lawsuits.
There’s already disagreement about how much pressure to apply to Maduro, and
the litigation initiative — more an attack on America’s friends than on Cuba or
Venezuela — will widen that rift.
The Trump administration came into office betting that Cuba’s
government would buckle under pressure, but Havana has withstood much worse
than this: the U.S. embargo, for one, and the devastating economic contractionfrom
1989 to 1994 thanks to the collapse of Cuba’s Soviet patron. Aside from
dividing what could have been a U.S.-led coalition, the new escalation will
play into the hands of aging hardliners, encourage Cuba to seek help from
Russia and China, and weaken potent internal forces for change.
The previous rapprochement between the U.S. and Cuba wasn’t
fruitless: It encouraged some economic reforms and greater cooperation in
counter-narcotics, environmental protection and other areas. Granted, it didn’t
end the regime’s repression or
its support for other tyrannies, notably North Korea and Venezuela. But the
Trump’s administration’s new course is unlikely to fare as well.
Engagement is no panacea. Targeted sanctions have
their place. But Cuba should be confronted with the broadest possible front of
critics and opponents. The Trump administration has just made that harder.
To
contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg Opinion’s editorials: David
Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net .
**************************
Open Letter to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and United States State Department Officials regarding the new sanctions on Cuba
April 22, 2019
The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo
The Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Secreatry of State,
The undersigned, Cuban-Americans, Cubans, Americans and citizens of the world, express our most radical rejection of the new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the people of Cuba, announced last April 17, 2019.
We oppose the limitation on remittances to Cuban families. In addition to exacerbating existing levels of precariousness, such a regulation is one of acute political ineffectiveness even for the purposes of the policy of peaceful transition to democracy enshrined in law by the United States Congress, as it undermines the channels of economic and political empowerment and autonomy available to the nascent entrepreneurial sector of Cuban civil society.
We oppose the activation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, suspended by the three previous administrations given its extraterritorial ramifications and illegal nature under international law. If enforced, this law will not only provoke more division within the Cuban-American community but also greater isolation of the United States throughout the international community. We support the position of the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, Canada, Mexico, China and member countries of the European Union, which have called on the current administration to suspend the law and to lift the embargo against Cuba. We urge the United States government to explore alternative compensation options proposed by negotiators from both countries.
We oppose the limitation of travel of Americans to Cuba, which infringes on their freedom to travel as recognized by Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges have proven to be the most powerful tools for deescalating long-term conflicts between both nations. There is no better ambassador of the United States than the American traveler himself.
We urge you to reconsider your position on these topics and to act on the benefit of both countries.
***************************
CUBA STUDY GROUP STATEMENT ON NEW CUBA SANCTIONS
April 22, 2019
WASHINGTON D.C. � The Cuba Study Group believes the new restrrictions on travel and remittances announced by the United States against Cuba last week are unwise and counterproductive. They will severely hurt the Cuban people and all sectors of civil society on the island, including dissidents and the growing private sector. While the declared intent of the measures is to improve prospects for democracy, they are likely to have the very opposite effect.
Some believe the Cuban government’s support for the Venezuelan government merits these sanctions. But they hark back to the same isolationist approach that has proven ineffective for six decades. Ultimately, changes in Cuba must come from within the island. Civil society is an indispensable catalyst to any such change, and independent actors of all kinds in Cuban society benefit directly from the access to information and resources provided by engagement with the United States.
Specifically, these new measures will weaken the Cuban people �� disproportionately compared to their limited impact on the Cuban government � in the following ways:
- Remittance restrictions will hurt families and independent civil society actors in Cuba, such as dissidents, journalists, religious groups, academics, and others.
- Remittance restrictions will be particularly damaging to capital formation in the private sector, as they will disrupt much of its supply chain and will all but ruin many self-employed Cubans. This sector is already struggling from the recent elimination of multi-entry visas that allowed Cubans to travel to the United States to secure much-needed resources for their homes, businesses and projects.
