Cuba: Citizens allowed to stay in hotels

Cuban hotel employees have said that the government has lifted a ban against citizens staying at tourist hotels. Previously only Cuban newlyweds and “distinguished workers and students” were permitted to stay in the country’s hotels. Today’s edict also allows ordinary Cubans access to those hotels only if they pay in hard currency.

The relaxed restrictions come days after the Cuban government permitted ordinary Cubans access to cell phones and electronic appliances. Yet as Babalu Blog sarcastically noted:

I am sure that every Cuban who awoke this morning trying to figure out how he or she was going to feed their families this week is going to feel a whole lot better about their situation when they hear this news. Who cares about such unimportant things like food and freedom when you have the privilege to stay in a hotel you cannot afford?

Sources- Babalu Blog, The Press Association, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, AFP, Babalu Blog

Image- BBC News (“Cubans will be allowed to use hotel facilities as paying guests”)