Church Leaders to Bush Administration: Stop Restricting Religious Travel to Cuba

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  03.16.06 | 1:14 PM ET

Representatives from churches around the United States and members of congress met with executive branch officials yesterday to protest new travel restrictions to Cuba. “The meeting,” writes Pablo Bachelet in today’s Miami Herald, “was in response to a March 3 bipartisan letter signed by 105 lawmakers, asking the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to explain why travel licenses for some U.S. church groups were not being renewed.”

The government’s response:

“Sadly, people began skirting the sanctions by traveling under the guise of ‘religious’ activities,’‘’ said Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise. “Steps were taken to structure the licenses to better preserve the integrity of legitimate religious travel.”

Ah, the “few bad apples” defense. The U.S. government’s Cuba travel policy grows even more ridiculous.

Tags: Caribbean, Cuba, North America, United States, News and Briefs


2 Comments for Church Leaders to Bush Administration: Stop Restricting Religious Travel to Cuba

Orlando 03.16.06 | 4:41 PM ET

How about going one more step and asking the Cuban island dictator to stop religious persecution.  However, this may bar you, the American religious folks from entering the island and being able to partake of the worderful communist paradise.

fioricet 06.13.07 | 9:49 AM ET

Bush likes to stick his nose in everything.

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