The State Department claimed that the restrictions, which do not apply to vehicles already acquired, are in retaliation for similar steps taken against members of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

The decree permits the purchase of vehicles “from a vendor located outside the United States…provided that such a vehicle is less than four years old.” A diplomat can also buy a car from a member of a foreign mission or an employee of its staff, provided that the latter is “not a U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien, or a person regarded as permanently resident in the U.S.”

Another provision bars Interests Section officials from renting or leasing vehicles for more than 30 days at a time. This denies them the lower rates that often come with longer-term rental and lease agreements. Furthermore, they will not be able to buy leased vehicles. Many lease agreements credit a portion of the lease payments toward the vehicle’s purchase.

Cuban diplomats cannot dispose of a vehicle within the United States, states the order, “by any method or means including, but not limited to, sale, lease, loan, or gift…including sale for scrap or salvage.” To dispose of a vehicle that is beyond repair, they will have to export it, or work through a foreign embassy.

The new restrictions follow Washington’s announcement in March that diplomats at the Cuban Interests Section must get State Department permission to travel outside the Beltway, the section of interstate highway that surrounds this city. Two months later the U.S. government ordered the expulsion of 14 Cuban diplomats on charges of espionage.

The measures flow from Washington’s long-term opposition to the revolutionary government in Havana.  
 
 
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