Cubans lose access to vital dollar remittances after latest US sanctions
Source: The Guardian
Cubans lose access to vital dollar remittances after latest US sanctions
Cuba closes Western Union offices after US blacklists a military-controlled firm that processes payments from Cubans abroad
Ed Augustin in Havana
Sun 1 Nov 2020 11.00 GMT
Dayane Medina, a 30-year old mother, had been due to pick up the equivalent of $65 that her grandmother in Jacksonville, Florida, sent her this week.
I dont like asking her for money she is too generous, she blushed, confessing that her grandmother sometimes sells food stamps to raise money. But Im not working at the moment and my husband is a doctor we cant get by on his [$62 a month] salary.
But Dayane, her husband and their two young children may be forced to find a way.
This week, Cuba announced the closure of more than 400 Western Union offices on the island, a move that will eliminate most remittances and aggravate the countrys profound economic crisis.
The decision was a reaction to new US sanctions: in June the Trump administration blacklisted Fincimex, a military-controlled firm that processes remittances for Western Union. Last week, the treasury department banned US companies from dealing with Fincimex altogether.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/01/cuba-remittances-us-sanctions-western-union