Cuba To Suspend Travel Visas, Passports

The Cuban consulate in Washington DC announced on Tuesday that it would be immediately suspending all consular services until further notice: as such, it will no longer be issuing passports and travel visas to the Caribbean island. The decision will have an enormous impact on the lucrative tourism industry of the island, which in recent years has seen thousands of Cubans and Cuban-Americans visit families on the island, as well as the 100,000 Americans that have visited Cuba since President Obama relaxed restrictions on travel to the Island.

Of the three million visitors to the island in 2012, about 476,000 were Cuban-Americans or Cuban residents of the US who traveled to visit family. Another 98,000 visitors came from the US who traveled under the 'pueblo a pueblo' program, dedicating themselves to cultural or educational projects in the coutnry not related to touris. Visits to Cuba for puerly touristic reasons are prohibited.The department of state has not commented as of yet on the new move, however, it is sure to create tension between the two countries.

The Cuban authorities in DC blamed a problem with a decision the bank which administers their accounts made which will no longer provide them with service, and they have not been able to find a suitable replacement.