US opens up banking to private Cuban businesses as it aims to boost private sector

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, ANDREA RODRIGUEZ and REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is lifting some financial restrictions on Cuba in a move designed to boost private businesses on the island. One of the key changes announced Tuesday would allow Cuban private business owners to open bank accounts in the United States and then access them online from Cuba. The U.S. also is again allowing something called U-turn transactions, where money is transferred from one country to another but is routed through the United States. The changes come as Cuba is struggling with one of the worst economic and energy crises in its history. Hundreds of thousands of people have migrated, many of them to the United States.