U.S. policy on Cuba evolving under President Obama

[cal04]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30074684/
Travel and financial restrictions to ease; decades-old embargo will stand


President Barack Obama will soon move to ease travel and financial restrictions on Cuba as his administration conducts a broad review of its policy toward the communist nation, a senior American official said Monday.

"We can expect some relaxation, some changes in terms of the restrictions on family remittances and family travel," said Jeffrey Davidow, the White House adviser for the upcoming Summit of the Americas, which Obama will attend.

Davidow said Monday that the changes — which would allow unlimited visits by American families and remove caps on money transfers — are intended not only as a moral step for the estimated 1.5 million Americans who have relatives in Cuba, but also to foster change there.

"Cuban-Americans are the best possible ambassadors of our system and our values," Davidow said. He added, however, that high hopes that some have for reforms since Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother Raul last year have not yet been born out.

Davidow and other officials say the administration is also looking seriously at calls from some lawmakers to allow all Americans to travel to Cuba, appoint a special envoy to oversee policy toward the island and possibly end U.S. opposition to Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States.