Havana residents relieved by Trump's defeat

Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election on Saturday came as a welcome piece of good news for many Cubans suffering from an almost year-long pandemic and ever-tightening US sanctions against the island.

Many lauded the Democratic president-elect's win by remembering the good times that followed the Obama administration's historic opening to the long-isolated Cuban government, ushering in American tourism that helped the nascent private sector grow and prosper.

But the Trump adminstration's sanctions curtailing remittances and imposing restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba, along with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, have left the Cuban economy reeling.

Whether Biden leads a policy shift to relieve some of the more onerous measures remains to be seen, but Cubans were hopeful of better relations with its Caribbean neighbor.

Flower vendor Magaly La Rosa said the news meant the country could "breathe a little easier now", while bicycle taxi driver Roli Lázaro said he hoped "things will get better for Cuba".