The opinions of Cubans about the latest sanctions on the Government of Cuba by the US administration are dissimilar, which prohibited the sending of remittances to the Island through companies controlled by the military, which prevents the operations of Western Union, the largest money issuer from the United States.
A report from the news agencies Reuters and AP in the streets of Havana, published on the Facebook wall of Martí News, showed the population's criteria about the negative effect that the new measure will have on their lives.
“I invite President Trump to live here in Cuba for one day without family remittances through Western Union,” said the young woman named Karina Hidalgo with obvious displeasure.
“We are the harmed, the townspeople. Here there are people who cannot work for X reasons and they live off their son, their mother, their brother...,” said a Cuban named Odalys Páez.
“Right now I'm living off of that, off of what my family and friends send me. Because besides, I don't like to work. For the salary they pay here, I don't work,” Reynier Pérez stated emphatically.
In general, the recent disposition of Donald Trump's Government has been received with discomfort and concern among ordinary Cubans.
Family remittances from abroad constitute the second source of income for the Island's economy, with 3.5 billion dollars each year.
“The shortage of products that are found, and now practically the only possibility to buy is through cards,” said Yovany Alonso.
“Really, we family members who are on the side here need a lot of remittances from those who are in the United States. And this will seriously harm us, not only the private economy but the economy of the country, which in the end is the one that receives the foreign currency,” he added.
Last Tuesday the Cuban state company FINCIMEX announced the next closure of 407 Western Union branches on the Island.
FINCIMEX is the financial institution of the CIMEX corporation and is controlled by the military corporation GAESA, which in turn is directed by Brigadier General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, former son-in-law of Raúl Castro, and included in the list of people blocked by the Treasury Department.
The Cuban firm is the main commercial partner on the Island with Western Union, with whom it has had a contract since 1999.
“The inclusion of FINCIMEX on the list of restricted entities of the US State Department last June, and the modifications announced by the Treasury Department to the regulations for the control of Cuban assets on Friday, October 23, "They will prevent remittances to Cuba through US companies with general licenses, thereby directly harming the Cuban people and their families in the US," the Cuban entity said in a statement.
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