|
U.S.
Globetrotters Pick Cuba as Top Hotspot
Agence France Presse
July 28, 2003
U.S.
sanctions on Cuba make it illegal for Americans to spend money on
the island, a de facto travel ban.
But
that hasn't stopped readers of the upscale U.S. magazine Travel
and Leisure from picking Cuba as their favorite island in the Caribbean,
Bermuda and Bahamas, in the July 29 World's Best Awards Readers'
Survey issue.
It
was the first time that Cuba, which was the top destination for
U.S. overseas travel prior to 1959, has been named the top island
in the region in this survey, after ranking eighth last year. This
year, Bermuda, the
Grenadines, St John and Virgin Gorda trailed in the poll.
"Our
readers are committed travelers for whom the unknown and inaccessible
are especially alluring," editor Nancy Novogrod said. "Cuba's
rise in the survey rankings highlights a trend toward destinations
that seem authentic and real. Travel and Leisure readers are adventurous
- they want to get to the next destination before everyone else."
Well,
at least before other Americans. Cuba welcomes more than a million
tourists a year, mainly from Italy, Spain and Canada.
On
July 16, ten congressional lawmakers urged President George W. Bush
to lift travel restrictions for Cuba. Havana has faced comprehensive
U.S. economic sanctions since 1961.
"Some
people ask why is a conservative, very conservative from Arizona,
working on this?" Republican representative Jeff Flake asked
at the time. "The government shouldn't be able to decide where
we travel," Flake added, noting that Americans are free to
travel to other communist states such as China, North Korea and
Vietnam, but risk government fines if they are caught spending U.S.
dollars in Cuba.
Since
Bush took office in January 2001, more than 1,200 Americans have
been threatened with a maximum 55,000 dollar fine for violation
of Cuba travel-related sanctions, more than twice the number during
former president Bill Clinton's eight year mandate.
Bipartisan
support grows for ending Cuba travel ban
Inter Press Service
By Katrin Dauenhauer
July 23, 2003
A growing
number of U.S.legislators, human rights groups and influential Cuban-Americansare
calling for an end to the ban on travel to Cuba, with a new amendment
set to be introduced in Congress by September.
"Whenever
it comes up, we`re in a good position," said Jeff Flake, an
Arizona Republican and sponsor of the Export Freedom toCuba Act
of 2003 in the House, which would halt enforcement of thetravel
ban. "We`re in the right position to win."
Last
year, the House of Representatives voted 262-167 in favorof lifting
the four-decade-old travel ban to the socialist island,but the effort
died after the Senate failed to pass similar legislation.
This
year, identical bills will be introduced in both the Houseand the
Senate.
Some
59 House members and 23 senators -- of both parties -- are co-sponsoring
legislation that would allow travel. The bills are currently under
review in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relationsand the House
Committee on International Relations.
"Travel
to Cuba is ultimately an issue of freedom," said Flake."We
oppose the recent crackdown in Cuba, but the imposed travel banis
a failed policy. We have to get tough on Cuba by introducingU.S.
values. We have to export freedom to Cuba."
Flake
and others pressed their case at a forum last weeksponsored by the
Center for International Policy, the LexingtonInstitute, USA Engage,
and the Association of Travel-RelatedIndustry Professionals.
Recent
polls also show a changing attitude among younger Cuban-Americans
towards U.S. foreign policy on Cuba. A poll aimedat gauging Cuban-American
views on a range of topics conducted byHamilton Beattie & Staff
in Miami last month found that a clearmajority of Cuban-Americans
-- but particularly those under age 45-- care more about the quality
of life in South Florida than about whether Fidel Castro is overthrown.
The
results also seem to bolster a central finding of a separatepoll
that reflected a shift away from hard-line positions among amajority
of Cuban-Americans in South Florida.
Earlier
this year, a Miami Herald poll found that more than half of the
area's Cubans support dialogue between exiles and Cubangovernment
officials -- a position endorsed by only 20 percent ofCuban Americans
a decade ago.
"I
believe the poll clearly demonstrates a changing agenda in our South
Florida Cuban community," said Alvaro Ferandez, Floridadirector
of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP). "When
you consider responses to the local versus international issue,
along with self-determination of Cubans in Cuba, and the future
possibility of retirement on the island, then I would say that this
area is definitely turning the corner on the Cuba issue. And these
changes are highlighted even more when takinginto account age, income
level, and educational level of the respondents."
Although
the hard-liners' position may be eroding, most Cuban Americans still
say they would not back a political candidate whoadvocates unrestricted
trade, travel and investments on the island.
Critics
of the travel ban say the Bush administration's unrelenting stance
towards Cuba is motivated by domestic politics, particularly involving
next year's presidential elections.
"The
Cuba travel ban is solely based on domestic policy considerations.
With the presidential election coming up, about 40influential hard-line
Cuban Americans in the White House and theknowledge that the state
of Florida had been crucial to win thelast election, President Bush
tries to win votes by tighteningrestrictions to travel to Cuba,"
a spokesperson for the
Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), which
sponsors an annual caravan of humanitarian aid to Cuba, told IPS.
Since
Bush took office, more than 1,200 Americans have received threatening
letters from the Office of Foreign Assets Control(OFAC) for traveling
to Cuba. OFAC may impose fines of up to themaximum of $ 55,000 for
violating the ban by spending money in Cubawithout a licence.
In
another move to further tighten restrictions, OFAC announced the
elimination of "people to people" educational exchange
licensesin March of this year, the second largest category of U.S.
citizenslegally traveling to Cuba.
"This
is a goofball policy," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, a NorthDakota
Democrat and co-sponsor of the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Actof 2003.
"OFAC`s task should be to track financial information tofind
terrorists. Instead the office spends money on tracking U.S.tourists.
This law makes no sense at all and injures the Americanpeople. It`s
just dumb."
While
support for easing travel restrictions is growing inCongress, Bush
still firmly rejects any policy that would ease theembargo, and
has vowed to block any such effort. In 1996, the Helms- Burton Act
tightened and codified travel restrictions,giving only Congress
the power to eliminate them.
Some
200,000 U.S. citizens ventured to Cuba last year, about160,000 legally
under licenses issued by the Office of ForeignAssets Control of
the Treasury Department, and around 40,000 without permission from
the government.
"A
policy of allowing Americans to travel freely to Cuba would do more
to encourage the cause of reform in that country than the current
misguided policy of isolation," said Jose Miguel Vivanco,executive
director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch.
Meanwhile,
in a yearly ritual organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace, hundreds
of volunteers from across the United States, Mexicoand Canada arrived
in Havana over the weekend with 80 tonnes ofhumanitarian aid.
