Making another stride toward improved U.S.-Cuba relations, President Barack Obama announced a series of changes to U.S. foreign policy that will ultimately lift travel restrictions for family members flying to the island and improve communication between residents.

Following up on a promise he made while on the campaign trail in the summer and fall of 2008, Obama has directed the secretaries of state, treasury, and commerce to relax restrictions leveled against Cuba. However, he didn't go as far as to lift the trade embargo.

The directive allows U.S. telecommunications network providers to establish fiber-optic cable and satellite facilities, eases rules against family travel to and from Cuba, and removes restrictions on money that can be sent to Cuban family members.

“Cuban American connections to family in Cuba are not only a basic right in humanitarian terms, but also our best tool for helping to foster the beginnings of grassroots democracy on the island,” read a press release issued by the Obama administration on Monday. “There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans.” 

The move comes at a time when countries in Central America are renewing relationships with Cuba.

Newly elected Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes suggested he would reconnect with Cuba within days of taking office.

And in late March, President Oscar Arias announced that Costa Rica would also establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, a decision he told reporters that he arrived at “carefully” and “responsibly.”

In a press release, Arias said, “The hour of direct and open dialogue, official and normal relations, has arrived,” Arias said. Reconnecting with Cuba will “permit us to address our agreements and disagreements speaking head-on and with sincerity.”

The Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (INCOPESCA) is working with national universities to determine what killed thousands of fish near the beach last week.

Researchers from the Center Of Microscopic Electronics at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) took water samples for analysis shortly after the kill occurred. They expect to have results before Friday.

Officials cannot confirm the cause of death until testing is complete, but said that a red tide – a harmful algae bloom that can suffocate marine life – or a chemical spill are both possible reasons for the large kill.

One researcher at the UCR told The Tico Times that red tides are normal this time of year, but said that both the size and the amount of the dead fish could indicate a different cause.

Red tides usually kill small fish, like sardines, and in smaller numbers, the researcher said.

Leonel Hernández, a Guanacaste resident, said he saw fish weighing as much as 14 kilograms, including sardines and other species, lying on the beach.

Marvin Mora, interim technical director of INCOPESCA, said citizens and tourists should not eat fish from Playa Lagarto until further notice. He said INCOPESCA will inform the public when the results of the sample analysis are complete.

A community protest launched Monday at 7 a.m. is estimated to have affected the commute of as many as 30,000 people headed to San José.

Residents of Pozos de Santa Ana, a neighborhood west of the capital, blocked off Próspero Fernández highway for several hours to demonstrate their frustration with the closure of an exit ramp leading to Pozos and a change of location for several bus stops.

A bus that runs about every 30 minutes from Ciudad Colón to downtown San José normally passes right through Pozos. The route that normally takes 40 minutes on Monday took as long as two hours because of the protest. Several buses altered their route and took Calle Vieja, a back road leading to San José.

No plans have been announced to resume the protest on Tuesday, but some people are planning for the worst.

A spokesman for the Ciudad Colón bus line said the company is preparing to resort to alternative and longer routes again if necessary.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a precautionary fund for Costa Rica in the amount of $735 million.

On Monday afternoon, Francisco de Paula, president of the Central Bank (BCCR), said during a press conference that Costa Rica will only use the stand-by loan if needed.

The IMF said the fund could aid the Costa Rican economy during economic turmoil.

Such assistance, which will not need approval by the Legislative Assembly, will be available for a period of 15 months.

The fund's conditions are favorable, the BCCR said on Monday. The interest rate would be 1.5 percent and Costa Rica would have five years to pay back the complete amount, in addition to a two-year grace period.

The Central Bank president commented the fund provides the economy with a back-up cushion.

“I would say we have a cold and not pneumonia. The great difference between a cold and pneumonia is financial stability,” de Paula said on Monday.

“That's why we want this reinforcement,” de Paula told the press this week. “We are seeing a deceleration in the monthly economic activity index (IMAE).”

The IMAE report released this week shows a slowdown in production for the fifth month in a row, citing a 5.1 percent decrease in February compared to the same month last year.