Special Situation for U.S. Visitors
For almost 50 years, Cuba travel for U.S. citizens and residents has been limited by the United States government. Today (2009-10), Cuba is the only country on earth that U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from visiting by their government. Nuclear-armed North Korea or Iran, no problem. Want to mix with pirates in Somalia? Go and the U.S. government will spend big bucks to get you back. War-torn Afghanistan or the Northwest Territories in Pakistan, go for it.
But get caught returning from what’s still standing of the last throws of failed communism in a powerless, banana republic, and the U.S. government stupidly threatens you with the grotesquely named “Trading With The Enemy Act.”
Thought that the U.S. is the land of the free, and that President Obama has changed this foolishness? Not so, and it looks like the mistreatment of Americans who travel to Cuba is not on the White House radar. Don’t wait for the U.S. to change, or you will be like the million of Cubans in Florida who have waited for 50 years for the Cuban government to change. Finally don’t make the mistake of many Americans and think that Cuba is isolated from the world. It is only Americans that are isolated from Cuba.
Here, in summary, is the situation.
Technically, U.S. law prohibits citizens or residents from spending money in Cuba by engaging in ”travel related expenditures” or buying anything from or selling any thing to Cuba, and threatens those who do with 10 years imprisonment and fines of $250,000 for individuals and $1,000,000 for businesses. Fines for individual travel, however, were between $1,000 to $7,500, when the Dubya Administration was chasing travelers to Cuba.
However, thousands of Americans are traveling illegally to Cuba annually through Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The circuitous route is necessary, but contrary to popular belief, it is not legal.
Your U.S. travel agent can’t book your Cuba flight, even from Cancun or Canada. You can’t use U.S. credit card for it or in Cuba. Pay everything in cash, and Cuba will not stamp your passport. That’s about it.
Havana Habor Master and long unused U.S. flag
Few are ever caught. If you do not tell the immigration officer on re-entering the U.S., you will not be asked about Cuba, even if returning from common Cuba-departure ports such as Cancun or Bahamas. If you drive back into U.S., it is garanteed that you will not be asked about Cuba.
Since 2008, almost no one has been fined for illegal travel to Cuba. This can always change, but the looney days when Bush had 26 T-men gumshoes chasing travel and money to Cuba, but only 3 dealing with Osama bin Laden and Sadam Husain, are thankfully over.
There are a few ways to “buy” a legal trip to Cuba, paying to go on a “license” issued by the US Treasury for religious or humanitarian trips. These are unnecessary and themselves a fraud.
The Bottom line: Even if you blow it somehow and are caught, nothing will happen and you can avoid any fine or punishment, if you follow two simple rules: One, if directly asked by a U.S. immigration or custom official if you went to Cuba, do not lie. Two, refuse to say more, and we mean say nothing more. The only correct answer is, “Yes sir, I went to Cuba, but my lawyer, mother, little voice in my head, said that I can’t say anything more, sir.”
These are the two iron-clad rules about what to do if caught. Do not lie. It is a felony to lie to a federal official. Second, (and this is the tough one) do not say anything more.
If caught, tell the truth about where you have been. It is not illegal to go to Cuba. It is the act of spending money on travel-related expenses in Cuba that is prohibited. To prosecute anyone, the government must prove that the person spent money in Cuba. It can’t send the FBI or check credit card records. To prosecute you, the government must get the information from you! If you say nothing, no phoney excuse, no justifications, nada, the ICE agent may get upset, and you may get the full, tear-your-bags-apart search, but in the end, the case goes nowhere. In fact, usually ICE does nothing since it’s the Department of Treasury’s problem, not theirs.
Topping out on a turret El Morro Fortress
Do not be embarrassed to tell Customs or Immigration officials that you refuse to say anything more. After all, it is the government that is trying to catch you on a technicality. The government says that Cuban soil is actually not off-limits to Americans, but if you spend so much as a penny, it will put you in prison for longer than if you rob a bank. The government is attempting to convert conduct that is normally considered legal – that is, traveling to a foreign country – into a serious crime.
If you care to know more, there is even an entire book on the do’s and don’t for U.S. citizens: Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba by Michael Bellows.
On the Cuban side, the situation is much clearer. Cuba welcomes tourists, including those from the United States. (An exception is returning Cuban-Americans whose right to return is tightly regulated.) The Cuban government wants tourists to come and spend money. Cuban airport immigration officials facilitate U.S. tourism and will not stamp American passports. In general, travel to and within Cuba is not restricted, although there are many harsh, incomprehensible restrictions on the Cubans with whom tourists may travel, stay, and eat.