Defying
the U.S. embargo, participants refused to obtain licenses for their
stay, citing their right to freedom of travelunder the U.S. Constitution,
as well as an obligation to challenge the "immoral laws designated
to create pain and suffering forinnocent Cuban citizens."
Craig,
GOP rethink Cuba policy
Lewiston Morning Tribune (Idaho)
July
17, 2003
BYLINE:
Adam Wilson
"I
candidly confess that I have ever looked on Cuba as the most interesting
addition which could ever be made to our system of states."
--
Thomas Jefferson, 1823.
Our
communist Caribbean neighbor Cuba seems to be gaining in popularity,
as evidenced by U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's statements Tuesday.
"I
am one of many in Congress who believe that our restrictions for
the past 40 years have done little to bring about change in Cuba,
while the recent success of our trade engagement throughout the
world is beginning to pay dividends politically and economically."
Craig,
an Idaho Republican, called for lifting the Cold War-era restrictions
on travel from the United States to Cuba, imposed in 1961 to hasten
the departure of dictator/Communist Party first secretary/President
Fidel Castro, who is still in charge there.
"Since
Castro has not changed, we have a couple options: continue sitting
idle or bomb Cuba -- not with ordnance but with policies of engagement
and Sears catalogues," Craig said at the Conference on Freedom
to Travel to Cuba in Washington, D.C.
"I
prefer the latter because I believe those who travel to Cuba --
the U.S. business industry, our professional academics and the American
tourist -- can and will make a difference in that country. Let's
put faith in democracy, capitalism and the American people, not
restrictions which are having no effect."
Those
who travel to Cuba would include Idaho Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow,
who recently returned from a conference on Ernest Hemingway there.
"We
came out of the airport and there were 15 taxis lined up, and it
looked like you were in a vintage car show. Not one of them was
outside the '40s or '50s," he reported.
"My
wife and I speak Spanish, and once you talked to Cubans, it was
amazing that very positive, friendly reception we got. Hemingway
is as popular a figure in Cuba as (Castro's revolutionary lieutenant)
Che Guevara."
Trail
is also a Hemingway fan; "Old Man and the Sea" is a favorite,
but he couldn't comment on the legendary flavor of Cuban cigars.
"I
just don't smoke, so I can't verify it."
Trail
agrees with Craig's assessment of the futility of the American trade
embargo on Cuba, noting the people there had plenty of questions
about it.
"I
think tourists must have replaced agriculture as the major industry.
We saw no evidence of people starving, but we did hear case after
case of people with problems with housing."
Trail,
67, was in graduate school when Castro took power.
"Even
then I thought the best thing to do is normalize relations and recognize
Castro as the new leader and move on.
"In
1959, Cuba was our leading customer for lentils, and we haven't
sold a lentil to Cuba since then."
Indeed,
U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., received accolades from the
U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council last year for his efforts to open
trade with Cuba.
The
2002 Trade Sanction Reform Act led to $70 million in trade agreements
with Cuba, including the sale of 10,000 metric tons of peas, a popular
area crop along with lentils.
Like
Trail and Craig, Nethercutt argues a policy of engagement would
hasten the liberalization of Cuba's government.
Craig
put the possible benefit to Idaho agriculture and forest industries
at $20 million annually and 500 new jobs.
But
such Republican free traders face serious opposition from one of
their own, President George Bush, who has no inclination to soften
sanctions on Castro's government.
"Basically,
what's the main impediment is this group of three or four million
Cuban Americans who are swing voters," Trail said. "Both
parties are sort of catering to them and supporting continuing the
embargo."
Those
Cuban Americans live primarily in Florida, just 90 miles off Cuba's
coast. The state was crucial to Bush in the 2000 election, as we
all recall, and is run by his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush.
"With
an election year coming up, I don't see much moving," Trail
said.
Indeed,
neither Castro nor the United States have moved much at all on the
issue, although the world around them has.
"Castro
couldn't even go to the bathroom unless the Soviet Union put the
nickel in the toilet," said former President Richard Nixon
in 1980.
Now
Nixon's gone and so is the Soviet Union, but not Castro.
Still,
the tide may be turning. So forget the rum and Coke, barkeep. Make
mine a Cuba Libre.
Opponents
of Cuba Embargo Hope to Get Vote Before Recess
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
The Miami Herald
July 16, 2003
By Nancy San Martin
WASHINGTON
_ About 200 people opposed to the U.S. embargo on Cuba gathered
here Tuesday in hopes of reviving the issue before Congress breaks
for recess next month.
Supporters
of identical bills in the House and Senate that would open up Cuba
to U.S. tourism and allow Americans to spend dollars freely there
had expected to get a vote from lawmakers as early as next week.
But
the proposed legislation is not likely to make it to the floor of
either chamber at least until September.
"Whenever
it comes up, we're in a good position," Jeff Flake, a Republican
from Arizona leading the House effort to lift the travel ban, told
conference participants. "We're in the right position to win."
Efforts
to relax the U.S. embargo, or completely dismantle it, have surged
since the late 1990s. The move has been spearheaded by bipartisan
legislators primarily from states with large agricultural industries
eager to sell to Cuba.
But
Republican floor leaders, particularly House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay, backed by the White House, have derailed bills to ease the
embargo for the last three years. Similar action is expected again
this year. However, embargo opponents have been successful at garnering
more votes as a growing number of lawmakers join the cause.
"We'll
see what the opposition is going to throw up this time," Flake
said, adding that having similar bills in both chambers would make
it more difficult to derail.
The
forum "Freedom to Travel" attracted embargo opponents
from around the country, including Miami. The gathering comes as
new travel restrictions kick in and time runs out on visas that
currently allow for a wide range of people-to-people contact on
the island. The Bush administration tightened restrictions in March,
prohibiting travel such as those labeled as educational but not
tied to academic institutions.
"The
embargo, for the purpose of making change in Cuba, has accomplished
nothing," said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. "We've watched
Cuba slowly and surely slip into the last century. I suggest we
no longer sit idly by, that we bomb Cuba with Sears and Roebuck
catalogs."
[Versions
of this article entitled, "Embargo Opponents Rally for U.S.
bills" appeared in the Miami Herald and the San Jose Mercury
News, July 16, 2003]
San Diegan Fined $10,000 For Bicycle Tour Of Cuba
Woman Part Of Canadian Touring Company
Associated Press
UPDATED: 7:32 a.m. PDT July 15, 2003
SAN
DIEGO -- A 75-year-old San Diego woman who went with a Canadian
company on a bicycle tour of Cuba is fighting the U.S. government's
decision to fine her nearly $10,000 for violating the U.S. ban on
travel there.
Joan
Slote said she made the trip three years ago only because the tour's
Canadian organizer assured her in writing that she could legally
visit Cuba as long as she traveled through a third country, such
as Canada.
