US expands travel and financial restrictions on Cuba
The Washington administration has introduced new restrictions on travel to Cuba while expanding bans on certain financial transactions and banking services.
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The US administration has expanded its sanctions regime against Cuba in the areas of travel and finance. With the regulations announced by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), persons subject to US jurisdiction are prohibited from organizing or attending professional meetings or conferences in Cuba.
The new rules also introduce additional requirements for educational travel to Cuba. Accordingly, such travel must be conducted under the auspices of an organization subject to US jurisdiction, with exceptions for accredited US undergraduate or graduate educational institutions, their students, and full-time permanent employees conducting specific educational activities. Furthermore, it will be required that almost all travelers be accompanied by a representative of the sponsoring organization.
Group travel for "people-to-people" educational purposes, which was previously permitted, will no longer be allowed. However, it was stated that individuals who had already initiated their travel arrangements, such as purchasing airline tickets, before September 30 would remain within the scope of the authorization.
In the financial sector, bans regarding the "Cuba Restricted List," which includes entities linked to the Cuban military and security forces, have also been expanded. Direct or indirect financial transactions with entities on the list prepared by the US Department of State have been prohibited.
With the regulation, the authorization for banks to process "U-Turn" transactions—transactions that originate and terminate outside the US in which Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest—has also been revoked. Banks have been granted the authority to reject these transactions directly rather than blocking them.
Additionally, banks are prohibited from opening or maintaining bank accounts for Cuban nationals who are independent private sector entrepreneurs. Thus, the sanctions package has narrowed the scope of both travel and Cuba-related banking activities.