HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Cuban exiles in Florida say they're frustrated Washington cut off their ability to aid relatives on the island struggling after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
Washington prohibited direct aid to people in Cuba after easing those restrictions for two days last month after the hurricanes caused catastrophic damage topping $7 billion there.
"Forget the politics, let the help go in," Fred Valdes, 60, of Hollywood, Fla., told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
After the hurricanes, the U.S. Treasury Department let the Cuban exile community wire $250,000 to Cuba, which Cuban Americans sent within two days, the Cuban American National Foundation said.
"We promptly requested a renewal of this license," but got denied, and "are presently appealing this move," the foundation said.
Federal officials didn't explain why direct aid was briefly allowed and then taken away, foundation spokeswoman Sandy Acosta Cox told the newspaper.
The U.S. Treasury Department now won't publicly confirm or deny that the license was ever issued, the newspaper said.
Current U.S. law limits Cubans in America to sending no more than $300 every three months to immediate family members in Cuba.