When
she returned to the United States, the retired medical worker reported
that she spent $18 in souvenirs and $20 in airport tax in Cuba and
was fined $7,600. Penalties that have accrued while she has fought
the fine have increased the toll to $9,871.75.
Slote
has been invited to speak Tuesday in Washington at a forum on the
U.S. travel ban. Her supporters also hope to arrange a hearing with
the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. They
also hope to enlist the support of Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who
supports lifting the travel restrictions to Cuba.
Barry
Piatt, a spokesman for Dorgan, called prosecution of Slote "an
absurd use of resources by the Department of Treasury."
"At
a time when they should be tracking terrorist funding and the movement
of terrorists around the world, they are spending resources tracking
little old ladies riding bicycles in Cuba."
Treasury
Department spokesman Taylor Griffin said he would look into Slote's
case. He said the Bush administration is committed to "full
and fair enforcement" of the U.S. sanctions on Cuba.
U.S. Congress Gears Up for Cuba Travel Ban
Fight
Tue July 15, 2003 04:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Supporters of ending a 4-decade-old U.S. ban on travel
to Cuba said on Tuesday there were enough votes in Congress to lift
the restrictions, but Cuban-American lawmakers predicted the effort
would fail.
Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said Cuban President Fidel
Castro's recent crackdown on dissidents was more proof the U.S.
embargo on Cuba had not forced democratic change on the island.
"It's time to get tough with Cuba, and there's no better way
to get tough than to have Americans export their freedom and values
there," he said. "You can only have that if we don't have
... our own government telling us we can't travel."
The House of Representatives voted 262-167 last year in favor of
lifting the travel ban. The effort died after the Senate failed
to pass similar legislation.
At a conference that brought together supporters of lifting the
ban, including some Cuban-Americans, Flake said he expected at least
as many House votes this year for removing the restrictions. A Senate
aide told Reuters there were 60 or more votes in the 100-member
Senate for lifting the ban.
President Bush has threatened to block any effort to ease the U.S.
embargo until the communist-run island holds democratic elections.
House Republican leaders also have thwarted past efforts to lift
the travel restrictions.
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican from the Miami area,
told reporters those powerful political forces would keep the travel
ban in place.
"We're going to win. We've got President Bush. We've got the
House leadership and we win," Diaz-Balart said.
He spoke at a news conference with his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart,
and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, two other Republicans from large Cuban-American
districts near Miami.
They accused Flake and other lawmakers who favor easing the travel
ban of doing the bidding of an evil dictator.
But Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, said lifting the ban would
hurt Castro by loosening his grip on the island.
US
Lawmakers Call for Cuba Travel Restrictions to be Lifted
Agence France Presse
July 15, 2003 Tuesday 5:27 PM Eastern Time
A group of 10 congressional lawmakers Tuesday urged the government
of President George W. Bush to lift travel restrictions on Cuba
during a conference here that sought to change Washington's stance
towards the Caribbean island.
"Some
people ask why is a conservative, very conservative from Arizona,
working on this?" asked Republican representative Jeff Flake.
"It's
an issue of freedom," he said. "The US government cannot
tell us where to go."
Flake
was speaking to the conference which was organised by the Center
for International Policy, USA Engage, and other organisations. It
was attended by Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
"The
government shouldn't be able to decide where we travel," Flake
added noting Americans are free to travel to other communist states
like China, North Korea and Vietnam, but risk government fines if
they are caught spending US dollars in Cuba.
"The
current policy is a total failure. After more than four decades
of futility, it is time to question very seriously whether the embargo
has any chance of achieving our goals of peace and opportunity for
the Cuban people," said Democratic Senator Max Baucus, standing
next to Flake.
The
Democratic lawmaker called on his Senate colleagues to vote in support
of legislation, passing through Congress, that seeks to lift the
restrications on Americans travelling to Cuba.
Separately,
a group of Republican lawmakers, from Florida, held a press conference
here warning Americans that US tourist dollars spent in Cuba are
used to help prop up Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, and to oppress
Cuba's people.
Rally on Capitol Hill calls for travel to Cuba
Travel Weekly
July 15, 2003
WASHINGTON
-- Forty years of U.S. sanctions against Cuba have done little to
destabilize the Cuban government, according to speakers at a "Freedom
to Travel to Cuba Forum" on Capitol Hill July 15.
The attendees at the forum also lobbied lawmakers in support of
the "Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003" [S. 950],
which is sponsored by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.). The bill would
open travel to Cuba.
Among those in attendance was Joan Slote, an American citizen who
traveled to Cuban with a Canadian operator, but was unaware of the
travel restrictions.
The Treasury Dept. fined her nearly $10,000, and has threatened
to garnish her Social Security checks if she doesn't pay.
"I cannot understand why any American is fined for exercising
their right to see this beautiful world," Slote said.
"Ten Congressmen Defend Easing of Travel Restrictions to
Cuba"
World
Markets Analysis
Stephen
Temple
July 16, 2003
Ten
US congressmen, a mixture of Republicans and Democrats, yesterday
defended a proposal to lift travel restrictions to Cuba that have
been in force for over 40 years.
At
present, US citizens (other than Cuban-Americans visiting relatives)
can only travel to Cuba with specific US Treasury Department permission,
for educational, political, sports, cultural or academic exchanges,
or to work as journalists. There is no direct transport between
the two countries, except for the special charter flights for officially
eligible travellers.
Thousands
of US citizens travel to Cuba every year illegally through third
countries, but the US sanctions still have a serious impact on the
Cuban economy, not least since they rob the island - dependent on
tourism for hard currency - of its largest natural tourist market.
Some
of the Republican supporters of an elimination of the travel ban
say that it is an infringement of personal liberties, whilst others
point to the fact that over four decades of sanctions have continually
failed to achieve their aims.
Meanwhile,
in the Senate Republican senators were giving a press conference
on their attempts to halt the flow of US dollars to Castro`s Cuba,
underlining the differences that exist in US politics over the issue,
not just between, but within parties.
For
the time being Cuba policy is unlikely to be eased, particularly
in light of the recent crackdown on dissidence on the island (see
Cuba: 30 April 2003: US to Harden Cuba Policy).
Significance:
In a sense the embargo is on a path of inexorable weakening, though
there are few concrete manifestations of this. Policy is likely
to remain static for some time, though underlying sentiment has
been shifting for some years now, as reflected in Congress yesterday.
American
Fined for Visiting Cuba Wants Canadian Travel Agency to Foot the
Tab
Jul 16 17:35 The Canadian Press
TORONTO
(CP) _ A Canadian travel company facing a demand for $10,000 US
from a 75-year-old American grandmother fined for taking a cycling
trip in Cuba has found itself in the middle of a political drama
playing out in Washington, D.C.
