Cubans Feel Asylum's Barriers

Cubans Feel Asylum's Barriers
By CHRIS ECHEGARAY The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 25, 2006

TAMPA - There was no time to worry about travel restrictions. Graciela
Naranjo's son was in Cuba, dying of heart disease.

She skipped government approval, entered the communist country through
Mexico on April 22 and stayed until her son's last breath a month later.

By staying for more than two weeks, Naranjo violated the government's
restrictions on travel to Cuba, imposed by President Bush in 2004. Her
failure to register the trip with the Treasury Department also was illegal.

After an interrogation by customs officials, she faces a fine of up to
$7,000.

"It's not just and it's not fair," said Naranjo, 40. "I had to go see my
son. It was urgent and horrible. My son comes first."

The United States ordered more than 500 fines for travel-related
violations since the restrictions were implemented in June 2004. The
Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control collected more
than $1.5 million in fines in 2005 for illegal travel to Cuba.

Bush also tightened rules on remittances, allowing families to send a
maximum of $300 quarterly home to Cuba instead of the former $3,000. The
Treasury Department doesn't track the remittances, according to OFAC
spokeswoman Molly Millerwise.

Backed by Florida politicians with Cuban-American constituencies, the
law causes friction between hard-liners and Cuban newcomers with family
still on the island.

Throughout the years, the travel restrictions changed under different
administrations, loosening and tightening dramatically.

Many Cuban-Americans circumvent the restriction by flying to a third
country. Usually it's Mexico, the Cayman Islands or Canada.
'They Didn't Believe Me'

After flying back through Cancun, Naranjo was stopped in Miami by
customs officials who questioned her whereabouts and her light baggage.
Naranjo admitted she initially lied when they asked where she was coming
from.

"I told them I was coming back from Mexico," she said. "They didn't
believe me. They said, 'No Cuban is going to stay in Mexico for four
weeks.' I broke down and told them the truth about my son. He had died."

Naranjo may have to go back before the three-year time restriction is up
- her 17-year-old son still lives on the island. She left him behind
when she emigrated in 1997 and is working to bring him here.

Cuban hard-liners who support the embargo agree people such as Naranjo
should be allowed to travel, but permission for others should cease.
More often than not, Cubans go back for fun, not emergencies, they say.

Representatives of Casa Cuba, a 16-year-old Tampa cultural club, are in
favor of tighter travel restrictions and await the ouster of the
island's dictator.

"We are not against humanity," said Casa Cuba President Alfredo Moreno.
"But our position is we believe in that travel law."

Traveling to Cuba supports Fidel Castro's dictatorship, and that's why
they oppose it, said Lydia Gonzalez, vice president of Casa Cuba.

"A humanitarian trip is a humanitarian trip," she said. "But if the law
could be more stringent, we should do it. How about the political
prisoners left behind? We have to remember that."
Outrage And Insult

Al Fox, a Democrat running for Jim Davis' congressional seat, opposes
the travel restriction. Fox, whose mother was Cuban, has traveled to the
island legally 55 times.

"I think the policy is un-American, and I'm embarrassed for my country,"
Fox said. "I know some will come after me for this, but I think it's
insane. We should feel outrage because it's an insult to humanity."

Florida's Cuban community is caught between a political and emotional
battle over travel to their native island, according to Professor Jorge
Nef, director of the Institute for the Study of Latin America and the
Caribbean at the University of South Florida.

"This issue is a little bit larger than life in this part of the world,"
Nef said. "People are fragmented. They may hate Castro's guts, but they
are not happy about missing their family.

"Any political strategy, extreme or mild, has effects when the
constituency is willing to carry it through," he said, referring to the
embargo.

Milene Velazquez, a Cuban who received her U.S. citizenship earlier this
year, is opposed to the restrictions. With U.S. permission, Velazquez
went back in March.

Her next trip is in 2009.

"No, I don't like it," Velazquez said. "That's why I became a citizen,
so I can help them come here."
2004 CUBA RESTRICTIONS

•The Office of Foreign Assets Control issues licenses for visits of up
to 14 days.

•Visits are allowed only to immediate family members.

•Visits are allowed only once every three years.

•Remittances (money sent back to Cuba) cannot exceed $300 in any
consecutive three-month period.
Source: U.S. Department of State

Contact Chris Echegaray at (813) 259-7920 or cechegaray @tampatrib.com.

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