President Barack Obama could be among the Americans traveling to Cuba now that restrictions on passage to the island are being loosened.
The White House said Wednesday it wasn’t ruling out a presidential visit to Cuba now that diplomatic relations with the United States have been restored.
“I assume, like many Americans, he has seen that Cuba is a place where they have a beautiful climate and a lot of fun things to do,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “If there’s an opportunity for the President to visit I’m sure that he wouldn’t turn it down.”
The Obama administration on Wednesday said it was easing restrictions on certain types of travel to Cuba, including visits to family members, trips by journalists and religious activities. But the new rules still do not permit U.S. tourists to visit the island.
A visit by the President to Cuba would be historic; even a phone call between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday marked the first presidential engagement between the two nations since the Cuban Revolution.
Obama said Wednesday that high-ranking U.S. officials would visit Cuba soon to begin to establish a presence there. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will travel there in the near future, and Secretary of State John Kerry said he looked “forward to being the first secretary of state in 60 years to visit Cuba.”