- Travel restrictions will further isolate the Cuban people from the United States and will prevent U.S. travelers, the best ambassadors of American values, from direct engagement with ordinary Cubans.
- Reduced U.S. travel will also have a negative impact on private sector businesses that directly cater to these visitors.
In the aggregate, these measures stand to further isolate the United States and weaken the potential for international cooperation on its policy toward Cuba and Venezuela. This is particularly worrisome at a time when Russia and China are expanding their influence in the region.
While we disagree with this approach, we understand and share some of the emotions driving support for it among many in the Cuban-American community. In the four years since the United States and Cuba normalized diplomatic relations, the government in Havana has done too little to foster a more inclusive environment for the diaspora to integrate itself into Cuban society. The slow pace of internal reform and tighter controls on the private sector have also bred frustration, galvanizing those who support the failed U.S. policy strategies of old.
The Cuban government must understand that taming these impulses requires creating legal frameworks for Cubans abroad and at home to more actively contribute to the island’s future. The Cuban diaspora today is filled with individuals who support friends, family, and businesses on the island. But Cuban policies continue to restrict such partnerships, leaving many opportunities untapped. Cuban civil society actors, in turn, routinely make proposals that go unheard, while domestic entrepreneurs have ambitions that, under current regulatory limitations, remain impossible to fulfill.
There is much that Cubans on the island and around the world can give, whether via investing in private and mixed enterprises, transferring knowledge across industries, volunteering time and resources for humanitarian projects, or voting in national elections. The longer Cuban officials take to formalize and welcome such changes, the longer the island’s future will remain at the mercy of American political forces beyond anyone’s control.
###
The Cuba Study Group is a non-profit, non-partisan
organization, comprised of business and professional individuals with a deeply
rooted love for Cuba and the Cuban people. We aim to put our collective
experience in leadership skills, problem solving, and wealth creation at the
service of the Cuban people. We aim to facilitate change, help empower
individuals and promote civil society development.
Our mission
is to help facilitate peaceful change in Cuba leading to a free and open
society, respect for human rights and the rule of law, a productive,
market-based economy and the reunification of the Cuban nation.
Phone: 202-709-8191
ricardo.herrero@cubastudygroup.org
************************
April 17, 2019
Engage Cuba Statement on New Cuba Sanctions
“President Trump is doing this for one reason, and one reason only: to appease fringe hardliners in South Florida ahead of the 2020 election. The only way to get property claimants what they deserve is through diplomatic negotiations, which President Trump just threw off the table,” said James Williams, President of Engage Cuba. “This lets the Cuban government off the hook and shifts the burden to American, European and Canadian companies. American companies and our closest allies will now be paying instead of the Cuban government.”
“The hypocrisy of the Trump administration cozying up to the most brutal dictatorships in the world in Saudi Arabia, Russia and North Korea, but claiming to care about democracy and human rights in Cuba, is like living in a parallel universe. President Trump himself tried for years to open up a Trump Hotel and golf resort in Cuba.”
“U.S. travel and remittances are the lifeblood of the private sector entrepreneurs in Cuba. These restrictions are a cruel betrayal and a knife in the back of Cuban civil society and the prospects for a growing independent private sector in Cuba. The Cuban people are already struggling under tremendous difficulties, and these actions only make it worse. We need a policy that focuses on empowering the Cuban people and advancing American interests, not continuing a 60-year failed policy that only serves fringe domestic politics in South Florida.”
Full statement: https://www.engagecuba.org/press-releases/2019/4/17/engage-cuba-statement-on-new-cuba-sanctions
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Holbrook Travel
Talking
Points
Cuba
Policy & Regulation Change Announcements
April
17, 2019
·
On
April 17th, the Trump administration announced policy changes
primarily remittances, allowing US entities to take legal action against
foreign investors in Cuba, as well as other more technical changes.
