President brings end to travel and finance bans in place since 1959 in move which will help his standing with American left

Barack Obama has eased America's long-standing embargo on Cuba, allowing many Americans to travel there for the first time and increasing the amounts that they can invest in the island.

Other changes announced by the president will allow all US international airports to accept flights to and from Cuba; at present, chartered flights are restricted to Miami and a handful of other airports. The moves represent an important step to rapprochement between the US and Cuba.

Almost as soon as Fidel Castro's movement took power in the 1959 revolution, the US began an embargo that it has maintained ever since.

Relations, though still tentative, have improved since Castro gave up the leadership in favour of his brother Raul, the accession of Obama to the presidency, and the release of some political prisoners in Cuba.

The move will help Obama's standing with the American left.

In a lengthy press release yesterday evening, the White House said: "President Obama has directed the secretaries of state, treasury and homeland security to take a series of steps to continue efforts to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their country's future."

It added: "The president has directed that changes be made to regulations and policies governing: purposeful travel; non-family remittances; and US airports supporting licensed charter flights to and from Cuba. These measures will increase people-to-people contact; support civil society in Cuba; enhance the free flow of information to, from, and among the Cuban people; and help promote their independence from Cuban authorities."

The changes reverse stricter measures imposed by George Bush, who courted the anti-Castro Cuban-Amerian vote in Florida in 2000 and again in 2004, and come on top of those Obama made in 2009 that helped reunite divided Cuban families, improved communication between the countries and helped humanitarian aid to the island.

Obama's move is made by presidential order and cannot be blocked by Congress. But only Congress can lift the embargo.

Such was the strength of the Cuban-American anti-Castro vote in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s that there was little serious challenge to it. But a younger generation of Cuban-Americans is less fixated by Castro and his espousal of communism during the cold war.

Most Americans are in effect banned from Cuba because it is an offence to spend money on the island. Under the changes, students and academic staff, religious groups and others will be free to visit, and educational exchanges are to be promoted.

Americans will be allowed to send up to $500 to support private economic and other activities, though not any involving the Cuban Communist party or its members.

On airports, the White House said: "To better serve those who seek to visit family in Cuba and engage in other licensed purposeful travel, the president has directed that regulations governing the eligibility of US airports to serve as points of embarkation and return for licensed flights to Cuba be modified." All US international airports can apply to service flights to and from Cuba.

Sarah Stephens, of the Centre for Democracy in the Americas, welcomed the changes: "At a time when Cubans are changing their system in fundamental ways, it is a good idea to have greater engagement, more Americans traveling to Cuba, and more opportunities to learn from each other as everyday Cubans reshape their lives and their country.

"The president is to be commended for taking this step to improve our policy and, ideally, to move forward on reforming US-Cuba relations."

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican Congresswoman representing Miami and the new chair of the House foreign affairs committee, told the Miami Herald: "These changes will not aid in ushering in respect for human rights. And they certainly will not help the Cuban people free themselves from the tyranny that engulfs them. These changes undermine US foreign policy and security objectives and will bring economic benefits to the Cuban regime.''

But a Democratic Congresswoman, Kathy Castor, who represents Tampa in Florida, expressed support. "The Tampa Bay region has one of the highest Cuban-American populations in this country, but for too long, families have had to travel to Miami in order to get to Cuba,'' she told the Miami Herald.

The White House hinted at change last year and there was speculation an announcement would be made a few weeks later. It may have been delayed until after the November elections, though administration staff said the reasons were technical.

Diplomatic links

Rocky road to reconciliation

Relations between the US and Cuba have been turbulent since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

A tough US trade and social embargo has been in place almost since the revolution. Among the lowest points were the CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961 that ended in embarrassing failure, and the Cuban missile crisis the following year. Cuba has suffered from the embargo, its economic potential stifled.

Bill Clinton, during his presidency, eased the economic and social blockade and reached out to Cuba. In contrast with his predecessors, he even shook hands with Castro at a UN summit in New York in 2000, though the White House had initially denied this.

George W Bush introduced more stringent embargo measures. He rejected Raul Castro's offers to negotiate an end to the impasse.

Since Barack Obama became president, he has resumed Clinton's strategy, hoping to encourage change through economic and social activity rather than isolation.

Only months after becoming president in January 2009, he eased economic and travel restrictions, mainly for Cuban-American exiles wanting to visit relatives.