As we indicated previously, it is illegal for Americans to visit Cuba as tourists, but according to two Floridian politicians, that is exactly what Jay-Z and Beyonce did.
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, both coincidentally Republicans, have written a letter to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, asking the office to examine the visit of the musical power couple, which was done on the occasion of their fifth wedding anniversary. “Despite the clear prohibition against tourism in Cuba," the letter states, "numerous press reports described the couple’s trip as tourism, and the Castro regime touted it as such in its propaganda."
According to the guidelines outlined by the Treasury Department, "Each traveler must have a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba." No word on whether Hov or Bey have submitted such a guideline.
It is believed that a common way around the law is to stop in another country before heading over to Cuba. Cuban officials, familiar with the practice, are known to not stamp the visitor's passport for the trip. However, pictures and video from the couple's stay in Havana have gone viral at this point, making it a highly ineffective potential strategy.
It should be interesting to see how this unfolds, should matters go beyond this initial letter. That said, it is quite possible that Jay and Beyonce have already secured the required clearance to make this travel a sanctioned visit.
[Via Washington Times]
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