(Rumor has it…)
An article stating that the US Congress would approve a general license that would allow US citizens to travel to Cuba, which, in the opinion of experts, would be imminent, brought about a strong rumor implying the lifting of travelling restrictions imposed by the US Treasury.
The said travelling restrictions is one of the scarce vestiges of the still existing cold war and one of the most criticized given the violation of the ¨alleged¨ freedom of movement stated in the US Constitution.
The article didn’t comment on the implementation of this decision or its time schedule orits procedures. It didn’t take into consideration that even if the Congress, the State Department or the President approved it, there would still be some loose ends that would hinder its immediate coming into force.
The first restrictions were implemented in 1963 when President Kennedy included Cuba in the known Trading with the Enemy Act, from 1914. Successively, as part of a deliberate strategy, the US government added other restrictions in an attempt to favor the economic debilitation of the Cuban people. This prohibition is part of the so-called six statutes that make up the US blockade against Cuba.
Nowadays, any citizen that wishes to travel to Cuba –whether as researcher, academician, in cultural or religious trips, etc. – must request the US Treasury a specific license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and notify the length of their trip, their itinerary and their reasons for travelling. Travellers are allowed to spend USD 187.00 per day and will be able to import goods from Cuba that do not exceed USD 100.00.
Even with these limitations, in 2004, 92 348 US citizens visited Cuba, turning the US into the seventh issuing nation of travellers to the island in the world.
Obama’s administration has made that granting of licenses more flexible, though, as his contradictory policy towards Cuba shows, in May 2012 he announced through the State Department that OFAC would make travellers adjust to the licenses granted under the threat of fines of up to USD 65.000.00. OFAC warned that the granting of license could not be taken as a cover up for ¨tourism¨ in Cuba.
In the hypothetic case that the restrictions are lifted, it is necessary to keep in mind that the inclusion of Cuba the List of nations sponsoring terrorism make the country one of the few states the US States Department recommends its citizens NOT to travel to. Even at their return, travellers could be subjected to additional scrutiny under the presumable suspicion of ¨cooperation with the enemy¨ or the simple probability of attack by a ¨terrorist nation¨.
Similarly, the Cuban Democracy Act and the Helms-Burton Act explicitly prohibit commercial transactions with Cuba; therefore, US travellers won’t be able to use their credit cards, perform commercial transactions or spend more of the amount established and that exclusively covers daily expenses. Tourist won’t be able to import Cuban goods such as drinks, liquors or tobacco products and Cuban and US airlines won’t be allowed either to make direct flights between the two countries or to establish commercial offices in them.
In any case, if the rumor would have been true, potential US visitors wouldn’t have been able to travel as they cannot get the required visa to travel to the island.
The Cuban Interest Section in Washington has suspended consular services given that no US bank is willing to accept payments from the Cuban section, presumably due to obstacles that presuppose having as client a ¨sponsor of terrorism¨ subjected to special regulations by the US Treasury.
The lifting of these restrictions can be a good will act or a strategy for future changes. The total implementation of this measure demands Obama’s administration to abolish other laws and regulations. If Obama really abolishes this absurd prohibition, he would be demonstrating a political will of rapprochement to the island and would set a precedent that would forcibly open the door for more drastic and definitive changes.
Politicians, sometimes, in order to achieve a goal have to circle the target. The legal framework of prohibitions and coercive measures against Cuba is so complex that for a new measure to be implemented it is not only necessary to abolish the law in question, but also the ones that back it up.The perfect thing would be the lifting of the entire unjust blockade as has been described by the international community and every world organization.
In the US-Cuba scenario it would be more convenient and praiseworthy to think of a general license that allows US citizens to travel to Cuba, even with the restrictions on expenses and imports, than the total lifting of the current prohibition. Nonetheless, popular wisdom is rarely mistaken in contrast with the analysis made by academicians so ¨rumor has it …¨
Author
Jorge de Armas
