I Violated the Cuba Travel Embargo and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

This is perhaps not so surprising. OFAC enforces the Cuba travel ban, not the Border Patrol. And it’s been known for a while that OFAC — even under Bush — hasn’t had many resources devoted to harassing travelers to Cuba.

The travel ban is not only Constitutionally ILLEGAL but absurd.

American’s can freely travel to Iran, North Korea, Communist China, Iran etc (Every nation in the World except Cuba) !

If I want to travel to Cuba as an American, that should be my RIGHT !

Rodney, it sounds like you can travel to Cuba if you want. It seems to be a totally unenforced law. It certainly was before George W. Bush, and it’s likely to be again now. But even under Bush, I think if anyone had REALLY faced the big fines for Cuba travel, it would’ve been a news story. My guess is that the feds don’t pursue it, because it’s easier to let a few people get away with a travel ban violation than to take someone to court. The government would probably lose, and that would open the floodgates to legal Cuban travel. There goes US leverage.

I totally agree that it probably isn’t constitutional to prohibit Americans the free right of travel between states or abroad. However, the Constitution is vague on the subject, so it’s subject to interpretation. In general, the precedent seems to favor the right to travel. I guess the government could argue that it’s a form of treason to visit an “enemy” country, but that’s a pretty strong word for Cuba and I doubt it would hold up in court. Then again, I’m not a lawyer…

On the other hand, other countries have every right to keep you (and me) out. Overall, Americans are extremely fortunate in that our restrictions on travel to other countries are few and far between. Sure, there are a few. Unless you’ve got business or are simply passing through, you won’t get to go to Saudi Arabia (and you can’t go to Mecca if you’re not Muslim). North Korea is also not a big fan of the US and they usually restrict Americans, too. But there are few other examples, if any. The biggest restriction for Americans seems to be an inclination among foreign governments to charge US citizens higher visa fees than they do other nationalities. Some assume we can afford it, but others are simply responding to high visa fees that have been put in place by the American government for foreigners who’d like to visit the USA. (If you’re wondering, US visitors who require a visa are required to pay a non-refundable fee of $131; yup, it is non-refundable! If someone is denied entry to the US, our government keeps their money!)

Go to Cuba. Enjoy yourself. And if anyone asks, it wasn’t my idea. :-)

Clearly, the guy didn’t read up much on the travel ban before he left for Cuba. As Mike noted, it’s not Customs, BP, or US Immigration that enforces the ban; it’s OFAC/Department of the Treasury. He wants to challenge the ban? He’ll have his chance soon enough. In a couple weeks or a couple months, a nice letter on creamy stationery will show up in his mailbox. OFAC is still very much in enforcement mode—a friend of mine just received an OFAC follow up and is currently seeking the assistance of the Center for Constitutional Rights to challenge the ban.

There are other much more effective ways to express one’s opposition to US policy toward Cuba.

I disagree Julie,

MLK, Gandhi, and Thoreau showed us that unjust laws should be broken.

It is embarassing that the US govt thinks that they can say with a straight face where I can go once I leave the US.

One could travel to Vietnam during the war, or Iraq during this one ... but not CUBA ! WTF

It’s a bit late in the day to protest the ban after it’s been in effect for so long. Besides, all you need to do is wait till Fidel kicks the bucket. I bet you anything you want that the ban will be revoked within 6 months of Fidel Castro’s passing. And it isn’t going to happen while he’s alive, so you might as well save your breath.

Why would anyone want to give their tourist dollars to a country that tortures, has no free press, no due process, 5 year fines for using the internet, etc? 

It seems to me the freedom asserting thing to do, or way to express my protest, is to kick Cuba right in the wallet by traveling to a free country.   
 
I’d like to here what Cuban Americans think of this ban.  The ones I know are passionate about their opposition to Castro.

Today’s Cuba obviously has a lot of problems, and not all of them were caused by the embargo. Castro’s Cuba has been heavy handed, and there are no excuses. But before casting too many stones, we have to look at the pre-Castro Cuba that gave rise to this. Cuba was a playground for Americans before Castro. The Batista dictatorship was in bed with the American mob, and vice was the currency. It what well on its way to being a tropical Las Vegas, strongly supported by Americans and American tourists. Even today, we do some business with Cuba. Alabama still ships telephone poles to the island, for example. And we happily do business and tourism with China, which has a significantly worse reputation.

So I’d ask Grizzly Bear Mom where the line is. For example, is it appropriate to support and visit a foreign country where ordinary people are left to suffer? There are playgrounds all over the world for tourists, right in the middle of squalid living conditions for local residents. One cruise line has its own gated tourist spot in Haiti. Locals are not allowed in, and the tourists are not allowed out. How do locals benefit?

