A friend of mine and I would like to go to Cuba. We’re American, so we’re not allowed to spend money there. However, we both have girlfriends who are from other countries (Taiwan and Argentina), so if we just gave our girlfriends money before we left and let them spend all of the money while we’re there would we be okay as far as the law’s concerned?
Just curious.
That’s a really good question. It seems that technically, yes, it would be legal as long as they do all the spending. And if you go to La Habana, make sure your friends have enough to get you into a nightclub or two. It will cost you about the same as the U.S. ($20), but will be worth every cent if you get to see Bambaleo, Paulito, or some other great act. Include the taxi fare. And–while it’s not necerssary to say this–have fun!
According to the State Department’s Travel website for Cuba:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html
A ticket to Cuba counts as a transaction. Usually they don’t care if you buy or pay for anything while you’re there, they just look at your passport and see if it’s been stamped by Cuban immigration officials. There haven’t been too many prosecutions of American citizens for going to Cuba without the special Dept. of Treasury license (as described on the website), but if you can avoid getting your passport stamped somehow, you’ll be better off.
You can go to Cuba. Just go to some country that allows travel to Cuba, like Canada. Then take a flight to Cuba. I understand that the immigration officials in Cuba won’t stamp U.S. passports so you won’t get into trouble when you go back to the states. There’s no embargo from the Cubans.
I think every damn American that can should go to Cuba just to piss off the Govt. I’d like to see what would happen if a million Americans went to Cuba.
It’s just a completely asinine pissing contest. It’s also unbecoming to have been kissing arch-conservative Cuban-Americans asses on this matter for so long on this as well.
what mike1dog said…fly there from Canada or Mexico and keep your mouth shut and you will likely be fine.
Perhaps this is getting into legal/illegal territory, but it’s also a political statement. I think every damn American that can should go to Cuba just to piss off the Govt. I’d like to see what would happen if a million Americans went to Cuba.
It’s just a completely asinine pissing contest. It’s also unbecoming to have been kissing arch-conservative Cuban-Americans asses on this matter for so long. I don’t like Castro, either, FWIW. But it’s not like you’re supporting the Bush administration by going to Disneyland, either.
Sorry for the double post…I was just trying to edit and I thought I caught it in time. In fact, I had gone back in my browser and refreshed the page and my first post didn’t show up. Users ought to be able to delete double posts.
I have travelled to Cuba 5 times thru Mexico and Canada. Cuba is a beautiful country full of intelligent , charming people. Just asked for your passport to not be stamped. Cuba is in a kind of a time warp now that I believe will not still be there when it is finally open to America. I would recommend that you visit it now before it becomes nothing but a tourist trap for Americans.
Well, if you can deal with the moral issues, fine. I found the ban on US credit cards and traveler’s checks to really cramp my planning. Amazing how awkward that makes things.
Yes, American credit cards and travellers checks are useless in Cuba, you need to bring cash. I was able to use American dollars everywhere in Cuba, you will need to bring plenty of 20’s, as larger bills may not be accepted because some businesses do not have enough change.
As said above, Cuban immigration officials routinely avoid stamping US passports. When you come back to the States, just keep mum and for the love of God don’t put down Cuba in the list of countries you visited on your customs form!
As for pissing off the government, why? It’s not even a partisan issue; both parties have maintained this policy, and it’s for the good of the hemisphere. What the difference between a million Americans flooding Cuba with money and a million Americans flooding North Korea with money? They’re both beautiful places with lovely people and you’d probably have a good time at both places.
Now I’m not saying don’t go to Cuba – I have no qualms about doing so myself, but a political movement to embarrass our country is just an asinine idea, especially considering that Cuba doesn’t really need our money. There’s plenty of tourism from other countries without silly policies (see, I do think the policy is silly!).
I realize that the rules regarding Americans in Cubs has probably lost its usefulness but it is ILLEGAL as it stands.
The moderators lose their collective minds if someone posts links to sites allowing purchases of absinthe (also illegal) , therefore I’d like to know why that “rule” against discussing illegal activities doesn’t apply here.
The OP clearly stated they wanted to go to Cuba and apparently lacks the “legal” standing to do so.
So what’s the story?
The thread was opened on a Sunday morning (eastern time) and maybe they haven’t noticed because they have, y’know, lives.
Yeah! I have a life. I have a new computer, and an old computer, and I have Roadrunner, the best damn cable connection out there. And the freaking modem went down when I changed computers. So, for the last day I’ve been fighting with tech support, trying to find my installer disk for the modem(let this be a lesson, kiddies…always put stuff in its place), and dealing with a dialup AOL connection to fight the fight. And it sucks.
This one is closed. While I may sypathize with the OP’s problem, we still try to not discuss how to do things that may be currently illegal in the US, the location of the Chicago Reader, our host.
samclem GQ moderator