Travelers to Cuba face homeland security scrutiny

Monday, January 19, 2004

HARTFORD, USA: While officers of the US Department of Homeland Security work overtime to thwart terrorists intent on using planes as weapons of mass destruction, some of their colleagues have been intensely monitoring Americans suspected of attempting to vacation in Cuba.

According to a report by the Hartford Courant, under a directive from President Bush, the department has begun devoting extra resources to more intensively inspect passengers who travel to Cuba on daily charter flights from Miami, New York and San Francisco.

"Homeland Security and the Department of Foreign Assets Control officers are interrogating - or interviewing, depending on your point of view - everyone both on the way out and on return," says Bob Guild of Marazul Charters, a travel agency that arranges trips for those with legal exemptions to the travel ban. The "net results" of the enhanced enforcement so far, as reported by Homeland Security:

• Two hundred fifteen of 45,461 travelers were suspected of attempting to vacation, rather than taking a legal exemption.

• Two hundred eighty-three alcohol and tobacco violations were uncovered. Were those major seizures? No, said Homeland Security spokeswoman Christiana Halsey. Each involved a small amount of rum or cigars "found on a person."

• Forty-two narcotics seizures were made. Is heroin or crack cocaine being smuggled from Cuba? No. Each violation, Halsey said, involved prescription drugs.

• One hazardous-materials violation was discovered. That, Halsey said, involved carbon dioxide. Although she didn't know why it was being carried by someone departing the United States, carbon-dioxide canisters are commonly used to add fizz to seltzer water.

  Back...

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version