U.S. - Cuba travel restrictions eased by Obama administration (WSJ coverage)

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The White House on Friday eased travel restrictions to Cuba and said Americans may send money there more freely, fresh steps aimed at encouraging engagement with the Cuban people.

Under the changes, religious institutions and universities engaged in academic study will be allowed to organize trips to Cuba without permission from the U.S. government first.
In addition, other educational institutions may request permission for special trips that don't involve course credit. This restores a people-to-people exchange that was instituted under President Bill Clinton but cut off by President George W. Bush.
Pure tourist travel will remain illegal. And the administration didn't propose lifting the long-standing trade embargo with the country.
The new rules also will allow any airport that qualifies to provide service to licensed charter flights to Cuba. Under current law, only three airports are authorized to offer the flights.
And they will allow any American to send up to $500 per quarter to non-family members in Cuba, as long as the Cubans aren't senior government officials or senior members of the Cuban Community Party. That sum is higher than it was under the old Clinton rules.
The new rules build on policy changes announced by President Barack Obama in 2009, which allowed Cuban-Americans to visit families on the island as often as they like and to send them unlimited funds.
In a statement, the White House called these "important steps in reaching the widely shared goal of a Cuba that respects the basic rights of all its citizens."
Mr. Obama's move could come as an economic lifeline to the Cuban regime, as it faces wrenching policy shifts in an attempt to respond to a tanking economy.