Suspension of remittances to Cuba, harsh side of irrational U.S. policy

Countless Cuban families will be affected by the suspension of remittances as part of the irrational hard-line U.S. Cuba policy.

The news agency Prensa Latina reported from Washington a Western Union statement announcing the indefinite interruption of money transfers to the island―“effective immediately” ―citing increasing restrictions from the U.S. government, which comes as no surprise inasmuch as the company in charge of processing the remittances, Orbit, S.A., was included on the Cuba Restricted List following the return of Republican Donald Trump to the White House.

When he took office on January 20, Trump overturned last-minute measures implemented by his predecessor Joe Biden and reinstated the said list, among others, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed suit by announcing on January 31 that Orbit “acts for or on behalf of the Cuban military forces” and, therefore, was also blacklisted under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.

Rubio, who during his time as a senator was one of the main promoters of anti-Cuban policies in the U.S. Congress, recalled that on his first day, Trump reinstated Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and reactivated Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, also known as the Libertad Act.

In May 2024, Western Union had resumed its money transfer services to Cuba, suspended by the first Trump administration in 2020, during the first Trump administration (2017-2021), when the financial company Fincimex was sanctioned as part of the arbitrary measures to reinforce the blockade, thus making it impossible for U.S.-based Cubans to provide financial help their relatives in the island.

The service was reestablished in 2022, albeit with some restrictions, and then cut off again due to technical problems.

The Cuba Restricted List was rescinded on January 16 as per National Security Memorandum 29 (NSM-29) issued two days earlier, but on the 20th, Trump issued an Executive Order invalidating NSM-29.

During his first mandate, Trump imposed at least 243 restrictive measures to strengthen the 60-plus year-old blockade of Cuba, in line with his policy of maximum pressure. Four years ago, eight days before leaving office, the Republican included Cuba in the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, from which it had been removed in 2015, a status that Biden kept unchanged.