``I'm
not quite sure what action I should be taking,'' Lewie Gonsalves,
owner of Toronto-based Worldwide Adventures, said Wednesday.
``To
me this is idiotic.''
In
January 2000, Joan Slote, of San Diego, a gold-medallist at the
senior Olympics, booked a cycling trip to Cuba through Worldwide.
While
it is legal for Americans to visit Cuba, Washington has effectively
banned such travel through a provision that makes it a crime for
them to spend any money while there.
``It's
one of those idiotic things that they have,'' said Gonsalves.
A few
months after returning to the U.S., Slote was notified by the federal
Treasury Department that the trip was illegal. The retired grandmother
of six was fined $7,630 US.
Her
crime: buying $18 US in souvenirs and an exit visa.
Slote,
who was caring at the time for a son who was dying of brain cancer,
failed to respond within the 10-day time frame to request a hearing.
The
Treasury Department, whose actions against American visitors to
Cuba increased dramatically under President George W. Bush, refused
to negotiate with her or anyone advocating for her, including at
least one U.S. senator.
On
July 7, the department notified her the case was "closed''
and she now owed $9,871.75 US including interest and penalties.
She was given 10 days to pay or have the money docked from her social
security income.
That
threat has made the grandmother who still rides up to 240 kilometres
a week something of a poster-child for Americans opposed to the
trade embargo of Cuba.
``When
I went on a bicycle ride, I didn't have any kind of political reason
behind me or anything, I just wanted to see Cuba,'' Slote said Wednesday
in an interview from Washington, D.C.
In
a letter to Gonsalves last week, Slote's lawyer argues the travel
company was negligent and should cover the fine because it advised
Slote her trip to Cuba was legal.
The
letter threatens ``appropriate'' legal action if Gonsalves doesn't
pay within 10 days.
In
an interview from Oakland, Calif., lawyer Tom Miller said he has
a Toronto counterpart lined up to pursue the case on Slote's behalf.
However,
that may not be necessary.
The
Treasury Board indicated a new willingness to negotiate after Slote
appeared Tuesday at a Washington conference and recounted her tale.
``(I)
cannot understand why our government is threatening to take away
my Social Security check for riding my bicycle in Cuba,'' Slote
told the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Forum.
The
message was enough to galvanize some high profile senators and congressmen
to lean on the Treasury Department.
``I'm
getting all sorts of calls from Treasury saying `Maybe, we want
to talk to you about a deal,''' Miller said with a chuckle.
``So
we are in the process of possibly negotiating a settlement which
would obviate the need to get as much money as we're requesting
from Worldwide Travel.''
That's
welcome news to Gonsalves, who said he first became aware that Washington
was cracking down on Americans visiting to Cuba from other clients
in 2000.
The
company immediately changed its literature to warn Americans they
could be ``subject to investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department.''
``We
acted as soon as we knew there was in fact a problem,'' Gonsalves
said.
(c)
2002 The Canadian Press
A version
of this article also appeared in the Edmonton Journal, The Gazette
(Montreal, Quebec), The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario), and
The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia, Canada).
Woman Fights $10,000 Fine for Her Cuba Trip
Los Angeles Times
July 15, 2003
BRIEFS / SAN DIEGO
From Times Wire Reports
A 75-year-old San Diego woman who went with a Canadian company on
a bicycle tour of Cuba is fighting the U.S. government's decision
to fine her nearly $10,000 for violating the U.S. ban on travel
there.
Joan
Slote said she made the trip three years ago only because the tour's
Canadian organizer assured her in writing that she could legally
visit Cuba as long as she traveled through a third country, such
as Canada. On returning to the U.S., Slote reported she had spent
$18 in souvenirs and $20 in airport tax in Cuba and was fined $7,600.
Penalties that have accrued while she has fought the fine have increased
the toll to $9,871.75.
Slote
has been invited to speak today in Washington at a forum on the
U.S. travel ban.
CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD
SENATE
PAGE S9367
July 15, 2003
TRAVEL
TO CUBA
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I just came from a conference about 30
minutes ago dealing with the issue of travel; that is, the right
of the American people to travel. We have the right to travel almost
anywhere. I have been to China, a Communist country; Vietnam, a
Communist country; I can go to Iran or North Korea.
The
American people have a right to travel almost anywhere in the world-except
for Cuba. Why? Because with respect to Cuba, we have had a 40-year
embargo, which not only embargoes trade between this country and
Cuba but prohibits the American people from traveling in Cuba.
We
have an organization in the Department of Treasury called OFAC,
Office of Financial Assets Control, I believe it is. OFAC is an
agency that is supposed to be tracking terrorists at this point.
Following 9/11, we understand there are all kinds of terrorists
and others who wish this country ill and are willing to murder Americans.
We have the FBI, the CIA, and a whole range of interests trying
to track terrorists. As I said, one part of that is a little organization
inside the Treasury Department called OFAC.
OFAC
is supposed to look at all the money trails to track terrorists.
But that is not all they do. OFAC, as I speak today, has folks in
the Treasury Department tracking American citizens who are traveling
in Cuba. I want to give an example of what they are doing.
There
is a woman named Joan Slote. She is a grandmother. She is also a
world-class senior citizen cyclist. She was a medal winner at the
1993 senior olympics. She has bicycled through 21 different countries.
She still bicycles 100 miles a week. She is in her seventies. This
weekend, the Washington Post wrote a story about Joan Slote. She
went with a group of Canadians to take a bicycling trip to Cuba.
She believed it was legal for Americans to bicycle in Cuba. It was
certainly legal for Canadians to do so. She openly told the
U.S. Customs agents that she had been there.
When
she got home, she received from OFAC, this little agency in the
Treasury Department, a notice that she was being fined $10,000.
She did not respond to OFAC´s missive because her son had
a brain tumor and she was attending to her sick son, who later died.
So OFAC said: Sorry, you are fined $10,000. You did not respond,
so you know what we are going to do? We are going to start taking
your Social Security payments.
Here
is a retired grandmother of six attending to her son who dies, who
went bicycling in Cuba prior to that and now gets fined $10,000
and has the Treasury Department saying they are going to take this
woman´s Social Security payments.
I do
not understand it. I guess it is the Forrest Gump film, isn´t
it, that says: Stupid is as stupid does. Life is just a box of chocolates.
I have no idea.
What
on earth can be happening at the Treasury Department that has people
in OFAC, who are supposed to be tracking terrorists, tracking little
old ladies, retired people bicycling in Cuba, and fining them $10,000.
