Obama can loosen Cuban sanctions: experts

Washington

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has the power to further weaken US sanctions against the Communist-run Cuba beyond the normalisation of relations with Havana that he announced on Wednesday, sanctions experts said.

While the restoration of diplomatic ties to Havana after decades of animosity was a big breakthrough, the real obstacle to normal ties between the two countries is the decades-old embargo. With Republicans due to take control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate in January, the chance of lawmakers scrapping all sanctions on Cuba soon is almost zero.