Cubans watch as the first US-to-Cuba cruise ship to arrive in the island nation in decades glides into the port of Havana, on May 2, 2016. - AFP Photo

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration clamped down on US tourist visits to Cuba Tuesday, aiming to cut the flow of dollars to the country.

The Treasury Department banned group educational travel, cruise ship and private yacht visits by Americans, taking aim at the most common ways US tourists and Cuban-Americans visit the Caribbean island.

The move could constitute a heavy hit on Cuba, which saw more than a quarter-million US visitors in the first four months of 2019, almost double the figure from a year earlier.

White House National Security Advisor John Bolton said the US would continue to take actions to restrict Cuba's access to US dollars.

The Cuban government condemned the move, which could cost the country's economy tens of millions of dollars a year in lost income.

"They seek to stifle the economy and damage the standard of living of Cubans to wrest political concessions," said Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez in a tweeted statement. "They'll fail again." – AFP