Or if it is not Joan Slote, perhaps it is a 77-year-old World War
II veteran who fought for this country many years ago. He posted
some information on a Web site he created about a licensed meeting
of United States/Cuba Sister Cities Association in Havana. The OFAC
organization down in the Treasury Department accused this 77-year-old
World War II veteran of organizing, arranging, promoting, and otherwise
facilitating the attendance of persons at the conference in Cuba
without a license. The fact is, this guy did not even attend. He
did not go to the conference. It was licensed by OFAC. He did not
attend the conference, but he put something on his Web site that
had to do with sister cities, and now OFAC is after him. So this
77-year-old World War II veteran has to hire a lawyer.
Or
perhaps it is the fellow from Washington State whose dad was a Cuban.
His dad died, and he wanted his ashes spread on the soil in Cuba.
So this young man took an urn with his father´s ashes to Cuba.
Guess what happened to him. We have these vigilant folks down at
the Treasury Department-no, not tracking terrorists, not protecting
this country-tracking a man who took the urn with his father´s
ashes to distribute them in Cuba.
What
on earth can they be thinking about? Yes, it is true, we have a
law, and the law in this country says: Let´s punish Fidel
Castro by limiting the right of the American people to travel. Some
of us think that is
dumb-d-u-m-b dumb. It does not hurt Fidel Castro to say to the American
people we are going to limit your travel opportunities. We have
had debate after debate in this Chamber, and in every circumstance
we have said the same thing: The way to resolve the issue with Communist
China is to lead them to a better place on human rights. How do
we lead them? Through engagement, trade, and travel. We encourage
trade and travel with China, a Communist country. Vietnam: How do
we engage Vietnam to lead them toward a better future with more
rights for their citizens-more civil rights, more human rights?
Through
engagement, through travel, and trade, because we do that with Communist
countries. Both political parties have said that is the right thing
to do.
For
40 years, our country has had an embargo with respect to the country
of Cuba. For 40 years, we have indicated that we will punish Fidel
Castro by limiting the right of the American people to travel. Forty
years of failed policy ought to be enough to convince us to change
the law.
I have
no interest in Fidel Castro except that he limits the rights of
the Cuban people. I went to Havana on an official trip. I demanded
to see an economist named Martha who was imprisoned. I was refused
the opportunity to do so.
The
fact is, human rights and civil rights in Cuba are not where they
ought to be. The Cuban people are not free, but we will not, in
my judgment, advance rights for the Cuban people by deciding to
embrace a policy that has failed for 40 years. We will and should,
it seems to me, encourage trade and travel with respect to Cuba
because that is the quickest way to undermine Fidel Castro. The
quickest way to undermine this regime is through trade and travel,
just as we preach it will do in China, in Vietnam, and in other
areas of the world.
In
addition to restricting travel, we have had this terribly ill-considered
ban on trade. It is, in my judgment, always immoral to use food
as a weapon, and yet we have done that with Cuba. It is interesting;
the law was changed briefly, and as result of the law change I helped
engineer in the Senate, along with my former colleague who is now
Attorney General, Senator Ashcroft-I offered with Senator Ashcroft,
legislation that became law that opens just a bit the ability to
ship food to Cuba so we can sell food to Cuba. Last year, for the
first time in 42 years, 22 train carloads of dried peas left North
Dakota´s farms and elevators to be shipped to Cuba.
[Page
S9368]
Using
food as a weapon, as we have done for four decades with Cuba, does
not hurt Fidel Castro. Does anybody here think he has missed a meal
in 42 years because we have an embargo on food shipments to Cuba?
Does anybody think Fidel Castro misses breakfast, dinner, or lunch?
Absolutely not. Using food as a weapon hurts sick people, poor people,
and hungry people, and it is basically an immoral policy, in my
judgment. The issue of trade and travel is important. It is not
in any way supportive of Fidel Castro for us to say a 40-year embargo
does not work and that the same strategy we use with respect to
China and Vietnam does work, and that is engagement through trade
and travel. It undermines the ground on which dictators sit. It
undermines their capability to govern, and that is what we ought
to do.
This
afternoon, we are marking up the Agriculture appropriations bill,
and I am going to offer an amendment to that bill. We have U.S.
agricultural experts who have been denied the opportunity to go
to Cuba to sell American agricultural products. As I said, Senator
Ashcroft and I opened the door just a bit, and we have been selling
some products to Cuba. But in order to do that, Cuba has to run
the transaction through a French bank because it cannot even be
run through a U.S. financial enterprise. It makes no sense to me,
but that is the restriction.
I am
going to offer an amendment that says at least those who are moving
back and forth to sell and buy agricultural commodities ought to
be able to travel. Let's at least begin the first step dealing with
this issue of travel.
I will
end by saying again, it is illogical, in my judgment, to attempt
to injure Fidel Castro by restricting the right of the American
people to travel. Does anybody really think that at the Treasury
Department today we have these folks in gray suits and tiny little
glasses, and probably green eyeshades, pouring over all this data-what
are they looking for? Are they looking for financial information
to track terrorists to put terrorists in jail? No, that is not what
they are looking for. They are trying to find a grandmother from
Illinois who answered an ad for a bicycling trip in Cuba so they
can fine her $10,000 and attach her Social Security checks. Shame
on them. Yes, that is what the law says. Shame on us. In my judgment,
we ought to change the law. It does not make any sense.
My
hope is that perhaps with my colleague, Senator Enzi, who just left
the Chamber, and others-Republicans and Democrats-who believe the
restricting of the right of the American people to travel makes
no sense at all, my hope is that Republicans and Democrats can work
together to change this law and stop OFAC from doing what it is
now doing. It is hard to find adjectives to describe the basic stupidity
of our country chasing little old ladies who ride a bicycle in Cuba
and levying $10,000 fines on them and then saying: If you do not
pay it, we will attach your Social Security check. Why are we doing
that? Because we are saying a person cannot travel, or we are restricting
their right to travel because we want to injure Fidel Castro. The
way to injure Fidel Castro is the way we have done with China and
Vietnam, which are Communist countries, and that is engagement through
trade and travel that undermines the governments of those countries.
That is what we ought to do with Cuba.
I yield
the floor.
The
Debate over the Travel Ban to Cuba Intensifies
By Maria Pena
July 15, 2003
[Translated
from Spanish]
Washington
(EFE)-Groups in favor and against the embargo on Cuba are gearing
up for the second year in a row, as Congress prepares to vote on
travel restrictions to the Caribbean island.
Today,
while U.S. leaders in Congress, human rights and business groups
called for the lifting of travel restrictions to Cuba, three Cuban-American
congressmen denounced the efforts of "self-interested capitalists".
In
spite of the recent repression of 75 dissidents in Cuba, it is time
for a change because, "If you keep on doing what you have always
been doing then you are going to wind up getting what you have already
got," said Michael Enzi, a Republican Senator (Wyoming), during
the "Freedom to travel to Cuba" conference.
