Washington, March 15 (RHC)-- The Obama administration announced today new measures having to do with Cuba. Press reports from the U.S. capital say the new rules involve expanding educational travel and allowing Cuban nationals to work in the U.S. and open bank accounts there.

The new regulations are expected to allow Cuban citizens not seeking to immigrate to the U.S. to earn salaries there, and would permit temporary visitors to be paid in dollars. They would also expand access by Cubans to the U.S. financial system.

The rules would be expected to allow Cubans like entertainers and athletes — including baseball players — to get jobs in the United States without having to politically disavow their home country, something that Cuba had repeatedly pointed out.

“Today's amendments build upon President Obama's historic actions to improve our country's relationship with Cuba and its people,” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in a statement. Pritzker said the steps expand opportunities for economic engagement between Cuba and the U.S. business community.

Meanwhile, in statements to CNN en Espanol, President Barack Obama expressed hope that his successor will lift the blockade policy towards Cuba.

Obama also referred to the ongoing process towards normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations. Our policy towards Cuba was the only remaining vestige of the Cold-war era, said Obama, noting, as he had previously said, that a policy that had failed for over 50 years, demanded a re-assessment.