I believe that travel enriches all of us. It enriches those who travel, and if we approach it with the right attitude, it can enrich the lives of those we encounter. Cubans generally appreciate the visitors, not only because they support their economy, but it shows that Americans care enough about the island to go there.

I kick places that lock tourists in/and locals out right in the wallet by traveling elsewhere.  It would bother me to visit a place where people are seperated into classes like that. 

When I do travel I make a point of staying in inexpensive hotels so I can met the locals and foreigners which is the point of travel. 

People travel to Cuba becasue they care?  I don’t think that people travel to my city (DC) because they care.  I think they are mostly on pleasure, business or educational trips.

People travel to different places for different reasons, and that certainly alters its impact. DC is probably not comparable to Havana in that respect. A better comparison might be Tehran. I just finished reading a book by Rick Steves called “Travel As A Political Act.” One chapter dealt with Iran, and the appreciation that everyday Iranians had for Americans who showed up and saw the place firsthand—without the media/government filter. I’ve read similar reports from Burma; ordinary citizens appreciate visitors even while debate rages over the ethics of traveling there.

If you’re just going on a beach vacation to Cuba, I’d agree that it won’t matter much to an everyday Cuban (unless there is economic benefit). In that case, there is really no reason to go to Cuba; great beaches are everywhere. But if I could travel to Cuba, it would be to learn what it’s all about, to meet everyday Cubans, and to experience the culture. I’ve read a lot about Cuba and have a fascination with it (forbidden fruit?), but the firsthand experience would help me to understand the situation a lot better and to see beyond what we’re told by our government and the media about this country. The story is far more complex…

I have been wanting to visit Cuba before the ban is lifted which I’m sure is coming soon. Good to hear there may not be any reprecussions for ignoring the travel ban. Once the ban has been lifted, I bet there will be a flood of American tourist heading over there.

Grizzly Bear Mom,
why not spend money in Cuba, we give our money to China, they are just as bad as Cuba, if not worst. And we are allowed to travel there. The embargo is stupid stupid stupid. We should get a group of travelers 50-plus and take a vacation there and make it public to help challenge this stupid law.

Pre Castro Cuba which Americans used as a pleasure palace had 50 % illiteracy, America owned 75% of the arable land, the Mafia ran all the casinos, and Batista killed 20,000 citizens in less than 8 years.

Uncle Sam could have cared less - because Batista was a puppet dictator who did Washington’s bidding.

America only pretends to care about human rights when you confiscate their businesses.

Most US treasuries are owned by Communist China. Who makes Cuba look like a saint on the human rights front.

I’m an American who has been to Cuba twice.

Both times I flew via Cancun.

It is an amazing place, and nothing like the U$ propaganda makes it out to be.

Amazing cigars, beaches, music, people, food, weather, rum, culture, history, and architecture.

I wear my Havana bought Che shirt proudly, and wish that all Americans could visit Cuba and see for themselves just how bad they have been lied to by bitter exiles who are upset that they lost their plantation 50 years ago.

Hasta la Victoria Siempre !

Americans buy most of their oil from Despotic Saudi Arabia, most of their products from Communist China, and most of their drugs from Drug Cartel filled Mexico.

Yet they ban travel to the amazing beaches of Cuba.

Classic idiocy that only DC could amass.

Not to mention constitutionally ILLEGAL.

I am a Conservative American that hates communism. However, like Rush Limbaugh I love Cuban cigars.

Thus I should be free to travel to Cuba to buy them if I want, or even purchase them here in the US.

The govt does not have the right to keep me from smoking tobacco grown in Cuba.

Hell half of our products are made by south asian child labor.

Cuban exiles are bitter cowards.

Just because they tucked and ran, doesn’t mean other Americans can’t visit there.

I’d love to sip mojitos in Havana with a Che shirt on.

The Beaches at Veradero are probably the most pristine beaches on the ENTIRE GLOBE.

If the insane blockade was lifted, Cuba’s economy would boom with tourism from America.

Viva Cuba.

The best part is Mr. Obama has did something good. He allowed people to travel to Cuba who have relatives living there. Also people can transfer money6 to their relatives in Cuba. But the Law should remain same for everyone. So hopefully Mr. Obama will get rid of the embargo very soon.

When I visited Bolivia a few years back I was surprised at how many times I saw Che compared to Jesus or mentioned as a saint etc. Hell I even saw pictures of Che alongside who I guess was the Virgin Mary.

The Observer wrote an article about this later called “The Final Triumph of Saint Che”.

What had happened in 1960’s was past. And Fidel Castro in not in power anymore. So Obama government should try to talk to the Cuban government and get rid of the embargo . It will not only create a healthy relationship with Cuba but also once we will start importing and exporting things to Cuba, country’s economy will also develop.