For
the democratic Senator Byron Dorgan (North Dakota), the embargo
is a "byzantine" policy that detracts resources from the
struggle against terrorists, and "the Cuban people deserve
the fresh air of freedom," which can only be achieved through
"engagement-trade and travel."
In
an EFE interview, the democratic Congressman from Massachusetts,
Bill Delahunt, urged that the anti-Castro groups must, " abandon
that anachronistic Cold War frame of mind, which is an antiquated
philosophy that does not help at all in fostering change on the
island."
The
pro and anti-embargo lobby groups actions came just before Congress
considers two bills that would eliminate restrictions on travel
to Cuba.
A congressional
source, that requested to remain anonymous, told EFE that the two
bills (H.R. 2071 and S.950) could be put to a vote at the end of
next week, "or in September, after the Congressional recess,
at the latest."
Last
year, the House passed a measure, by a margin of 262-167, in favor
of the lifting of the travel ban, but the measure did not succeed
in the Senate.
The
U.S. allows travel to Cuba only in certain cases and those who violate
these restrictions are subject to interrogation, investigation and
heavy fines.
According
to the organization Human Rights Watch, up to 60,000 Americans violated
the travel restrictions to Cuba, many of whom are now targeted by
the Treasury Department's Office of Federal Assets Control [OFAC].
Joan
Slote, a 75-year-old retired teacher, traveled to Cuba on a cycling
trip with a friend in 2000. Now Treasury is threatening to take
away her monthly social security check to pay off her $8,350 fine
and added interest bit by bit.
"They
are punishing me for telling the truth [on the Customs forms]. I
have enlisted the help of my Congressmembers but the government
insists that I pay these extremely high fines," said Slote,
whose case has captured national press attention.
A total
of 52 members of the House of Representatives-26 democrats and an
equal number of republicans-and 16 in the Senate are leading the
charge to loosen the 43-year embargo against Cuba because they consider
it a failed foreign policy tool.
"Increased
engagement with the Cuban people doesn't reward Castro but increases
the pressure that will eventually lead" to freedom, said Bill
Reinsch, persident of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC),
which is comprised of 350 private companies.
But
the three Republican congressmen of Cuban descent-Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
and the Díaz-Balart brothers, Lincoln and Mario, all of whom
are from Florida-reiterated today that all of their invective against
Castro and urged the liberation of political prisoners and free
elections in Cuba.
Those
who promoted the end of the embargo in Cuba represent "self-interested
capitalists" who repeats "rotten hypocritical lies"
that " are complacent with the oppression of the Cuban people,"
said Lincoln Diaz-Balart during a press conference.
Efforts
to open business with Cuba "only enriches a tyrannical regime
that threatens U.S. security," he added.
An
estimated 200,000 Americans traveled to the island in 2000-among
them 120,000 are Cuban-American, and if restrictions were lifted,
some 2.8 million Americans would travel to Cuba annually, according
to a report commissioned by the Center for International Policy
(CIP).
The
report, prepared by the Brattle Group, indicated that the American
economy-particularly in the tourist sector-would grow between 1.18
to 1.61 million dollars.
Woman
fights fine for trip to Cuba
Tourist on bike trip visited via Canada
San Diego Tribune
By Leonel Sanchez
July 14, 2003
A 75-year-old
San Diego woman who has been fined nearly $10,000 for violating
the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba is taking her case to Washington,
D.C.
Joan
Slote, who went to Cuba on a bicycle tour three years ago, has been
invited to speak tomorrow at a forum focusing on a U.S. travel restriction
to the communist island nation. The forum will be held in the U.S.
Senate building.
Slote
has been trying to appeal her fine with the U.S. Treasury Department
but has not been given a hearing despite repeated requests. Her
supporters are trying to arrange a hearing with the Treasury Department's
Office of Foreign Assets Control while she is in Washington.
"Joan
Slote is the most unfortunate of cases," said Anya Landau of
the Center for International Policy, one of the forum's sponsors.
"This is why the policy is really quite cruel and missing the
target."
Slote,
a retired medical worker, said she didn't seek permission to visit
Cuba because the trip's Canadian organizer told her in writing that
U.S. law didn't prohibit U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba if they
departed from Canada or Mexico.
Slote's
supporters hope to enlist the help of U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.,
who supports lifting travel restrictions to Cuba. Dorgan is scheduled
to speak at the same forum as Slote.
A spokesman
for Dorgan said the Treasury Department should have more important
things to do than to go after Slote.
"This
is an absurd use of resources by the Department of Treasury,"
Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said. "At a time when they should
be tracking terrorist funding and the movement of terrorists around
the world, they are spending resources tracking little old ladies
riding bicycles in Cuba."
Even
staunch supporters of the travel ban say Slote is the wrong target.
"There's
exceptions in every case," said Joe Garcia, executive director
of the Cuban American National Foundation.
"There's
nothing absurd about the United States trying to curtail travel
to an immoral regime." But cracking down on seniors such as
Slote suggests that "the law is absurd," Garcia said.
Garcia
said the U.S. government should go after Americans who deliberately
circumvent the travel ban to Cuba by departing from other countries
and going there for pleasure.
About
200,000 Americans visit Cuba annually, most under special exception
licenses for people with relatives in Cuba, U.S. government officials,
professionals and others. Tourism isn't licensed, and as many as
60,000 people make the trip without permission. Most escape punishment,
although the number of fines more than tripled to 700 during the
first year of the Bush administration.
Slote,
who has traveled to more than 20 countries on bicycle tours, said
she assumed the tour company was correct when it said she didn't
need permission to visit Cuba if she began the trip in Canada. She
and a friend flew to Toronto and then to Cuba. On their return to
San Diego, a customs inspector at the airport asked if she had been
to a country other than Canada. Slote told the truth and was reported
to the Treasury Department.
She
was fined $7,600 for spending $38 U.S. dollars in Cuba - $18 in
souvenirs and $20 in airport tax. The total since has risen to $9,871.75
because of penalties imposed in the 11/2 years she has been disputing
the fine. The government has told Slote repeatedly that if she doesn't
pay, it could deduct the money from her Social Security checks.
Slote
didn't seek a hearing within the prescribed time because she was
away from her home and didn't receive the government's letters in
time to appeal. Part of the time she was in the San Francisco Bay
Area caring for her son, who had terminal cancer. He since has died.
When
Slote called the Office of Foreign Assets Control last week to check
on her case, she was told it had been closed and she must pay the
full amount. Her attorney, Thomas Miller, said he hasn't received
anything in writing and is pushing for a hearing. He has proposed
on her behalf that she pay a reduced fine of $1,000.
Treasury
Department spokesman Taylor Griffin said he would look into Slote's
case.
