Florida Senator Rick Scott is seeking to have the Donald Trump administration once again restrict flights to Cuba in what would constitute a new step in the policy of pressure against the island’s government. “I don’t think we should have any travel to Cuba,” he told the CBS News Miami news channel.
“When people travel to Cuba, those close to the government ― mainly the military ― benefit from it,” Scott added.
For the Republican, trips from the United States “financially benefit the Cuban military and fuel government repression,” since, he says, “the funds are used to repress those who oppose the government.”
President Trump is Making America Great Again, and he needs his FULL TEAM in place to make it happen.
Senate Republicans MUST continue our fight to confirm his full team so he can get the job done!
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 17, 2025
The Republican’s statements are related to the rumors that were unleashed shortly after Trump’s inauguration on January 20. It was then said on the networks that a package of sanctions against the Cuban regime would then be announced.
The alleged statement appeared signed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and listed five measures that would be announced on January 30, among which was the suspension of direct commercial flights to Cuba and the limitation of travel for Cubans residing in the United States.
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Shortly after, a senior State Department official, quoted by Café Fuerte, denied these rumors.
A bill
Scott also recently presented a bill called the “Democracy Act,” which aims to freeze assets and prohibit visas to members of key sectors of the Cuban government, particularly the military.
The bill is part of a broader strategy to weaken “authoritarian regimes in Latin America.”
Joining Tommy Tuberville, Scott presented this bill aiming to apply “unprecedented financial pressure.” Scott had headed this project with then-Senator Marco Rubio in the last Congress, according to Martí Noticias.
“All their problems in Latin America start with the Cuban regime,” the senator said, as highlighted now by the CBS News Miami report published this Monday on its website. “If you get rid of the Castro regime, it helps us get rid of [Venezuela’s Nicolas] Maduro and [Nicaragua’s Daniel] Ortega.”
Making “life more difficult”
Regarding trips to the island, he has said: “If you want to move back to Cuba, move back to Cuba. But it doesn’t help the people of Cuba — it helps the regime oppress them.”
Meanwhile, the news channel interviewed several Cuban-Americans who were traveling from Miami to Havana, and who were concerned about possible restrictions, as this would make “life more difficult for their loved ones.”
U.S.: Trump administration policy on flights to Cuba reversed
Some of these Cuban-Americans say they understand the reasoning behind the restrictions, but recognize the personal difficulties they would bring to ordinary people if applied.
In 2019, Trump, then in his first term, gave way to the suspension of all charter flights to Cuba from the United States, maintaining only the Havana route. With Biden’s arrival in power, these measures were reversed.