·
Reports
by the Miami Herald and other papers are stating that the Administration also
intends to limit travel to Cuba to family visits, “thereby restricting so
called veiled tourism”. However, the sources quoted regarding this
policy are anonymous and there is no clear indication what is meant by
“restricting tourism”.
·
At
this moment, Holbrook does not have any clear information regarding the 12
categories of licensed travel to Cuba including Educational travel for
students, People to People, and Support for the Cuban people, and other
categories.
·
Travel
to Cuba is managed from the Dept of Treasury / the Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC). OFAC regulation changes
are usually published months after announcements are made. And the last Trump administration changes to
the OFAC regulations governing travel to Cuba allowed any planned trips to
continue in order not to have undue economic burdens such as cancellations
fees, etc..
·
Past
regulations changes (Nov 2017) were reported as being big changes in
regulation, when in fact, the changes were subtle.
·
We
do not feel that any booked groups or proposals under discussion should be
altered at this time. We need to wait
and see how this unfolds. Nor should
this inhibit future plans for travel under the 12 categories since there is no
risk associated with planning and yet having a contingency.
·
Holbrook
will remain in contact with CREST (the Center for Responsible Travel) and other
travel industry groups involved in Cuba to learn what we can as quickly as
possible and share that information with you.
·
Holbrook
will also be contacting representatives and organizing with industry groups to
register our opposition to this change on the basis of our strong belief that
engagement with Cuba and the Cuban people is the right path for our countries. We believe US citizens should be allowed to
travel freely to Cuba as we do globally.
·
We
are concerned for our colleagues and friends in Cuba; we know the importance of
the tourism income for the country and its people. The cherished guides, drivers, operations staff,
naturalists, artists, scientists, conservation staff, casa particular and
paladar owners, many more could be directly impacted by this during what is
already a difficult time.
**********************
RESPECT: Responsible & Ethical Cuba Travel: An Association
of U.S. Travelers to Cuba
April 19,
2019
RESPECT
Statement on New Trump Cuba Policy
National
Security Advisor John Bolton’s statement on new policy guidelines for Cuba is
a continuum of historical efforts to maintain the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and
disrupt and undermine an independent country. The campaign against Cuba dates
back to the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and has continued fairly unabated with a
United States blockade in place despite the condemnation of this blockade by the
overwhelming majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly, as
well as the majority of the American people.
Beginning
in 2012 and culminating with the meeting of Presidents Barack Obama and Raul
Castro in December of 2014, the United States and Cuba made positive steps
towards normalizing diplomatic relations, respecting the territorial integrity
of each country and allowing more freedom to travel for citizens of both the
United States and Cuba.
Since the
election in 2016, the Trump Administration has been unraveling and reversing
this tremendous progress by employing a new policy of scare tactics and
misinformation campaigns.
These new
efforts to strengthen the illegal Helms-Burton Act and limit family remittances
are mired in the Cold War thinking and policy that are violations of the civil
and human rights of American and Cuban citizens. The use of the anniversary of
the failed and notorious Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 for the delivery of these
regulations clearly defines a policy towards Cuba that is lost in the Cold War
of more than 60 years ago. It is a further irony that the Administration chose
to announce this new policy on the same week that the report has been partially
released outlining the efforts of a foreign country to meddle and to violate in
the sovereignty of the United States.
The
RESPECT founding charter of 2016 dedicates non-profit entities, travel agents,
tour operators and other travel service providers to promoting ethical and
socially responsible travel to Cuba. We understand that our relations with Cuba
are framed in developing mutual understanding and learning through first hand
experiences. We are committed to the right of all US citizens and residents to
travel to Cuba and we strongly advocate for the lifting of all US governmental
travel restrictions to the island.
*****************
Cruise Lines Have Yet to Alter or Cancel Any Cruises to Cuba
*************************
From New York Times
Emilio Morales, who studies the Cuban economy closely for his firm, the Havana Consulting Group, said the cutback in remittances to Cuba would have virtually no effect, because the average monthly remittance to Cuba is $200 to $220.
