President Obama announced on Thursday that he would travel to Cuba in March and meet with Cuban President Raúl Castro. The two men first met face-to-face during a summit in Panama last year, but President Obama has never visited Cuba. In fact, President Obama will be the first sitting American president to visit Cuba in 88 years. The last president to visit Cuba was President Coolidge who attended the Pan American Conference in Havana in January 1928.
Recently, there has been significant communication between the two countries, including American officials traveling to Havana on Tuesday to sign a pact that will for the first time in decades allow scheduled commercial flights between the two countries. Cuban officials are also in Washington this week to discuss ways of expanding business ties between the two countries.
Despite the President’s announcement in December 2014 regarding significant changes in the U.S. policy toward Cuba to normalize relations between the two countries, the Cuba embargo remains in place. Most transactions between the United States, or persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and Cuba continue to be prohibited, and OFAC continues to enforce the prohibitions of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR).
Effective on January 27, 2016, there have been several changes to the trade relationship between the two countries. These changes are targeted at further engaging and empowering the Cuban people by facilitating authorized travel to Cuba; certain authorized commerce; and the flow of information to, from, and within Cuba. For more information about the loosening of Cuban sanctions, see our earlier post here.