"From
the beginning it (the Bush administration) has been committed to
full and fair enforcement of the U.S. sanction program against Fidel
Castro's Cuba," Griffin said.
Slote
said she won't be left poor if she has to pay the full fine but
she would prefer to leave the money to her grandchildren or a charity
rather than the U.S. government.
Although
she has never considered herself a political activist, Slote believes
she is caught up in the politics of U.S.-Cuban relations.
She
said she had more control over her life when she decided to have
a mastectomy several years ago.
"Once
I had a suspicion that I had breast cancer, I did the exam and made
the decision. I had some control over it," she said. "But
with this I can't get anything done. It's just gone on and on for
three years. All I was interested in was biking."
Pirates of the Caribbean
The
Nation [online]
July 14, 2003
Seven
years ago, a Michigan couple, Kip and Patrick Taylor, sailed to
Cuba. They knew that spending dollars there -- unlike, say, in Stalinist
North Korea -- is forbidden by a tired, politics-driven US embargo.
The law is the law, so like dutiful Americans they stocked up on
provisions and spent no money. As they sailed home, however, lightning
struck their boat and destroyed the mast. The Cuban Coast Guard
rescued them.
Enter,
again, the US government: It forbade them to repair the boat --
can't spend any money in Cuba! -- and told them to abandon it, and
their two dogs, and go home by plane. After weeks of negotiations,
the Taylors nevertheless fixed their boat and sailed home. Questioned
upon arrival, they admitted freely to what they'd done. According
to their lawyers -- the New York-based Center for Constitutional
Rights -- after they had disclosed they'd given a band-aid to a
local cook who had burned his finger, the Taylors were charged with
providing "nursing services to a Cuban national". For
their many crimes, they were fined $2,000 each by an obscure government
agency, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC).
You
may remember OFAC from reports in April of its laughably tiny fines
against US corporations found guilty of trading with the enemy.
But while big business gets the kinder-gentler treatment for its
sins, private citizens aren't so lucky, and the Bush Administration
is ramping up enforcement of the ridiculous Cuban travel ban.
Alicia
Shepard, writing in The Washington Post, lays out the whole sad
story. She'll tell you about people like Joan Slote, an adventure
bicyclist who toured Cuba in the Clinton era and got written up
for buying $18 worth of souvenirs there for her grandkids.
Slote
was verbally rebuked back then, but 16 months later, she was targeted
as part of the Bush Administration's decision to get tough on the
embargo. Today because of those souvenirs she faces a bill for nearly
$9,000 in fines and interest.
The
government says her case is not negotiable -- OFAC only settles
with Citigroup, not with citizens -- and they're threatening to
garnish her $1,184 monthly Social Security checks. Compassionate
conservatism in action?
A
Crackdown Leading Nowhere
More Fines, Arbitrary Enforcement. When Will We Wise Up About Travel
to Cuba?
The Washington Post
By
Alicia C. Shepard
Sunday, July 13, 2003; Page B01
Walk
into a travel agency and you can book a trip to communist China
or North Korea. But not to Cuba. After 40 years, the U.S. government
still bans travel to Castro Country, although thousands of Americans
have gone there anyway, aware that enforcement had become lax. Until
George W. Bush hit town, that is.
Since
Bush took office, some 1,226 Americans have received letters from
the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
threatening fines of up to the maximum of $55,000 for violating
the travel ban by spending money in Cuba without a license. (The
average fine is $7,500.) That's more than double the total during
Bill Clinton's entire last term. Scores of others are being investigated.
But
it's still a hit-or-miss proposition as to who gets pursued. Those
most at risk are the ones who tell the truth about where they've
been. In effect, the government's policy invites deceit.
To
make matters worse, legal travel to Cuba just got harder. In March,
the Bush administration ended the popular "people to people"
educational licenses that allowed Americans to legally explore the
crocodile-shaped island's fascinating culture. Officials said the
program was being abused to sponsor "fun in the sun" beach
tours that put money into Castro's coffers. Now, only for-credit
study tours can get a green light.
At
the Center for Constitutional Rights, a public-interest law group
in New York, staff attorney Nancy Chang has seen a "dramatic"
surge in Americans targeted upon their return from Cuba. "We've
been overwhelmed with their requests for assistance," she says.
The center is currently handling 300 cases.
What's
behind the tougher posture? "This is the law," explained
Tony Fratto, a Treasury spokesman. "When President Bush came
in, we looked at the statute and it was our determination to strictly
enforce the statute.
"It
may be the law, but those who favor lifting the embargo suspect
the administration's actions have more to do with Campaign 2004
than with containing Castro. To win a second term, Bush must carry
Florida. And that means wooing Miami's powerful (and conservative)
Cuban American community. "The crackdown is simply political,"
contends Sandra Levinson, executive director of the Center for Cuban
Studies, a Manhattan-based nonprofit educational organization.
But
Bush may be responding to an "outmoded voting block,"
Levinson cautions. Recent polls suggest that Florida's Cuban Americans
are less enamored of embargos and pressure tactics than their anti-Castro
elders. "A significant number of Cuban Americans have clearly
decided that ousting the dictator is not as realistic as dialogue
with a democratic purpose," pollster Rob Schroth told the Miami
Herald in February.
A growing
chorus in Congress also supports a policy shift -- Castro's continued
human-rights abuses, including the recent jailing of 78 Cuban dissidents,
notwithstanding. This spring the Senate formed a bipartisan, 16-senator
Cuba Working Group dedicated to easing the embargo. The bipartisan
House Cuba Working Group already has 52 members. Meanwhile, Rep.
Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who favors abolishing travel licenses and
letting Americans see the realities of Castro's Cuba firsthand,
intends to reintroduce an amendment this month forbidding OFAC to
spend money enforcing the Cuba travel ban. (His bill has passed
in the House twice, only to die in the Senate.) "We argue that
trade, commerce and contact will help the people in China, North
Korea, Vietnam," said Flake in an interview. "But in Cuba
we say, not so fast. It simply makes no sense."
For
now, with a few exceptions for humanitarian, academic or journalistic
visits, Americans need a license to tour Cuba. So they cheat, traveling
to Havana via Mexico or other countries on prepaid package tours,
their passports bereft of Cuban stamps.
Last
year, some 160,000 Americans had approval to visit Cuba. As many
as 60,000 others went illegally. Most never get caught, and even
fewer are pursued. Among this unlucky bunch is retired teacher Joan
Slote. Her case is one of those taken up since Bush took office,
though her trip occurred at the end of the Clinton administration.
It not only illustrates how arbitrarily the travel ban is enforced,
but how absurdly easy it is to duck the penalties if you are caught.
Slote,
a San Diego grandmother of six, never sought to deceive the government.
