{"id":242629,"date":"2021-08-17T19:26:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T23:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=242629"},"modified":"2021-08-17T19:26:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T23:26:01","slug":"u-s-authorizes-emergency-humanitarian-freight-flights-to-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/u-s-authorizes-emergency-humanitarian-freight-flights-to-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. authorizes emergency humanitarian freight flights to Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Joe Biden<\/span><\/a> administration has authorized emergency flights to Cuba, lifting <\/span>a ban<\/span><\/a> that was implemented last year. The permit was granted to two small Florida airlines and covers flights, without passengers, to Havana and other cities on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n

The authorization is given in the context of the anti-government protests last July \u2014 for which the Biden administration showed its support, while criticizing the Cuban government\u2019s response to them \u2014 and the serious health crisis caused by the <\/span>COVID-19<\/span><\/a> pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the Treasury Department said that IBC Airways and Skyway Enterprises could each operate 20 flights from Miami to Havana until the end of September, carrying humanitarian aid and diplomatic cargo for the United States Embassy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In August of last year, the Donald Trump administration <\/span>suspended the operations<\/span><\/a> of all U.S. and foreign airlines to provide charter flights between the United States and Cuba, in addition to a limited number of authorized public charter flights, as part of its campaign to increase economic pressure on Havana.<\/span><\/p>\n

The order allowed exceptions for emergency medical situations, but the Department of Transportation has now decided that the conditions are in place to authorize exemptions to the freight ban.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cubans are currently suffering the effects of severe food and medicine shortages, hyperinflation, and power outages amid oppressive heat, all byproducts of a centrally planned economy in extreme difficulty, a situation exacerbated by the increase in the economic embargo during the Trump administration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington vuelve a acusar a La Habana de violar los derechos humanos<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n