Latest news with #PresidentialMemorandum
01-07-2025
- Politics
Trump moves to toughen US policy on Cuba
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has instructed his top Cabinet officers to review U.S. policy toward Cuba, ordering them to examine current sanctions and come up with ways to toughen them within 30 days. In a memo Monday, Trump said the reviews should focus on Cuba's treatment of dissidents, its policies directed at dissidents and restricting financial transactions that 'disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people.' In one potential significant change, the order said the U.S. should look for ways to shut down all tourism to the island and to restrict educational tours to groups that are organized and run only by American citizens. The move is not a surprise given that Trump has previously said he plans to rescind the easing of sanctions and other penalties in Cuba that were instituted during the terms of Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In the days before leaving office, Biden had moved to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. Trump's memo 'supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination,' according to a fact sheet. In Cuba, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded swiftly to the document. "The Presidential Memorandum vs #Cuba released today by the US government strengthens the aggression & economic blockade that punishes the whole Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development," he wrote on X. 'It's a criminal behavior that violates the #HumanRights of an entire nation.' The Trump administration also has made Cuba one of seven countries facing heightened restrictions on visitors and revoked temporary legal protections for about 300,000 Cubans, which had protected them from deportation. The administration also has announced visa restrictions on Cuban and foreign government officials involved in Cuba's medical missions, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called 'forced labor.' In an interview with The Associated Press this month, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio accused the United States of trying to discredit the medical missions and criticized reversal of policy welcoming Cubans to the U.S. Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 1950s before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has long been a proponent of sanctions on the communist island.
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump imposes tougher US policy toward Cuba, enforces ban on US tourism
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum imposing a hard-line U.S. policy toward communist-run Cuba and reversing measures put in place by former President Joe Biden, the White House said. The directive will enforce a statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba while supporting an economic embargo of the country, the White House said in a fact sheet. While Americans cannot visit Cuba for leisure, travel has been allowed for activities including educational or humanitarian trips. As one of his first acts after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He has also partially restricted the entry of people from Cuba. More: Top Cuban official accuses Trump admin of escalating tensions, raises concerns of conflict Under Monday's memorandum, Trump renewed a ban on direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), and its affiliates, with exceptions for transactions that advance U.S. policy goals or support the Cuban people. Biden had revoked a 2017 Trump order that restricted financial transactions with some military and government-linked Cuban entities. The new memorandum "enforces the statutory ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba and ensures compliance through regular audits and mandatory record-keeping of all travel-related transactions for at least five years," the White House fact sheet said. It also supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination, the fact sheet said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez posted on social media platform X that "the Presidential Memorandum against Cuba made public today by the US government reinforces the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development." "It is a criminal act and a violation of the human rights of an entire nation. The main obstacle to our development," he said. (Reporting By Steve Holland; additional reporting by Marc Frank in Havana; Editing by Franklin Paul and Chris Reese)
AsiaOne
01-07-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Trump imposes tougher US policy towards Cuba, World News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday (June 30) signed a memorandum imposing a hard-line US policy toward communist-run Cuba and reversing measures put in place by former President Joe Biden, the White House said. The directive will enforce a statutory ban on US tourism to Cuba while supporting an economic embargo of the country, the White House said in a fact sheet. While Americans cannot visit Cuba for leisure, travel has been allowed for activities including educational or humanitarian trips. As one of his first acts after taking office in January, Trump, a harsh Cuba critic, revoked the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove the country from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. He has also partially restricted the entry of people from Cuba. Under Monday's memorandum, Trump renewed a ban on direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), and its affiliates, with exceptions for transactions that advance US policy goals or support the Cuban people. Biden had revoked a 2017 Trump order that restricted financial transactions with some military and government-linked Cuban entities. The new memorandum "enforces the statutory ban on US tourism to Cuba and ensures compliance through regular audits and mandatory record-keeping of all travel-related transactions for at least five years," the White House fact sheet said. It also supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination, the fact sheet said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez posted on social media platform X that "the Presidential Memorandum against Cuba made public today by the US government reinforces the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development." "It is a criminal act and a violation of the human rights of an entire nation. The main obstacle to our development," he said. [[nid:718694]]
Korea Herald
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Trump sends military force to Los Angeles over immigration protests