At 75, she has pedaled through 21 countries and still bikes more
than 100 miles a week. An ad in a Toronto-based adventure catalogue
for a Cuba bike trip intrigued her. It said -- incorrectly -- that
U.S. law does not bar citizens from visiting Cuba as long as they
fly there through Canada.
"It
never occurred to me to question what I read," says Slote.
"I'm a middle-of-the-road person politically. I just wasn't
that politically savvy to know that Cuba could be a big problem."
Three years later, her dream trip has turned into a legal nightmare,
with the government threatening to garnish her $1,184 monthly Social
Security check to cover close to $9,000 in penalties and interest.
Slote's
odyssey began in January 2000, when she and a friend's daughter,
Amy Olsen, flew through Toronto to Havana. There they picked up
bicycles. They were the only Americans in their group. "I remember
our bike leader saying, 'You really shouldn't buy anything,' "
recalls Slote. "So we were careful not to buy cigars or rum."
That was the first Slote knew the travel ban included greenbacks.
After
a delightful week, where a Cuban teen marveled at the septuagenarian's
muscular arms, the pair flew home via Toronto. They filled out standard
customs forms, which ask -- under penalty of perjury -- what countries
were visited. Olsen suggested not mentioning Cuba. But Slote urged
honesty. Today, Slote wishes she had lied.
At
U.S. Customs, the two women were pulled aside. "As soon as
we said 'Cuba' -- zoom. Amy went into one room and I into another,"
recalls Slote. The female Customs agent who searched Slote's suitcase
found $18 worth of trinkets: souvenirs for the grandkids. The agent
told Slote she had broken the law, and could be fined $55,000. The
pair heard nothing more for 16 months.
In
May 2001, Slote was cycling in Italy when a certified Treasury Department
letter arrived for her in San Diego. She didn't know of the letter,
however, for several weeks. While still overseas, she found out
that her oldest son, Jack, had been diagnosed with brain cancer
and needed surgery. Slote dashed home, quickly unpacked, repacked
and flew to his bedside in northern California. She never saw the
two notifications telling her that the certified letter awaited
her at the post office.
When
Slote finally got to the post office, it was too late. "They
had no record of it," she says. It wasn't until later, when
she reconstructed the paper trail and learned that her biking companion
had also heard from Treasury, that she realized that their Cuban
adventure had attracted OFAC's attention.
"I
suppose at the time I should have gotten in touch with Treasury,"
says Slote, "but frankly, my son was dying and that was all
that mattered." (He passed away the following February.) Since
Slote did not answer the letter within the prescribed 30 days, OFAC
automatically fined her $7,630. Her friend Olsen, however, had asked
for a hearing within the time limit. That put the brakes on OFAC's
attempt to fine her.
Nowhere
is the travel ban more perplexing than in this 1992 "right
to a hearing" provision. It basically allows those accused
of violating the embargo a way to protest the charges. But the law
practically guarantees that anyone can beat the penalties simply
by requesting a hearing. Why? Because there's no judge to hear their
cases.
In
the 11 years since the Cuban Democracy Act gave citizens the right
to due process, OFAC has not hired one administrative law judge
or held a single hearing. As a result, many violators wind up in
limbo -- if they ask for a hearing within the prescribed time. Today,
according to OFAC, some 450 Americans await hearings, taking full,
legal advantage of a federal Catch-22 that allows them to duck thousands
of dollars in fines.
Even
supporters of the embargo bemoan its capricious enforcement. "It
purposely is arbitrary," says Joe Garcia, executive director
of the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation. "Mike
Tyson can go down there and tear up a hotel and nothing happens.
Yet a grandmother goes there on a bike trip and gets a $10,000 fine.
You are telling me that's fair?"
The
Bush crackdown only adds to the number of people caught in a hearing
process that's been dysfunctional for a decade. Ben Treuhaft, a
New York piano tuner and son of author Jessica Mitford, may hold
the record for waiting: seven years. In 1996, OFAC hit him with
a $10,000 fine for "donating thousands of dollars of piano
supplies to Cuba's National Museum of Music and tuning Cuban pianos
for one dollar.
"Scott
Shaw of Alexandria isn't complaining. He requested a hearing three
years ago and, as a result, hasn't had to cough up the $10,000 in
penalties that the government says he owes. Shaw's Cuban misadventure
is more mundane than Slote's. He and his sister, who asked that
her name not be used to avoid further trouble, planned a Cuba trip
through a Nassau travel agency in 1998. Shortly before departing,
OFAC warned they'd be prosecuted. They didn't go. But the letter
also asked if either had ever been to Cuba. Shaw had been twice
before. His sister once. "Unfortunately, our very expensive
law firm recommended that we do full disclosure," says Shaw's
sister. "So the government penalized us. This played out over
years.
"Four
to be exact. On March 17, 2000 -- nearly two years after the first
letter -- each Shaw received a pre-penalty notice, based on information
they'd supplied. When I asked Scott Shaw why he'd been so candid,
he said: "The cover-up is always worse than the crime. Ask
Richard Nixon.
"The
Shaws sought new legal counsel. Before the Bush crackdown, the New
York-based Center for Constitutional Rights easily handled requests
for legal assistance. But by June 2001, its caseload topped 400,
and it had to turn people away.
So
the Shaws found Tom Miller of Oakland, Calif., through the newly
formed "Wall of Lawyers," a group of attorneys assembled
to handle the overflow. In some cases, the lawyers advise settling
with OFAC. That is what Scott Shaw's sister did to get out of limbo.
In April 2002, after four years of fighting, she paid a $1,000 fine.
"Given a chance to be taken off their list, it was fine with
me," she says. "I'd already spent $4,000 or $5,000 on
a Washington law firm. I think the government has better things
to do than prosecute people like me."
Her
brother felt differently. "I asked for a hearing because I
didn't feel like paying $10,000," says Scott Shaw. "Do
I agree with the law, no? I'm not saying I didn't break it. But
this is a way to avoid paying." His lawyer thinks the chances
of appearing before a judge are slim.
According
to OFAC, two judges are expected to be hired and hearing cases by
the end of the year. But that's no help to Joan Slote. She has phoned
the Treasury, her congresswoman and senators. But OFAC said she's
missed her chance to request a hearing. Last August, weary of battling,
Slote offered $1,000 to settle. OFAC's response came April 5: No
deal. The government wants the full amount, plus interest, for a
total fine of $8,356.71.
Last
week, Slote called OFAC again. She was told her case was closed,
and to arrange a payment schedule. Meanwhile, Cuba still beckons
tourists -- and Castro remains in clover.
Author's
e-mail: lshepard27@comcast.net Alicia Shepard, a journalist who
writes frequently about the media, traveled legally to Cuba in January
on a pre-arranged humanitarian tour. ©
2003
The Washington Post Company
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