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Americans visit Cuba legally--and illegally
By ED PENHALE 
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Should Americans visit Cuba?
Not without specific permission from the U.S. government, according to the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
But that doesn't stop thousands of Americans from traveling there illegally each year, and almost no one is threatened with fines.
Of the estimated 83,000 Americans who visited Cuba last year, nearly 18,000 did so in violation of the Trading With the Enemy Act, said the Cuba-U.S. Trade and Economic Council, a New York City-based organization that keeps tabs on the Cuban economy.
Supporters of the embargo, which bars American trade with Cuba and forbids U.S. citizens from traveling there as tourists, contend that tourist spending supports the Castro regime, which has no diplomatic ties with the U.S.
Cubans, apart from saying they suffer economically from the embargo, often argue that dictator Fidel Castro uses the embargo as an excuse for the poor economic conditions in Cuba.
Most Americans fly to Cuba via third countries -- Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas.
The embargo that's been in place 36 years carries penalties, including fines up to $250,000, and up to 10 years in prison.
What's more, the Helms-Burton Bill, legislation tightening embargo sanctions, which President Clinton signed in 1996, imposes without judicial review fines of up to $50,000 on U.S. citizens who visit Cuba at their own expense. It also allows for confiscation of their property.
Scary? You bet.
Travel writers and authors of travel books on Cuba uniformly contend, however, that they have not heard of the government prosecuting any ordinary Americans who make what otherwise would be innocent excursions to Cuba.
A U.S. Customs supervisor in Nassau, who declined to identify herself, was careful to avoid confirming a tolerance policy toward American tourist travel to Cuba, but she pointed out that agents have discretion about how they deal with Americans returning from Cuba.
The supervisor pointed out that the 21 customs inspectors processing 1.5 million U.S.-bound travelers exiting the Nassau airport annually have plenty to do without worrying about every traveler they think might have gone to Cuba.
As a practical matter, said a U.S. Treasury official who asked not to be identified, Customs is not likely to single out anyone for investigation of illegal travel to Cuba unless it suspects the person is involved in criminal activity, such as smuggling cigars or drugs, or surreptitiously engaging in prohibited business activities in Cuba.
But the agent in Nassau -- when asked if Customs would report an ordinary traveler who'd been to Cuba to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers regulations governing travel to Cuba -- had these words of warning: "We might."
Some Americans who have traveled to Cuba have received from Treasury officials warnings or inquiries asking them to detail how they spent money in Cuba.
John Kavulich, executive director of the U.S.-Cuba trade organization, said Americans who want to travel legally to Cuba probably can find a way to do it.
Free-lance journalists, scholars, people with relatives in Cuba and representatives of humanitarian, research or cultural groups can apply to the Treasury Department for a travel license.
At the Nassau office of Havanatur, one of Cuba's state-owned travel agencies, fliers advertise that Cuban immigration officials won't stamp passports held by U.S. citizens entering the country.
Don't believe it. While Cuban inspectors traditionally have not stamped U.S. passports, the policy apparently has changed. They have begun stamping page 16 of American passports with an odd stamp -- something like the outline of a building within a small square and with a number at the bottom -- either upon entry, exit or both.
Two young American men transiting through Nassau as they returned from an illegal tourist visit to Cuba last month said Cuban authorities did not stamp their passports when they entered Cuba, but were shocked to find their passports were marked with the odd stamp on the way out.
They admitted to U.S. Customs agents they had been to Cuba, but all the agents did was remind them that some seeds Cubans use to decorate some carved-wood souvenirs can be poisonous, one of the men said later.
Americans who choose to travel to Cuba without a license usually do so via Cancun in Mexico or from Nassau.
Mexicana Airlines flies to Havana from Cancun and Mexico City. Cuba's Cubana Airlines flies from Nassau to Havana.
It's necessary to contact travel agents in Mexico or Nassau to make reservations. American travel agents are forbidden to arrange travel to Cuba.
Travelers arriving in Mexico or Nassau are required to pay cash for tickets to Cuba. Along with the plane ticket, they have to pay $15 for a tourist visa to Cuba.
Travelers must spend cash only in Cuba. U.S. dollars are accepted and everyone wants them. Credit cards processed through a U.S. bank are not accepted. And remember to save $15 for the departure fee from the airport in Havana.
Hotel prices vary widely, with the best of them charging from $65 to more than $100 a night.
Packages available from the Cuban travel agencies are good deals. Last month, Havanatur was charging $326 for a round-trip ticket between Nassau and Havana, along with five nights at a nice, well-situated hotel in Havana's historic district.
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