Bush Will Step Up Pressure on U.S. Travellers to Cuba
WSJ - April 14 (Bloomberg)

The Bush administration is likely to try to stem the flow of dollars to the government of Fidel Castro by making it still more difficult for U.S. citizens to go to Cuba or send money there, the Wall Street Journal reported.

President George W. Bush is almost certain to announce extra measures next month; they may range from reducing permitted charter flights to cutting remittances Cubans living in the U.S. can send back, the newspaper said.

One of Bush's intentions, in an election year, may be to try to increase support among Cubans living in Florida, the Journal said, adding that a recent poll indicated that the president's support in that group has fallen below 60 percent, from 80 percent in 2000.

Bush has already strengthened measures to identify and fine U.S. citizens who travel to Cuba illegally through third countries; the Department of Homeland Security has trained hundreds of Customs agents to spot illegal tourists at airports across the Caribbean and in Canada, the paper said.

(Wall Street Journal online edition 4-14)

und die Antwort der Demokraten:

Freedom to Travel Campaign Statement on Kerry Support for Repeal of Ban on US Travel to Cuba
Sun Apr 18, 2:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON, April 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Calling his remarks on Cuba policy today "a bold step," Sarah Stephens of the Freedom to Travel Campaign issued the following statement about Sen. John Kerry's appearance on "Meet the Press."

"Today Sen. Kerry acknowledged that the policy of isolating Cuba economically and diplomatically has failed to advance the cause of the Cuban people. By calling for repeal of the travel ban and a dialogue leading to changing the policy, Sen. Kerry has taken a bold step toward changing a failed policy."

Sen. Kerry discussed Cuba in an interview today on the NBC News program "Meet the Press." The Freedom to Travel Campaign ( http://www.cubacentral.com ) is a public education project of The Center for International Policy.

Cuba-Reiseinfos
avenTOURa

Vermont couple faces fines for Cuba trip
4/21/2004 9:13 AM
By: Capital News 9 web staff

A retired couple from Strafford, Vermont is facing $55,000 in fines for trips to Cuba they made while writing a travel book for bicyclists.

Wally and Barbara Smith traveled to Cuba four times. The first trip was a vacation, but the next three trips were research for the couple's book, Bicycling Cuba. The book came out in November 2002.

By traveling to Cuba, the Smiths violated U.S. sanctions that go back four decades. Now they've been told they could pay as much as $55,000 in fines for the trip. They'll get a chance to contest the fines at a hearing in Washington DC.

The Smiths said they went to Cuba partly on principal -- because they don't think the United States should have sanctions against it.

Cuba-Reiseinfos
avenTOURa