Sailing a yacht to Cuba from the US mainland just got a whole lot harder. Thats because the Trump administration has clamped down on allowing visits to Cuba on board passenger and recreational vessels.
Over recent years travel to Cuba, the Caribbean’s largest island, has boomed. This followed a loosening in restrictions, by the Obama administration who allowed regular commercial flights and cruise services.
That initiative was so successful that, rather quickly, the United States of America became the second-largest source of travellers to the island after Canada. The majority; 55% of them, arrived on cruise ships.
Tourist figures were rising
Figures released by the Cuban government, show that in a three month period from January until March of this year, 257,500 US citizens, not including those of Cuban origin, visited the country.
The re instatement of the decades-old US enforced embargo is designed to punish the Cuban government for the supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
According to the US Administration, the USA will also no longer permit yachts to visit Cuba.
Travelling to the island on board passenger and recreational vessels, including cruise ships, yachts and other private boats, as well as private and corporate aircraft, is to cease immediately
President Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton, said on Twitter: “The Administration has advanced the President’s Cuba policy by ending ‘veiled tourism’ to Cuba and imposing restrictions on vessels.”
Troika of tyranny
It was Bolton who over recent months has led the US campaign against what he has called the “troika of tyranny” of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
He has said, “We will continue to take actions to restrict the Cuban regime’s access to US dollars.”
Not only will the new ban further cripple the already failing economy of the communist governed island, it will also hurt US travel companies many of whom have built up successful businesses promoting travel with Communist island since the rules were first relaxed by President Obama in 2014.