US Weighs New Limits on Cuban Travel   09/25 06:37

   

   UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The Trump administration was considering imposing new 
restrictions on Cuban officials who travel to the United Nations, another 
https://apnews.com/article/us-sanctions-cuba-economy-castro-power-energy-outages
-621f86ef80bf116ff69814f9777a444c as its top diplomat accused the United States 
on Thursday of unleashing collective punishment on Cuba's people with its 
intensifying measures.

   Even as a sizable Cuban delegation was approved to come to 
https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations this week, the State Department is now 
weighing "strict controls" on the officials who plan to return next month for 
an annual U.N. vote on the decadeslong 
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-embargo-us-un-general-assembly-9c48b48775f0089ba
7c0156590c3a86e.

   That is according to U.S. officials and an internal document obtained by The 
Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because a 
decision on the details of what the restrictions will entail has not yet been 
finalized.

   Potential plans to further restrict officials in New York for diplomatic 
work come as Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodrguez bemoaned the "lack of 
progress" in negotiations between Havana and Washington. He also blasted the 
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-power-outage-electricity-4dcd92d4b7b3bbeda88622b
543074ceb that 
https://apnews.com/article/oil-cuba-tariffs-trump-mexico-30f1d74a766fee23001684a
5bb8079d9 on the Caribbean island nation in January.

   "What defines the present status of the Cuba-U.S. relations is the brutal 
tightening of the economic and financial blockade and the total oil siege 
imposed on our country, which is equivalent to a naval blockade," Rodrguez 
said in Spanish during an AP interview on the sidelines of the annual U.N. 
General Assembly gathering of world leaders.

   His comments, made through a translator, follow President Donald 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-united-nations-unga-iran-ai-f7cb0b3ebc492446c0b
e97ed3a6843aa Tuesday, when he again called Cuba a "failed state" and said he 
was "seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba."

   His administration has been trying to force changes to Cuba's political 
system by cutting off fuel to the island, leading to 
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-power-outage-0f180c8e414898dbe34875d3d82b8016 
that affect basic activities such as cooking, water supply, and internet and 
telephone service.

   "Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to 
Cuba," Trump said at the U.N.

   US-Cuba negotiations once again reach an impasse 

   Rodrguez, who has served as foreign minister since 2009, said that while no 
meetings now are scheduled with U.S. officials, "Cuba remains willing to keep 
these channel of contacts open."

   He refused to say when the last talks took place, noting that while past 
conversations have been "respectful," the public statements and policy 
decisions made by U.S. officials afterward have been "extremely aggressive."

   Millions of people have 
https://apnews.com/article/cuba-power-water-fuel-trump-crisis-a444d13a7567195762
ac54f389687c40 as Cuba's power grid has collapsed at least six times since the 
U.S. energy blockade began at the start of the year. The restrictions prevent 
Cuba from importing fuel needed to operate its thermoelectric power plants or 
replacement parts to maintain infrastructure that in many cases has become 
obsolete.

   Other U.S. measures have included imposing more economic penalties on 
industries in 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-cuba-sanctions-diazcanel-1cd7096822e8397dbfeffa
f8e70aa536 and broadening enforcement of laws that bar Americans who visit the 
island from dealings with government-owned or -affiliated businesses.

   "These measures hamper some processes that could lead to discussion of 
things in the common interests of both nations," Rodrguez said.

   Havana has recently integrated historic economic reforms, opening up the 
island to the private sector. Officials, including Rodrguez, have said these 
are not concessions to the U.S., but they are moving in the direction the Trump 
administration wants.

   Cuban delegation could face new obstacles to visit United Nations 

   Rodrguez and other members of his government are planning to return to New 
York next month for the annual U.N. General Assembly vote on the U.S. economic 
embargo against Cuba -- a vote that has historically condemned American policy 
toward the island by overwhelming margins.

   Cuban officials already face heavy restrictions in New York and Washington 
due to their U.S. designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, with travel and 
commuting limited to a 25-mile radius of the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan.

   But any new U.S. travel restrictions could make it more difficult or 
impossible for Cuban officials to attend the vote, which has been taking place 
for more than three decades.

   Last year, Washington's isolation on the issue was softened as countries 
like Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary -- all closely allied with the Trump 
administration -- rejected the Cuban-backed effort even as friction has grown 
in the region around 
https://apnews.com/article/trump-military-operations-latin-american-western-hemi
sphere-a1fccf4414e44341d3dbd54e19ae1ba4.

   While General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, they reflect 
world opinion.

   Rodrguez told the AP last year that the U.S. had mounted a pressure 
campaign to influence the vote. He said then that Havana had heard from other 
countries, mainly in Europe, that the State Department was encouraging them to 
vote against the resolution.

   In response, a State Department spokesperson said last year that "the Cuban 
regime does not deserve the backing of America's democratic allies."