Obama loosens limits on Cuba

WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday loosened travel and financial restrictions on ties to Cuba, a policy shift that advocates say signals the beginning of the end of a decades-long, Cold War-era relationship with the communist nation.

In a series of directives that White House officials said would encourage democracy by directly exposing Cubans to American culture, the president lifted longstanding restrictions on Cuban-Americans, allowing them to visit the island whenever they like and send unlimited amounts of cash to relatives there. Under previous Bush administration rules, Cuban-Americans could travel there just once every three years - a rule that was recently eased to once a year - and could send no more than $1,200 to needy relatives.

American telecommunications companies will also be permitted to offer cellphone and satellite television services in Cuba, although the Cuban government's permission may be needed for such activity.

Cubans and Cuban-Americans in Massachusetts reacted with mixed feelings; some eagerly began making plans to travel to the Caribbean island while others said they would never set foot there until President Raul Castro's regime is replaced by a democratic government.

"I have never returned and I'm not going back," said Lazar Lowinger, a lawyer in Newton, who left Cuba in 1954. "I am not giving one cent to Castro."

But others were overjoyed at the opportunity to visit family in Cuba. Jared K. Carter, a Vermont law student whose wife came here from Cuba three years ago, had challenged the previous travel restrictions in federal court.

"It's such a huge relief," said Carter, adding that he and his wife, Yurisleidis Leyva Mora, have been unable to visit her pregnant younger sister and ailing grandparents since she left. "We've been trying to make it as normal a relationship as any sister would. It's definitely been hard."

For decades, foes of the Cuban regime have argued that shutting off money and visits to the country would lead to the downfall of its dictator - first Fidel Castro, and now, Castro's brother, Raul. But the Obama administration argues that engaging more with Cuba will lead to a more informed and empowered populace there.

"The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people. There are actions that he can and has taken today to open up the flow of information to provide some important steps to help that," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

The policy shift does not undo the Cuba trade embargo, imposed by President Kennedy after the Cuban Missile Crisis and strongly supported by a dwindling but determined group of Cuban exiles and others who believe it is the only way to oust Castro. Only Congress can lift the embargo, which prohibits - with a few exceptions - the export of any goods or technology from the United States to Cuba, either directly or through a third country.

But