NATIONAL — The Trump administration announced major new restrictions on US citizens traveling to Cuba on Tuesday, blocking the most common way Americans are able to visit the island -- through organized tour groups that license US citizens to travel automatically.

The restrictions are a result of Cuba continuing to "play a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up US adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua by fomenting instability, undermining the rule of law, and suppressing democratic processes," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. 

 

 

 "This Administration has made a strategic decision to reverse the loosening of sanctions and other restrictions on the Cuban regime. These actions will help to keep US dollars out of the hands of Cuban military, intelligence, and security services," the statement continued.

Senator Rick Scott released a statement on the ban saying, 

“Cuba continues to be the most powerful force propping up Nicolas Maduro as he starves and kills his own people. The Cuban Regime is a willing and active participant in Maduro’s genocide. The United States is right to take every action possible to cut off ties with Cuba. I applaud President Trump for taking this important step to restrict U.S. travel to Cuba. Money spent in Cuba goes directly to the Castro Regime and helps keep Maduro and his brutal regime in power. Limiting the flow of money to Cuba is critical to freeing Venezuela and protecting the national security of the United States.”

An announcement was made on April 17 to "implement further regulatory changes to restrict non-family travel to Cuba," White House national security adviser John Bolton said.

The new restrictions will prohibit cruise ship passengers whose trips are arranged as organized tours. It's unclear how the new restrictions will impact US airlines flying newly established routes to the island, CNN reported. 

These actions mark a continued commitment towards implementing the National Security Presidential Memorandum signed by the President on June 16, 2017 titled “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba,” the U.S. Department of Treasury said in the statement. 

The Trump administration also recently allowed US companies and Cuban-Americans to sue companies using property that was seized after the 1959 Cuban revolution, including cruise ship terminals and airports.

Announcement surprises travelers, cruise lines

Tuesday’s announcement came as a surprise to travelers and cruise lines alike. 

Sarah Stark and her boyfriend have been looking forward to their Cuba trip for months. They knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, considering prior travel restrictions, so they seized the moment. 

“The reason we booked that specific cruise was to go to Cuba, and not just like the cruise, in general,” she said. 

It’s important to note that not all forms of tourism to Cuba are forbidden. There are currently 11 categories of travel that allow Americans to visit Cuba.

Further, the Treasury Department clarified a "grandfathering" provision in a statement that "certain group people-to-people educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to June 5, 2019."

“We kind of knew that this might happen, but we were hoping not for a while,” Stark said.

Travelers like Stark are now left unsure of what’s next, and they're not the only ones. Cruise lines have not received clear instructions on whether they'll have to halt already-scheduled cruises on Wednesday, in spite of the grandfathering provision.

Norweigan Cruise Lines issued the following statement in reference to the new restrictions:

“We are closely monitoring these recent developments and any resulting impact to cruise travel to Cuba.  We will communicate to our guests and travel partners as additional information becomes available.”

Currently, the only cruise line sailing the Tampa-to-Cuba route this summer is Carnival. Their next scheduled cruise to Cuba is slated for June 8. As of Tuesday, it is still listed on Port Tampa Bay's website.

We reached out to Carnival for comment, but have not heard back yet.

Information from CNN was used in this report.