Skip to main content

Cuba


If you were planning on going to Cuba anytime soon, things may just get harder. President Trump will most likely curb ties that Obama adopted with the country. During his first few months of presidency, he tweeted that he wants to terminate Obama’s diplomatic relations with Cuba. The changes will happen soon, most likely sometime in June. However, his plans put a few of Obama’s key aspects at risk. The recently opened embassies in Havana and Washington, D.C. may be at risk, though many believe Trump would not close them since they allow for greater connections between the countries. Obama also set up many direct flights to Cuba. However, the demand has not been high causing many airlines to limit or cancel their flights. Trump is unlikely to further cancel the limited flights, but their is still a risk. American companies are most likely going to lose their hotel operations in the country. Airbnb, however, may survive because it allows for Cubans to rent out their places to other Cubans, benefitting Cuban homeowners and not the government. Trump would most likely allow for this to continue. The biggest change in Obama’s ties was that anyone could bring as much rum and cigars from Cuba so long as it is for personal use. But the purchases benefit the government of Cuba, which jeopardizes the permittance of purchasing these goods. Obama also allowed Cuban- Americans to send money to their relatives in Cuba, but Trump may limit this because a part of the money goes to the government. So the next time you want to go on vacation, reconsider your plans to go to Cuba because it will be next to impossible.

Written By: Sebou Ourfalian

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Formal

At 12:15 on Friday, January 19, students rushed out of the Abcarian building halls, hoping they would have enough time to get ready for the long awaited, formal. Guys put on their best suits and the girls slipped into their best dresses, anxiously waiting to see what their friends are going to wear. Members of specific grade levels gathered earlier together to start the celebration and take lots of pictures. Soon students started rolling into the beautifully decorated hall in Metropol. The night started off with dining, along with the occasional dancing to the Armenian music being played. However, as the music got more intense, students could not get off the dance floor. The rhythmic beats of Armenian, Arabic, Spanish, and English music filled the hall and the bodies of the students. They took a quick break for some water and kebab, but quickly stood back up to continue dancing. Towards the end of the night, we celebrated Mr. McCrory’s and junior Veronica Mkhsi-Gevokian’s birthdays ...

Anna Turcotte Visits Pilibos

   We are Armenian scholars in an Armenian school; because of this, we are often exposed to our country’s good and bad, the highs and lows. We often hear about the Armenian Genocide and the Artsakh conflicts, but we are not always reminded of the conflicts our people face outside of the homeland. We have seen Genocide survivors and young Artsakh soldiers whose stories we have heard and are a little familiar to us. However we rarely hear from a survivor of mass discrimination and violence, who stood up with Armenians the way other survivors did- just outside the homeland. Pilibos freshmen, sophomores and juniors met one such survivor in an assembly on Tuesday February 27 when Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte came to Pilibos to share her story and experiences. Anna Turcotte was a ten year old girl living in Azerbaijan when her mother told her she could no longer go to volleyball practice. She did not know at first, but this was just the first sacrifice out of many for the years...

College Series #1

By: Veronica Mkhsi-Gevorkian and Nayiri Artounians As we get closer to the end of our journey in high school, many of us wonder which school would be best for us. In the next series of articles, we will present different options that may help you keep your options open. Stay tuned each week for a new set of colleges/universities that you may find interesting! A liberal arts college is a college that focuses on liberal arts and sciences as its undergraduate program. There are many schools under the category of a liberal arts school. Each school mentioned will include average GPA, average SAT/ACT score, acceptance rate, and popular majors. Claremont Mckenna College is a co-educational private liberal arts college located in Claremont, California with an acceptance rate of 11%. Average GPA is 4.0 with an SAT/ACT score 1490 and 31. Their popular majors are economics and political science/government. Harvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremon...