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Cuban Americans

Testimonies

Carlos

Marietta

Marlene

Roberto

"I cannot send a belt to a cousin because a cousin is not family. I am very upset because they pick who is my family and who is not. My family is my family! Nobody has the right to tell me who is my family and who is not." - Roberto, a 66-year old Cuban-American living in Florida.

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Right to Travel to Cuba > Cuban Americans

Cuban Americans

Since the 1970s Cuban Americans have been allowed to visit family in Cuba with varying restrictions. For several years prior to the Bush administration, Cuban Americans were allowed to visit family once a year without asking for permission and more frequently in cases of humanitarian need.

In 2004, President Bush's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba recommended tightening the restrictions on family visits. The Commission argued that reducing family travel would decrease the amount of dollars entering Cuba and hasten the end of Fidel Castro's government.

The restrictions for Cuban Americans that went into effect in June 2004 include the following:

  • Family visits to Cuba are permitted only once every 3 years instead of once a year.
  • Humanitarian exceptions for response to family illness or crisis are no longer allowed.
  • Visits are restricted to two weeks and limited to immediate family as defined by OFAC, eliminating the right to visit cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, or more distant relatives.
  • For all family visits, a written application for licensed travel must be submitted to OFAC and approved.
  • The amount of money that may be spent during a family visit was decreased from $167 to $50 per day.
  • The amount of money Cuban Americans may deliver or send to family in Cuba was decreased from $3000 to $300 per quarter and remittances are restricted to immediate family.

Travel restrictions keep Cuban Americans from legally visiting sick or dying family members and from attending the weddings, funerals, and special birthdays that mark transitions of the family life cycle. The narrow definition of “family” conflicts with how Cuban Americans define their kin and severely limits their ability to honor their relations and maintain family networks. Policies that prevent Cuban Americans from freely visiting their families in Cuba violate their human rights, impede the transmission of cultural and family values, and cause unnecessary suffering.

Current US policy on visiting family in Cuba:

Cuban American groups dedicated to ending US policy that splits families apart: