US travelers to Cuba get judicial notices

Monday, November 10, 2003

WASHINGTON, USA: The Bush administration for the first time is beginning judicial proceedings against dozens of people accused of visiting Cuba illegally, even as the US Congress moves to end enforcement of the four-decade-old travel ban to the island. 

According to a report in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, last month, unauthorized travelers to Cuba started receiving notices from the Treasury Department that they would be required to appear before a judge. The notices went out about the same time the Senate voted to prohibit enforcement of the travel ban. 

"It's incredible that hearings to enforce fines against Cuba travelers are beginning at a time when Congress and the American people have clearly stated their opposition to the travel ban," said Nancy Chang, an attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights. 

The move to crack down on travelers comes at an awkward time. On Oct. 23, the Senate inserted an amendment into the Transportation and Treasury Department appropriations bill that would prohibit the Bush administration from spending money to enforce the travel ban. The House passed a similar amendment in September. 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-5 last week for a separate bill that would overturn the travel ban all together. 

President Bush has threatened to veto any legislation weakening the ban or the embargo against Cuba. The White House and its allies are hoping to avoid a veto by stripping the travel-ban provisions from the appropriations bills in a conference committee that is working out differences between the House and Senate versions. 

Enforcement of the travel ban has been stronger since Bush took office. He benefited from a huge turnout by Cuban-American voters in South Florida who perceived the Clinton administration as soft on Cuba's Fidel Castro and who oppose tourism to the island because it puts money in the coffers of the government. 

But many of Bush's Cuban-American allies have not been happy with the administration, saying it has not done enough. The president last month announced a new presidential commission on transition to democracy in Cuba and said his administration would crack down on travel to the island. But the Senate voted within two weeks to forbid enforcing the travel ban, setting up the showdown. 

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