Cuba targeted by new US sanctions, ahead of presidential election

Photo of tourists in Havana in a classic American car, March 2016. Ramon Espinosa / AP

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3 min

Donald Trump announced new restrictions against Cuba on Wednesday, September 23.

A few weeks before the American election, the campaigning president is implementing new sanctions against Cuban tourism.

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With our correspondent in Havana,

The tourist sector is the third entry of foreign currency on the island of Cuba.

in 2019 by US sanctions, and fallen to zero during this period of the new coronavirus pandemic.

And the latest American measures are added to it.

They are aimed at cutting funds for the Havana regime and, according to the Cubans, to satisfy the electorate of South Florida. 

American dollars should not finance the regime of " 

 ", according to

, who announced Wednesday September 23 new restrictions.

American tourists who will now travel to the island will no longer be able to stay in state hotels, or bring rum or cigars in their luggage.

Havana sees it as a gift from Trump to the Cuban-American electorate

These measures will have a concrete impact on Cuban finances, since all the hotels on the island, as well as the tobacco and alcohol industry, are state property.

Also, participating in sporting events, conferences, seminars or exhibitions on the island, will now be subject to authorization for American citizens.

These announcements will have no consequences for the moment, the Cuban borders being closed because of

.

But they come a few weeks before the US presidential election.

For Cuba, this is an obvious gift to the electorate of Donald Trump's South Florida, where the majority of Cuban Americans reside.

And it is also a gesture to satisfy the " 

 ", according to the official press.

Announcements also made a few days after Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he denounced the intensification and aggressiveness of the American blockade. 

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• Cuba

• United States

• Donald trump

• USA Elections 2020

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