Daphne Psaledakis & Dave Sherwood

WASHINGTON/HAVANA – Wednesday’s United States action to lift Trump-era restrictions on remittances to Cuba was met with criticism. The United States also defended its decision to block the Communist-run island, a longtime adversary from attending a regional summit.

Further details will be provided in the revised regulations that are due to appear in the U.S. Federal Register Thursday.

An official from the Treasury Department stated that publication of the regulations was deliberately aligned to the Summit of the Americas hosted by the United States in Los Angeles.

The initial purpose of the conference was to show leadership by America and its support for Latin America. However, some leaders in the region have boycotted Washington for excluding Nicaragua and Venezuela from their agenda.

Washington stated that it is concerned about violations of human rights in these countries, as well as a dearth of democracy.

This week’s Cuba-related rules changes allow U.S. citizens once more to travel to Cuba to participate in group educational trips or conferences hosted by U.S. travel agencies and organizations.

These regulations remove the $1,000 per quarter limit for family remittances from Cuban citizens who are related and permit U.S. citizens send money to relatives on the island.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed restrictions on Cuban flight routes last week. They included an end to U.S. air travel bans to Cuban cities other than Havana.

To combat the increasing migration crisis on its borders, the United States promised that it would increase the number of Cuban immigrant visas issued to Cubans.

Cuba´s government has welcomed the changes but says they fall far short of lifting the Cold War-era embargo imposed on it by the United States, which it blames for the island’s economic crisis.