by Raimundo Urrechaga
HAVANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Cubans on Friday overwhelmingly rejected the U.S. new foreign policy towards the island, which aims to roll back the thaw in bilateral ties following two years of warmer relations.
"It is a setback to the previous policy," civil servant Reinaldo Garcia told Xinhua.
In a speech delivered in Miami, Florida -- home to Cuba's exile community -- U.S. president Donald Trump said he will impose restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, because the rapprochement policy of his predecessor, Barack Obama, had failed to benefit the Cuban people, while strengthening the Cuban government.
"These new restrictions will only cause a regression in our economic and social ties, and they will affect Cuba as much as the United States," said Garcia.
Most observers agree both countries have economically benefited from the restoration of ties, with increased travel and contact between the two leading to greater business opportunities.
For many Cubans, Trump's decision to align his policy with the most extreme anti-Castro factions of Cuba's exile community only serves to appease his conservative constituents, without taking into account the broader good of productive bilateral ties.
"I think it's a mistake, because the new policy will hurt not only Cuba but also the United States," said Nancy Garcia, a Cuban retiree.
"Now, instead of developing our ties, Trump is going to slow down everything that has been achieved," she added.
The new restrictions bar any financial dealings between U.S. firms and GAESA, Cuba's military-run conglomerate, which includes companies in such sectors as tourism, food and energy, among others.
Trump's executive order "canceling" Obama's initiative to normalize ties with Cuba also prevents U.S. citizens from travelling individually to Cuba, which they were recently allowed to do under certain conditions. U.S. visitors will now have to travel in sponsored groups, whose trips will be subject to a Treasury Department audit, a move that could have a chilling effect on what was a growing travel trend.
"A travel restriction would be detrimental. To date, the expansion of travel and flights had brought benefits to thousands, but with the restriction announced by Trump today, it would of course decrease flights and visitors," taxi driver Danilo Nunez told Xinhua.
In the first five months of this year, 284,565 U.S. citizens visited Cuba, a figure that represents the total number of Americans who traveled to the island in 2016.
In a fiery speech presented to an audience of Cuban exile leaders and political hardliners, Trump reaffirmed he will maintain the trade embargo and economic blockade against Cuba, and called on Cuba to make concessions to Washington, if it wants to see a change in policy.
"It's somehow back to the past and will undoubtedly affect both sides," said Eylin Solar, a young worker in the private sector.
"These measures strengthen the economic blockade and limit the possibilities of U.S. business men that want to invest in Cuba," she added.
None of the new restrictions take effect immediately, with U.S. government agencies expected to officially issue the regulatory amendments in the coming months.
"These measures are really absurd. The policies followed by numerous U.S. governments, with the exception of Obama's, have only led to political confrontation. Sadly we'll have to live with that again," Yosvany Flores, a young Cuban, told Xinhua.
Certain Obama-era reforms will remain in place, including the restoration of diplomatic ties and the reopening of embassies, as well as ending the controversial "wet foot-dry foot" policy that granted special migratory privileges to undocumented Cubans, which spurred thousands to risk their lives to reach U.S. shores.
In December 2014, in the most sweeping change in U.S.-Cuban relations in five decades, Obama announced plans to normalize ties with Cuba in a move that had widely public support, but was criticized by the conservative right wing.
