The Western Union Company is an American worldwide financial services and communications company.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The U.S. House of Representatives Chair of the House Rules Committee, James (Jim) P. McGovern, and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Elliot Engel, denounced the Trump Administration’s recently announced measures severely restricting the ability of Cubans in the United States from sending remittances to their families in Cuba through Western Union.  The Cuban government says the 407 Western Union payment offices in the Caribbean nation are set to close this month as a result of crippling economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.  The sanctions prohibit the sending of remittances from the United States to the island through official channels. The closures will affect millions of people who depend on money sent by relatives for daily expenses if no alternatives are found.  The U.S. congressmen released a joint statement Thursday condemning the Trump administration’s actions.

“‘We condemn the recently announced steps by the Treasury Department that will result in an effective halt to remittances to Cuba. The Treasury Department’s decision to prohibit U.S. remittance senders from using the most widely used financial intermediary in Cuba will disrupt remittance flows to families and further restrict support for the emerging private sector on the island. ‘This measure is causing Western Union, a major remittance sender, to end operations in Cuba later this month. Some 700,000 Cubans in the U.S. send remittances to Cuba each year, totaling $1.5 billion a year. Shutting off Cubans’ access to this crucial lifeline in the middle of a global pandemic and economic crisis is cruel, heartless and frankly ineffective.”

-U.S. House of Representatives Chair of the House Rules Committee, James (Jim) P. McGovern, and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Elliot Engel, joint statement Nov. 19, 2020

“Rather than supporting the Cuban people and ensuring Cuban-Americans have the right to support loved ones on the island, this inhumane policy will deprive ordinary Cubans of basic resources. While purportedly intended to deny Cuba’s military access to funds, this decision will hurt the Cuban people most. By further closing channels through which the Cuban people can receive remittances, this will limit the ways Cuban-Americans may support their families during these difficult times.”

In Cuba, where the average monthly salary is about $35, remittances from families in the U.S. are a vital lifeline particularly amid the  COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the Cuban economy.   In June, the U.S. announced the addition of seven new subentities including  financial institution FINCIMEX  to the Cuba Restricted List.  FINCIMEX processes much of the remittance money, billions of dollars a year that accounts for a sizable portion of the Cuban economy.  U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said at that the time that,  in particular, the addition of financial institution FINCIMEX to the Cuba Restricted List  “will help address the regime’s attempts to control the flow of hard currency that belongs to the Cuban people.”  Pompeo said “the bulk of Cuba’s tourism industry is owned and operated by the Cuban military.” Western Union has monopolized the cash reception service in Cuba  since 2016 through a partnership with Fincimex, linked to the military conglomerate GAESA.