US Normalizing relations with Cuba!
 

This is really BIG and GREAT news for US Citizens!

President Obama will announce today that the US seeks to normalize relations with Cuba. Shortly, Religious and Education institutions will be able to lead tours to Cuba without any approval from the government. All Intl. U.S. airports are able to have flights to Cuba. Restrictions on the remittance of currency and credit/debit transactions will be relaxed.

This is great news. Now is the best time to go to Cuba, because its still partially under embargo (preserving culture) but now should be more accessible to Americans, without having to go with one of those expensive tours or risk losing Global Entry sneaking into the country (Huge HORROR!)

I'll be posting this link, but news should be changing rapidly throughout the day.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/politi...html?hpt=hp_t1

Hopefully airlines will now have scheduled service, as opposed to the charter services, and the restrictions will be completely lifted. I could see AA out of MIA and maybe even, DFW; DL out of ATL and even B6 out of FLL. I have always wanted to visit, hearing nothing but great things from those who have had the opportunity to do so.

When the sanction ends, hopefully it will be possible to use a US issued bank card in Cuba.

EDIT:
saw this in WSJ Blog:

Although the WSJ reported, "It will still be illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba strictly for tourism, since that is banned by federal law," that is not true.

It is not illegal - nor has it ever been - for Americans to travel to Cuba strictly for tourism. The restriction is that no American may pay any cost of a tourist trip to Cuba. Thus if a person is a U.S. citizen and her/his girlfriend/boyfriend/uncle/friend is not an American and that person is generous and pays the entire cost of the trip, the American may make the trip. Save the receipts -- even giving a $0.01 tip -- is a violation of the Embargo and could end the American with hefty fines.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-cen...ments/cuba.txt

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department is responsible for enforcing 31 CFR Part 515, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, control Americans' travel to Cuba under thevTrading With the Enemy Act. Violation technically can result in up to 10 years in prison and for an individual, a $250,000 fine and $65,000 civil penalty.

Though this has rarely been enforced, it has been against some unlucky American citizens.

As long as the person/party paying for the trip is not a US person/party and the funds used for the trip, it is true that most US persons could legally visit Cuba without US Government approval even before this week's announced rapprochement between Washington and Havana.

That legal possibility remains the case for now still. For now still, a US or other covered person/party may be subject to inconsistent administrative or prosecutorial discretion unless and until Congress passes an overriding bill that becomes law to remove the OFAC approval requirement when it comes to Cuba.

I think you're right. Change of administration, new orders, we who are American citizens or residence could feel the pinch, until Congress gets this fixed. If the embargo has failed for fifty years, it's not likely to begin working now.