Limiting nonfamily travel, however, will seriously hurt the tourism sector on the island, he said.
“The Obama era is over,” he said. “It’s all over.”
Still, the details of the travel restriction were not clear. There are up to a dozen categories of such travel, and the administration did not say whether they would be prohibited.
“I have spent the day on the telephone with current and former State and executive branch officials and industry and policy experts, and nobody knows what the actual restrictions are,” said Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Travel, which organizes cultural and university trips to Cuba.
From Conde Nast Travel
At the time of writing, there was nothing about the policy change on the Department of the Treasury’s website, and no new travel warnings, advisories, or notes on Cuba’s page on the State Department website.
I’ve got a trip coming up. Do I need to cancel?
No. Reach out to your tour company with any questions, and expect your trip to go ahead as scheduled—for the time being.
"For now, travelers should stay calm and keep an eye out for more news about what the actual changes will be," says Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Travel. "Yesterday’s announcement was very general and did not include any details about what changes will be implemented and what the process and timeline will be. This appears to be part of the administration’s overall Cuba strategy of causing fear and confusion amongst would-be travelers, traders, and investors. Until the Treasury Department issues new regulations in writing, it’s business as usual."
Tom Popper, president of insightCuba, which has navigated U.S.-Cuba travel restrictions during four U.S. presidencies, agrees. “[For] travelers wanting to book travel to Cuba or those already scheduled for travel, the announcement provides no change,” he says. "People continue to book trips at insightCuba and numerous other companies, and all existing trips remain as scheduled. As always, travelers should be aware that the U.S. travel regulations have been in place since 1963. This is despite President Obama’s loosening of the restrictions in 2015. What this means is travelers should be aware of the 12 categories of permissible travel to Cuba and understand their options.”
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After the announcements, Emily Mendrala, the executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, released a statement saying the Trump administration is "doubling down on isolation and, in so doing, causing great pain to the people of Cuba" and U.S. businesses.
****************
CET Statement on President Trump's Cuba Policy Changes
MIAMI,
FL -- Today the Trump Administration announced new measures to restrict travel
to and trade with Cuba in an effort to reinforce a policy that has failed
miserably for 60 years to accomplish anything positive in Cuba. He also took a
shot at Cuban families putting limits on the amount of money Cuban-Americans can
send to support their Cuban family members. A businessman that has explored
opportunities to invest in Cuba and sent his company representatives to open
channels to start businesses, the President is surrounded by advisors stuck in
the past and overcome by ideology and misguided intentions.
“It
is sad to see the Cuban and American people suffer because the President has
outsourced his policy to South Florida lawmakers,” said Collin Laverty,
President of Cuba Educational Travel. “These changes will set back US interests
on the island for years and harm US businesses, US travelers and millions of
families living on the island.”
National
Security Advisor John Bolton announced that the US will limit non-family travel,
place limits on remittances to $1000 per quarter, end U-turn transactions and
fully implement Title III. Changes made by the Obama Administration helped the
growing private sector on the island, led to improvements in connectivity in
Cuba and brought families together through travel, an upgraded remittance policy
and a focus on reconciliation. The new changes will have the opposite effect,
slowing down growth of entrepreneurs, complicating business deals and taking
money out of the pockets of Cubans and Americans doing business there.
“It
is a sad day for Cuba and a sad day for America. The only winners here are a
handful of members of Congress and those stuck in the past that support them,”
added Laverty. “The losers are millions of Cubans on and off the island and the
overwhelming majority of Americans that support engagement with Cuba. The
hypocrisy and counterproductive nature of the approach is
disturbing.”
"Travel to Cuba and engaging culturally and economically
remains the best way to support the Cuban people -- it's time for the US to get
out of the way to allow the Cuban people to determine their own
future."
Contact:
Collin Laverty
CET
President
collin@cubaeducationaltravel.com
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