NLG Cuba Subcommittee Press Release
Subcommittee Home Page
PRESS RELEASE August 9, 2001
Contacts: Art Heitzer (414) 273-1040, ext. 12, aheitzer@igc.org
Anna Liza Gavieres (212) 614-6470, annaliza@ccr-ny.org
Lawyers Fight Cuba Travel Crackdown
The Bush Administration's crackdown on travel by Americans to Cuba is being challenged by a Cuba travel "Wall of Lawyers" being organized by the National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Global Exchange. The three organizations have long opposed any travel restrictions on travel to Cuba, asserting U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to travel to other countries, learn and exchange ideas.
Coinciding with President Bush's vow to crack down on those who visit Cuba illegally ``to the fullest extent with a view toward preventing unlicensed and excessive travel,'' the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department has recently escalated its efforts and sent out hundreds of letters threatening to fine Americans for travelling to Cuba and spending money without a license.
"The irony is that Bush's apparent payoff to an influential group of Cuban Americans who helped him become President and still support the embargo, is not supported by most Americans, nor even by most Cuban Americans," commented NLG Cuba Subcommittee Chair Art Heitzer. "It is an extreme policy which even the Republican-run
House of Representatives has twice repudiated by voting to cut off funds, most recently on July 25th." Heitzer added, "There is also good reason to believe that Cuban Americans in practice are the largest-scale violators of the U.S. embargo by sending hundreds of millions of dollars 'illegally' to relatives and friends in Cuba and frequently violating the U.S. prohibition against going there more than once a year and only for 'family emergencies' -- yet they rarely receive OFAC warnings or fines." Of the 200,000 visitors from the US visited Cuba last year, 120,000 were Cuban Americans, and tens of thousands of other US citizens went without any US license.
Heitzer also cited a recent poll by an institute of Florida International University which surveyed Cuban American opinion in Miami-Dade, showing a majority support freedom of travel to Cuba, which is consistent with other surveys of Cuban Americans and the overall U.S. population nationally. "We agree with the majority of Cuban Americans even in Miami who now favor unrestricted US travel to Cuba. We are not asking for equal enforcement, but an end to this restriction on the freedom of US citizens and residents to travel to Cuba freely, and we will do our best to protect those who are being harassed or fined."
Heitzer explained that there are several types of letters Cuba travelers may receive from OFAC. Usually the first letter states that specific information is "required," without informing the recipients of their rights, such as to remain silent or to seek legal counsel. The second letter is a "pre-penalty notice" proposing to assess a fine in an amount which averages $7,500 but can be $100,000 or more. Heitzer urged all letter recipients to immediately contact the NLG for further information regarding their rights, and how to obtain legal counsel, at:
www.nlg.org.
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