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A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 16 January 2019
Trump's Cuba policy hurts private sector, new figures say

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ The Trump measures, which
HAVANA (AP) — President were backed by Cuban-
Donald Trump's Cuba poli- American Florida Sen.
cy is driving millions of dol- Marco Rubio, ban U.S.
lars from the island's private travelers from doing busi-
entrepreneurs to its state- ness with tourism businesses
run tourism sector, the op- under the military-linked
posite of its supposed goal, conglomerate known as
according to new govern- GAESA, which runs dozens
ment figures. of hotels and a major tour-
Trump announced in June bus line, among others.
2017 that he was tightening Instead, Americans are go-
limits on U.S. travel to Cuba ing to businesses run by the
in order to starve military- Tourism Ministry, but there is
linked travel businesses and no reason to believe that
funnel money directly to Cuba has any difficulty
the Cuban people. transferring money within
He restricted Americans' its highly centralized single-
ability to travel to Cuba party government, said
on their own, rather than Richard Feinberg, a Brook-
with a tour group. At the ings Institution fellow and
same time, he allowed U.S. University of California, San
cruise lines to continue to In this May 13, 2015, file photo, tourists ride a classic American convertible in Havana, Cuba. Diego, professor of interna-
take passengers to Cuba, Associated Press tional political economy
where they pay millions to who studies Cuba.
disembark at military-run Ministry of Tourism. dustry. come has fallen 40 percent "Trump's policies have re-
docks and make quick trips Even as the private sector That has had a devastating since Trump's new policy duced on-island, versus
onshore that are generally suffered, U.S. travel to Cuba effect on owners and em- went into effect in 2017. cruise ship, tourism and thus
coordinated by govern- was growing, from 618,000 ployees of Cuba's 24,185 He still was a third empty harmed B&Bs as well as oth-
ment tour agencies that in 2017 to 630,000 last year, private bed-and-break- last month, the first time in er private tourism-related
stejrer travelers to state-run Tourism Ministry figures say. fasts and 2,170 private three years that he wasn't firms including paladares
destinations. Most of those travelers restaurants known as pal- fully booked in December. and taxistas," Feinberg
Cuban government fig- came by ship, avoiding the adares. They cherished U.S. "U.S.-Cuba normalization in- said. Beyond that, he said,
ures from the first full year confusing rules on travel to travelers as heavy tippers spired a lot of people who "the only traceable impact
under Trump's policy show the island with package who crammed days full thought this was a good of the Rubio sanction is to
occupancy of private bed- tours that are guaranteed of activities like classic car business to invest their sav- inconvenience US tourists."
and-breakfasts in Havana to comply with the law. rides and cooking classes ings in," Pajon said. "And The number of U.S. trav-
plunged to 44 percent in The shift to cruises meant that put money into private all of a sudden you have elers to Cuba grew from
2018 after years at near the average U.S. stay on hands. the U.S. government cre- 162,000 in 2015, the year
capacity in the wake of the island dropped from six David Pajon, a university ating a situation that has after Obama and then Cu-
President Barack Obama's days to three, said Jose Luis professor who bought an an impact on the number ban President Raul Castro
start of normalization with Perello, a former University apartment to rent in Old of people who came, or announced detente, to
Cuba, said Michael Bernal, of Havana professor who Havana, said he has had changes the way they're 284,000 in 2016 and 618,000
commercial director for the studies Cuba's tourism in- to drop his rates and his in- coming — on cruise ships!" in 2017.q

New migrant caravan sets out from Honduras for US

By DELMER MARTINEZ nalist for his umbrella, say- taking her daughter and
Associated Press ing he feared his daughter 13-year-old son to the Unit-
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras would get sick in the rain. ed States.
(AP) — Another caravan of As they walked, some mi- Once there, she said she
Central American migrants grants pleaded with local would ask U.S. authorities
has set out from Honduras store owners to give them for asylum or refugee sta-
seeking to reach the U.S. food or water for their jour- tus, "because it's not pos-
border, following the same ney. sible to live in Honduras
route used by thousands More people continued to anymore."
last year in at least three arrive at the bus station, The new caravan is almost
caravans. making it likely the cara- certain to both raise ten-
About 600 migrants gath- van's numbers would grow sions and garner support
ered under a steady rain as additional migrants set along its route through
late Monday at the bus sta- out Tuesday. Guatemala and Mexico to
tion in the violent city of San One woman, who refused the U.S. border.
Pedro Sula and decided Migrants hoping to reach the U.S. wait in line to board a bus to give her name because It was unclear whether the
toward Honduras' border with Guatemala, as hundreds of mi-
to set out in the darkness, grants set off by bus or on foot from a main bus station in San of safety concerns, said her caravan planned to go to
hours before their intended Pedro Sula, Honduras, late Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. 9-year-old daughter had Tijuana, the Mexican bor-
Tuesday departure. Associated Press already been raped so der city where thousands
About 300 people, mainly badly she suffered medical of migrants from the first
women and children, clam- Guatemalan border. the border town of Agua problems. three caravans have been
bered aboard 30 small bus- Another 300 or so began Caliente late Monday. One The mother, who worked largely marooned since
es, intent on reaching the walking in the rain toward passing man asked a jour- at a bakery, said she was November.q