IS
IT ILLEGAL TRAVEL TO CUBA?
(excerpt from
Stan Cohen's comments on www.jewishcuba.org/bnaibrith)
I
also have many people who contact me about traveling to
Cuba. My first question to them is: are you traveling legally
or illegally?
The
U.S. government is cracking down on people who visit Cuba
without a U.S. Treasury Department license. (A visa from
Cuba is not a license). The February 12 edition of USA Today
ran an article confirming this. The fine is a minimum of
$7500. In addition, your name is added to a computerized
database and will pop up anytime you travel abroad.
Part
of this extra effort is a result of the September 11 attacks.
I
have also spoken with a representative of the Canadian government.
He advised me that they now turn over to the U.S. passenger
manifests on all flights between Canada and the U.S., complete
with each person's final destination. This arrangement now
exists with most countries that have relations with the
United States.
Bear
in mind, that the government does not always stop you when
you are going into the U.S. In many cases, you will not
receive a notice until a year later. Violating this law
can be very expensive and serious. There are even lawyers
who specialize in defending such violators.
Make
certain that you only travel to Cuba with an organization
that is duly licensed.