LOS ANGELES -- US President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to Los Angeles, a rare deployment expected Sunday against the state governor's wishes after sometimes-violent protests against immigration enforcement raids. Trump took federal control of California's state military to push soldiers into the country's second-biggest city, a decision deemed "purposefully inflammatory" by California Governor Gavin Newsom and of a kind not seen for decades according to US media. The development came after two days of confrontations during which federal agents fired flash-bang grenades and tear gas toward crowds angry at the arrests of dozens of migrants in a city with a large Latino population. "It's up to us to stand up for our people," said a Los Angeles resident whose parents are immigrants, declining to give her name. "Whether we get hurt, whether they gas us, whatever they're throwing at us. They're never going to stop us. All we have left is our voice," she told Agence France-Presse as emergency services lights flashed in the distance. An AFP photographer saw fires and fireworks light up the streets during clashes, while a protester holding a Mexican flag stood in front of a burnt-out car that had been sprayed with a slogan against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. "President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming what she called California's "feckless" Democratic leaders. "The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs." Trump congratulated the National Guard for "a job well done" shortly before midnight on Saturday in a post on Truth Social. However, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on social media platform X the troops had not yet been deployed, while AFP journalists have so far not seen them on the ground. Trump took a swipe at Bass and Newsom, saying in his post they were "unable to handle the task," drawing a comparison with deadly fires that hit the city in January. 'Purposefully inflammatory' The National Guard -- a reserve military -- is frequently used in natural disasters, such as in the aftermath of the LA fires, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local politicians. California's governor objected to the president's decision, saying it was "purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions." Federal authorities "want a spectacle. Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully," Newsom said on X. Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to involve nearby regular military forces. "If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized -- they are on high alert," he wrote on social media. Law professor Jessica Levinson said Hegseth's intervention appeared symbolic because of the general legal restriction on the use of the US military as a domestic policing force in the absence of an insurrection. "The National Guard will be able to do (no) more than provide logistical (and) personnel support," she said. Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants -- who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals" -- since taking office in January. The Department for Homeland Security said ICE operations in Los Angeles this week had resulted in the arrest of "118 aliens, including five gang members." Saturday's standoff took place in the suburb of Paramount, where demonstrators converged on a reported federal facility that the local mayor said was being used as a staging post by agents. Masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles on Friday, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. Fernando Delgado, a 24-year-old resident, said the raids were "injustices" and those detained were "human beings just like any." "We're Spanish, we help the community, we help by doing the labor that people don't want to do," he told AFP. Mayor Bass acknowledged that some city residents were "feeling fear" following the federal immigration enforcement actions. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable," she said on X. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes.
Daily Mirror
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Trump orders probe into 'who ran the US' after Biden's alleged cognitive decline
Donald Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering his administration to investigate whether former President Joe Biden was really running the United States President Donald Trump is going after the legacy of his predecessor, 82-year-old Joe Biden, ordering an investigation into whether the ex-President was really running the United States, or if White House aides orchestrated a "conspiracy" to seize executive power due to his alleged "cognitive decline". Released late on Wednesday (June 4), the Presidential Memorandum directs investigators to probe "who ran the United States while President Biden was in office," and ascertain if aides "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." Many Democrat voters noticed Joe Biden's purported mental deterioration during last year's presidential debates, where the veteran politician struggled to speak clearly. Following those events, Biden compounded the perception with several missteps, such as mistakenly referring to Zelensky as "President Putin" in front of cameras. The Trump administration is attempting to cast many of the executive actions and policy decisions made by Biden as illegitimate, claiming that staffers were using an autopen to sign documents without his input. "And you know what, they ought to find out who was using that autopen. Because whoever that person was, he or she was like the President of the United States," President Trump said in the memorandum. An autopen is a device used to replicate people's signatures. Past presidents, including Trump himself, have frequently used one due to the large number of documents they need to sign. He went on to say: "I think a President should sign it, not use an autopen. "And we're going to find out whether or not he knew what the hell he was doing. ... So I think it's something that we should really look at because that's so important." Trump accused the White House staff of making decisions on behalf of his predecessor, asserting that the American public was deliberately kept in the dark about who truly held executive memo also stated: "The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts." He went on to name Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Counsel David Warrington to look into the autopen's usage, including "who authorized its use, and the validity of the resulting Presidential policy decisions." These allegations come at a time when Joe Biden is under scrutiny, particularly due to claims made in CNN's Jake Tapper's latest tome 'Original Sin'. In his book, Tapper suggests insider knowledge by declaring: "Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board." Trump's memorandum asserts that Biden "issued 1,200 Presidential documents, appointed 235 judges to the Federal bench," while he also displayed "cognitive deficiencies". Trump underscored his point by highlighting that Biden "used an autopen to execute the vast majority of Biden's executive actions," during the latter half of his tenure. With Republicans applying pressure, former Biden aides are also now facing House of Representatives' calls for interviews. James Comer, Chairman of the crucial Oversight Committee, this week summoned five Democrat staffers over an alleged "cover up" he describes as "one of the greatest scandals in our nation's history."
