Roberta Jacobson warned State Department correspondents that American citizens still could not buy Cuban products, when a reporter asked if they could now legally buy and take to America some cigars or anything else from the largest island in the Caribbean.
The deputy Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere repeated twice “no” and proceeded to give a long explanation about how long it would take for everything announced by President Barack Obama at noon that Wednesday, December 17, to take effect.
Jacobson never imagined that a few hours later, right in the White House, one of the people invited to a reception by the day of Hanukkah (Hebrew Christmas) extend to the President of the United States one of the convicted Cuban cigars, which Obama took smiling , and said “Nice!” and brought it to his nose to smell its aroma.
An 8-second video showing the moment was shared by the Facebook page of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, the first space to interview the president after announcing the change of direction regarding Cuba.
The Treasury Department still prohibits the importation into the United States of Cuban cigars. “The import of these Cuban goods is prohibited if they are directly purchased by the importer or offered to the importer as a gift”.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported that it will implement the changes in the Treasury through amendments to its regulations in the Cuban Assets Control. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba accused on more than one occasion that institution to hunt the accounts and transactions of his country in foreign banks
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“OFAC expects to issue its regulatory changes in the coming weeks. None of the announced changes will take effect until new regulations are published, “says the Treasury Department on its website dedicated to the sanctions against Cuba.
The Commerce Department will do the same with the Export Administration Regulations. Both the Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, signed along the Secretary of State John Kerry an article entitled “The new policy of President Obama with Cuba looks forward, not backward,” which explains some measures of the White House as “authorizing US official to expand travel, remittances and bilateral trade. “
