October 26, 2019

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Wind Creek Casino Saturday

October 26, 2019 T: 582-7800 | F: 582-7044 www.arubatoday.com

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Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper

Washington banning U.S. flights to all Cuban cities but Havana By MATTHEW LEE, MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN and GISELA SALOMON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration is banning U.S. flights to all Cuban cities except Havana in the latest move to roll back the Obama-era easing of relations, officials said Friday. Supporters of the ban said it would starve the Havana government of cash and limit its ability to repress Cubans and support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. wants to overthrow. Opponents said prohibiting flights would simply make it harder for Cuban-Americans to visit their families outside the capital, without making a significant impact on the Cuban government. The State Department said JetBlue flights to Santa Clara in central Cuba and the eastern cities of Holguin, Camaguey would be banned starting in December. American Airlines flights to Camaguey, Holguin and Santa Clara, the beach resort of Varadero and the eastern city of Santiago are also being banned. "This action will prevent the Castro regime from profiting from U.S. air travel and using the revenues to re-

HAVANA FLIGHTS

In this Aug. 31, 2016 file photo, airport workers receive JetBlue flight 387, the first commercial flight between the U.S. and Cuba in more than a half century, holding a United States, and a Cuban national flag, on the airport tarmac in Santa Clara, Cuba. Associated Press

press the Cuban people," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter. Raul Castro stepped down as president last year but remains head of the Communist Party, the country's highest authority. . Another stated reason for the move is to prevent tourism to Cuba, which is barred by U.S. law. But

it is not clear how many people take the banned flights for tourism purposes. Many are used by CubanAmericans visiting relatives in cities far from Havana by road. "Eager to punish Cuba's unbreakable defiance, imperialism is going after regular flights to various Cuban cities. It doesn't matter that they're affect-

ing family relations, or the modest pocketbooks of most Cubans in both countries," Carlos F. de Cossío, head of Cuba's department of U.S. affairs, said on Twitter. "Our response isn't changing." Charter flights to destinations outside Havana are apparently not affected by the ban, but those flights

tend to be more expensive and far less convenient. The other remaining legal option is a flight to Havana and then a road trip that could last as much as eight to more than 12 hours over rutted, unsafe roads, in the case of Cuba's eastern cities. Continued on Page 2


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