Chicago Tribune.
By Rafael Lorente. Washington Bureau. July 8, 2001.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration appears to be increasing enforcement
of parts of the economic embargo against Cuba this year, denying visas to Cuban
officials wanting to come to the United States and more carefully scrutinizing
Americans who fly to the island through third countries, such as Canada.
The crackdown is angering proponents of people-to-people contact who
generally had a lot of leeway under the Clinton administration, but it is
applauded by the Cuban American National Foundation.
The motivation is unclear. It could be a political payoff to South Florida's
Cuban-American community, which was key to helping President Bush get elected
last year.
The crackdown certainly cannot hurt the re-election chances of Gov. Jeb Bush
in Florida next year.
"Everything about Cuba is a political consideration," said William
Goodfellow, an embargo critic and executive director of the Center for
International Policy.
But Goodfellow said the tightening also could be the result of bureaucrats
responding to what they think the Bush administration, which has been openly
supportive of the embargo, wants.
In June, the State Department denied visas for eight Cuban officials who
were to attend a meeting of the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association in
Bloomington, Ind., and three officials traveling to Washington for a trademarks
conference.
"The Bush administration, pressured by the hard-liners in the
Cuban-American community, obviously doesn't believe in the people-to-people
programs," said Wayne Smith, former head of the U.S. Interests Section in
Havana and a fellow at the Center for International Policy.
Lawyers representing Americans who have gotten in trouble for traveling to
Cuba say there has been a marked increase in enforcement by the U.S. Treasury
Department.
Nancy Chang, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York,
which defends Americans accused of violating travel restrictions to Cuba, said
it has about 400 cases and has stopped taking more.
"The number of enforcement cases has increased over the last five
months," she said.
Arthur Heitzer, a Milwaukee lawyer who leads the Cuba subcommittee for the
National Lawyers Guild, said he has had more referrals of people in trouble with
the Treasury Department.
"It appears that they are escalating their threats and intimidation of
people who have traveled to Cuba," Heitzer said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control in the U.S. Treasury, which enforces
the embargo, said any changes in enforcement are coincidental.
"OFAC acknowledges that there may be a higher incidence of penalty
cases being issued at this time," said Tasia Scoilinos, a spokeswoman for
the Treasury Department. "This figure is attributed solely to the normal
ebb and flow of OFAC's workload rather than a shift in policy."
The State Department said it was "looking very carefully at visa
applications from Cuban government officials."
Without calling it a crackdown, a State Department official said the
rejection of visas for Cuban officials is a way of leveling the playing field
between the two countries. Cuban officials in the United States can meet with
anyone they want. But American officials based in Havana must get permission to
meet with even the lowest-ranking government officials.
"Part of this is the difference between a police state and a free
society," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
Luis Fernandez, a spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington,
said the increased enforcement is an attempt to further isolate Cuba and tighten
the embargo.
Americans who do not qualify for one of a limited number of licenses
allowing them to legally fly directly from the United States usually travel via
Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas. If they are caught by customs agents on their way
back to the United States, American travelers may be questioned in writing about
their trips and can be fined about $7,500. | 
