# Why can't US tourists visit Cuba?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [February 10, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443 "2012-02-10T19:01:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/81 "2012-02-19T23:40:27Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> Especially when the alternative is that you do it slowly enough that no one cares. That’s the problem I see with **Dr. Drake** ’s questions. The choice isn’t just between doing all at once and not doing it all. There’s also the option to slowly erode the blockade, and that’s what is happening.
>
> There’s no pressing need to end the embargo _right now_.
Why not end it right now? It isn’t actually accomplishing anything other than making it impossible for me to enjoy tourism in Cuba, though I suppose that I could try to get a MAC flight to Gitmo using my Navy ID to get there.
Look - I can go to mainland China, North Korea [if I could talk them into giving me a visa which I understand is difficult] and I could be like one of those backpacking morons and wander into a war zone, but I can’t go to an island 90 miles from Florida because some expats have their ancient panties in a bunch over shit that happened 50 years ago? WTF dude.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/82 "2012-02-20T15:34:15Z")
> [@aruvqan](#):
>
> Why not end it right now? It isn’t actually accomplishing anything…
Because there is no benefit to _any_ politician to push the point. The Cuban expats care, so their congressclowns care, because it can make or break them in the next election. Every other congressclown in the country has nothing at all to gain, vote-wise, in pushing the issue. Their constituents who want the embargo\* ended (like me) don’t want it badly enough for it to be a campaign issue, and most of their constituents don’t even give a shit at all. So there is no upside to them pushing for ending it. No votes to be had.
But if there’s no downside, vote-wise, why not try? Because there _is_ a downside. It requires they do some wheeling-and-dealing in congress to do so. That will invariably mean they wind up owing political favors to other congressclowns. Payback may well involve having to support an issue some time in the future that _will_ cost them votes. And they will have wasted that political capital on an issue their constituents didn’t give a shit about.
Except for people running for election in Florida or for President, there’s no political benefit, and major potential for political harm for even touching the issue. So why touch it?
\*Note for others in the thread who have been misusing the term “Blockade”: It’s an Embargo, _not_ a Blockade. Two entirely different things. There hasn’t been a blockade of Cuba since before I was born. Look them up on Wiki if you want to know the difference, but even if you don’t, _please_ stop using the wrong term. A blockade is just short of an actual act of war.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/83 "2012-02-20T19:01:48Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> There’s also the option to slowly erode the blockade, and that’s what is happening.
There is no blockade of Cuba. A blockade would mean that our navy was intercepting ships bound for Cuba, and sending them back. A blockade is an act of war.
We have an embargo of Cuba, which is a different thing. US citizens and corporations aren’t allowed to purchase Cuban goods and services. This is an embargo.
However, we don’t attempt to stop Cuba from selling goods and services to Canadians. That would be a blockade.
As for the notion that the second we lifted the embargo American firms would stampede into Cuba and “ruin” it, well, Cuba is open to firms from around the world. Canadian and Mexican and German companies are free to open businesses in Cuba, so why haven’t the Europeans and Canadians ruined Cuba? The answer of course is that it isn’t just the embargo that prevents firms from operating in Cuba, it is also the Cuban government.
And the Cuban government doesn’t allow foreign firms to operate in Cuba unless the Cuban government is a 51% partner.
Another misconception is that Cubans keep old American cars from the 50s because, due to the embargo, they can’t get new cars. Well, they can’t get new cars but not because of the embargo. They could buy cars from Japan or Europe or Mexico, after all, it would just be American cars they couldn’t buy. The real reason there are cars from the 50s is that the Cuban government doesn’t allow private citizens to buy cars. If you already have a private car you’re allowed to keep it, but you can’t buy one. And so, families that owned private cars before the revolution have to keep their 50 year old vehiciles running somehow, because if it breaks down completely the government won’t allow them to get another one.
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### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/84 "2012-02-20T19:06:40Z")
I would think that other Latin Caribbean destinations might be a little unhappy at potentially losing US tourist dollars to Cuba. If Americans could go to Cuba again, how many Americans will decide to go there instead of, say, Puerto Rico?
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### Author:  [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/85 "2012-02-21T00:22:14Z")
It would depend on what they had to offer to American tourists as to how many potential dollars they would get. The thing is, it’s not a fixed pie of US dollars, so just because someone might decide to go to Cuba instead of Honduras, doesn’t mean that some other American might not decide to go to Honduras for the first time…or, maybe folks would go to Cuba for the first time, and wouldn’t have ever gone to Puerto Rico regardless. I don’t think it would be a problem.
-XT
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/86 "2012-02-21T00:39:32Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> There is no blockade of Cuba. A blockade would mean that our navy was intercepting ships bound for Cuba, and sending them back. A blockade is an act of war.
>
> We have an embargo of Cuba, which is a different thing. US citizens and corporations aren’t allowed to purchase Cuban goods and services. This is an embargo.
>
> However, we don’t attempt to stop Cuba from selling goods and services to Canadians. That would be a blockade.
We **did** blockade Cuba once, but that was during the Missile Crisis.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/87 "2012-02-21T00:41:18Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#):
>
> I would think that other Latin Caribbean destinations might be a little unhappy at potentially losing US tourist dollars to Cuba. If Americans could go to Cuba again, how many Americans will decide to go there instead of, say, Puerto Rico?
Then I guess they’ll just have to compete on the basis of which island offers higher-quality and/or more reasonably priced prostitution. Let the Whore Wars begin! 🆒
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### Author:  [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/88 "2012-02-21T02:21:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Then I guess they’ll just have to compete on the basis of which island offers higher-quality and/or more reasonably priced prostitution. Let the Whore Wars begin! 🆒
I don’t know why, but I thought of [this skit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJNsZgHCVKU#t=0m44s).
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### Author:  [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/89 "2012-02-26T11:17:21Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#):
>
> Drake said something insightful. You said something idiotic. Thinking that there is any need for a “good reply” is similarly idiotic.
\*\*Drake’s \*\*reply wasn’t insightful, it was horseshit. He said that any significant minority in FL could hold national policy hostage.
I’ll leave it to everybody else to pick the nits on that statement.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/90 "2012-02-26T16:10:48Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#):
>
> \*\*Drake’s \*\*reply wasn’t insightful, it was horseshit. He said that any significant minority in FL could hold national policy hostage.
>
> I’ll leave it to everybody else to pick the nits on that statement.
It may have been horseshit, but it wasn’t from my horse. I was trying to understand **Lemur866** ’s point about the Cubans being a swing bloc. If I misunderstood what a swing bloc is and does, please correct me, especially since nobody else in this thread had anything to say about it.
And you pick flies from horseshit, not nits.
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### Author:  [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/91 "2012-02-28T23:44:35Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> It may have been horseshit, but it wasn’t from my horse. I was trying to understand **Lemur866** ’s point about the Cubans being a swing bloc. If I misunderstood what a swing bloc is and does, please correct me, especially since nobody else in this thread had anything to say about it.
>
> And you pick flies from horseshit, not nits.
**Dr. Drake,** I wish to apologize for saying that about your post. It was as rude as can be, and I had no right to use it about your comment. My only excuse is my stupidity and rudeness, and I hope you can overlook both.
hh
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [February 29, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-us-tourists-visit-cuba/612443/92 "2012-02-29T23:18:40Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#):
>
> **Dr. Drake,** I wish to apologize for saying that about your post. It was as rude as can be, and I had no right to use it about your comment. My only excuse is my stupidity and rudeness, and I hope you can overlook both.
> hh
No worries at all—it’s just a message board, and I _am_ embarassingly prone to posting stupid things. I am usually grateful to be called on them.
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