A casual trip by two celebrities to a foreign land has single-handedly awakened a 50-year-old sleeping giant.
Cuba is an exotic island surrounded by a pulsating culture, an exhilarating lifestyle and pure vintage charm. It’s no wonder musical sensations Jay-Z and Beyoncé chose this island to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.
However, unlike the islands of The Bahamas or St. Bart’s, visiting Cuba is probably one of the most controversial high-profile moves the two superstars could have made.
Why the tension between the U.S. and Cuba?
To understand why this innocuous visit has snowballed into front-page news, one must understand the politically-charged relationship between the Cuban and U.S. governments. To this day, U.S. citizens are not allowed to travel to Cuba for solely tourism purposes; that includes leisure trips that include spending any money.
Since 1960, soon after Fidel Castro came into power, harsh travel laws were implemented on U.S. citizens who wished to travel to the communist island. These restrictions included tourism, economic, trade, financial and commercial sanctions. These restrictions were set in place because the Cuban government repudiated a move towards democracy for its people and a respect for human rights.
Who can go to Cuba
According to the U.S. Department of State, the regulations “require that persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction be licensed in order to engage in any travel-related transactions pursuant to travel to, from, and within Cuba, or that the transactions in question be exempt from licensing requirements. Transactions related to tourist travel are not licensable. This restriction includes tourist travel to Cuba from or through a third country such as Mexico or Canada. U.S. law enforcement authorities enforce these regulations at U.S. airports and pre-clearance facilities in third countries. Travelers who fail to comply with Department of the Treasury regulations could face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States.”
Although the restrictions to travel to Cuba are quite stringent, there have been limited travel rights granted for journalistic related trips, academic, religious and cultural exchange journeys, also known as people-to-people trips. These licenses to engage in cultural travel to Cuba were created under Clinton administration back in 1999. The issuance of these licenses ended in 2003 under the travel restrictions executed by the Bush administration.
These cultural trips were later re-established by the current administration in 2012 in an attempt to encourage more contact between Americans and citizens of Cuba. There are U.S. citizens that often find loopholes around these enforceable regulations by entering Cuba from other islands such as the Cayman Islands, Cancun, Nassau and even the Bahamas. However, there are severe fines and penalties if violators are caught.
How to get to Cuba…legally
According to Cubalinda, there are legal steps that can be taken to visit the island if you obtain a certain license to visit. A general license doesn’t necessarily require paperwork. Those who qualify for a general license to Cuba include professional journalists on assignment in Cuba, professionals conducting academic research and government officials. However, a specific license, which we now know Jay-Z and Beyoncé obtained through the proper channels, requires paperwork from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and an official approval by the State Department. Once a specific license is obtained, you must:
1. Ask for a Cuban visa at the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, D.C.
2. Reach out to travel operators that specialize in the people-to-people cultural trips to finalize plan and itineraries.
When Tom Popper, founder of tourist operator Insight Cuba, first heard the story of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s visit to Cuba, his first question was “WOW, I wonder how they got there?”
He later realized that they visited some of the similar places his tour operating company visits when they conduct their legal people to people culture tours to Cuba.
“I think the fact that [Jay-Z and Beyoncé] have elevated the discussion regarding travel to Cuba and that these trips exist and are legal is a great thing. We’ve been isolated from the Cuba for 50 years; an entire generation,” Popper stated.
The Cuban-American perspective
Cuban native and prominent Florida attorney Ralph Fernandez is deeply troubled by the discussion of lifting any sanctions for any purposes for Cuba.
“Cuba still poses a significant and present danger to the security of the United States. It is disappointing that there is a discussion of aggregating the embargo and even removing the restrictions on the Travel Act. If we are going to undo the restrictions on the Travel Act, then we need to revisit things like the Wet Foot–Dry Foot policy which entitles Cuba to preferential treatment over people from Haiti and other places,” Fernandez concluded.
If there is one thing that came from this momentous visit, it’s a dialogue about the future of U.S. and Cuban government policies and relations. The discussions will continue and the investigations on the intentions of the visit will soon be uncovered
Wanjira Banfield writes about travel and entertainment for theGrio. You can find her at www.wanjirasworld.com and follow her on Twitter @wanjirasworld.