Don’t the Cuban People Have it Tough Enough?
Rumor has it that those who have long supported the policy of isolation over engagement are pushing the Trump Administration to impose new restrictions on American citizens who travel to Cuba. For the sake of the Cuban people, whose everyday struggle under a communist government is difficult enough without the U.S. government pulling the rug out from under their livelihoods, I sincerely hope that these rumors aren’t true.
Several years ago, around the same time as the last Administration was allowing increased American travel and remittances to the island, the Cuban government came to the realization that it could no longer afford to employ every Cuban, even at $20 a month. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans were allowed to find their own work in the private sector as taxi drivers, barbers, auto mechanics, restaurant owners, bed & breakfast hosts and myriad other jobs that were now possible as a consequence of increased American travel to Cuba.
Today, just a few years later, more than a quarter of the Cuban workforce is employed in the private sector. Those fortunate enough to have such jobs have a degree of economic and personal freedom that would not have been possible had the United States government continued more restrictive travel polices for Americans, because visitors from around the world fuel much of the demand for their goods and services.
Do we really want to turn back the clock?
One of the more absurd rumors floating out there is that we plan to soften the blow for Cubans whose jobs rely on American travel by having the U.S. Government agencies offer courses and advice on entrepreneurship. Those who visit Cuba understand that Cubans who have survived for decades on $20 per month don’t need classes on entrepreneurship — they need customers!
As the new Administration considers the reimposition of travel restrictions, particularly revoking the general license for individual travelers, they might also want to keep in mind that the office charged with enforcing new travel prohibitions is the Office of Foreign Assets Control at Treasury, the same office that is charged with enforcing existing (and new) sanctions on Iran, existing (and new) sanctions on North Korea, and existing (and new) sanctions on Russia. Is targeting Americans traveling to Cuba really a priority?
Those in the new Administration charged with ensuring our national security might want to consider if we really want to have our government agencies spending more time, effort and scarce resources tracking down Americans who might stay at the wrong hotel, visit a beach frequented by tourists, or otherwise fail to stick to their approved Cuban itinerary. Do we really want OFAC personnel (again) trolling Canadian airports looking for Americans with suntans who might have slipped the net by traveling to Cuba through a third country?
Sound crazy? Not to Joan Slote of San Diego, who traveled to Cuba in 2000 at age 72 with a Canadian company that organized cycling tours. She was initially fined $7,600 upon returning to the United States and subsequent fees brought the penalty to nearly $10,000.
Consider the case of Cevin Allen of Sammamish, Washington, who spent part of his childhood in Cuba where he parents were missionaries and built an Assembly of God church in the town of Contramaestre in southeastern Cuba. His parents died in 1987 in a house fire. Ten years later, Allen traveled to Cuba to scatter their ashes at the church and to present their Bible, which they had brought with them from Cuba, to the church’s pastor. Cevin returned to the United States via Nassau, Bahamas, where he told U.S. agents that he had been in Cuba and the reasons for his travel. His initial fine was $7,500.
Maybe these rumors of the pro-embargo crowd pushing the Trump Administration to impose additional restrictions on the travel of American citizens are just that; rumors.
Let’s hope so.
