On November 2nd 2017, the United States and the state of Israel were the only two nations that voted against the UN resolution against the embargo on Cuba. The following week, on Wednesday, November 8th, the Trump Administration announced that it will continue to enforce the sanctions and policies restricting travel to Cuba.
These changes will roll back the recent alleviation of the US-Cuba relationship from the Obama administration. Throughout the years, America has voted for the imposition of sanctioning trade and restricting travel to Cuba. During the Obama administration, the United States voted in abstention, in regards to multi-decade long sanction in place.
For the first time, since Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1961, the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba began warming up; diplomacy was at last restored between the two historic rivals. Nonetheless, the Trump administration recently voted against the UN resolution for the lifting of the blockade, undoing former President Barack Obama’s revolutionary opening relationship building with Havana.
Specifically, self-organized travels, or travels through “people-to-people” outreach, will be banned, unless they are accompanied by US-based sponsors. According to statement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, “We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people,” the Trump administration does not seek to recondition its ties to the Cuban state.