MIAMI, USA (Reuters): Two men were charged on Thursday with violating US sanctions against Cuba by using nonexistent churches to get religious travel licences that allowed thousands, posing as devout churchgoers, to visit the communist-ruled island.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida said Victor Vasquez and David Margolis sold the bogus licences through travel agencies for $250 to people who otherwise could not legally travel to Cuba.
It said in a statement that more than 4,500 people used the fraudulently obtained licences to travel to Cuba between April and January, in violation of the more than 4-decade-old US sanctions against Cuba.
There are a few exemptions to the travel ban, including for people who engage in "a full-time program of religious activities" while in Cuba.
Opinion polls show the vast majority of Americans would like to be able to visit, even though they oppose Fidel Castro's communist government. The embargo against the island is, however, staunchly supported by the politically powerful Cuban exile community in south Florida. | 
