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Report Finds U.S. Agencies Distracted by Focus on Cuba

Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Call me Ishmael.
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
1,626
Location
Over them yonder hills
NY Times Article

I found this part very interesting:

"The Treasury Department relies on warning letters and informal settlements for lower fines than on formal administrative hearings. On top of that, officials said they have recently begun focusing more of their resources on other programs and less on Cuba enforcement.

The statistics bear that out. Between 2000 and 2005, there were 8,170 violations of the Cuba embargo, which accounted for more than 70 percent of the agency’s total penalty cases.

In 2006, however, the number of cases pursued dropped significantly. That year, only 290 people were fined for violating the embargo, accounting for 29 percent of the agency’s penalty cases.

Although the Treasury Department can assess civil fines of up to $55,000 for those who violate the embargo, most penalties are considerably lower. Between 2000 and 2006, the average violation brought a $992 fine.

In 2007, 13 people have been fined, most for under $1,000, for ordering Cuban cigars over the Internet, an increasingly common violation. One of the largest fines went to Travelocity, the Internet travel agency, which had to pay $182,750 for booking nearly 1,500 flights to Cuba from 1998 to 2004."
 
My friend said he saw a piece about this on the news.

Apparently, they showed the inside of a customs warehouse where the store confiscated items. One wall was nothing but Cuban rum, the other wall was nothing but boxes and boxes of Cuban cigars.

I have looked for the video, but can't find one.
 
I understand that laws are laws. However, I'd rather my government prioritize the interdiction of narcotics and terrorism threats over tourism or goods from a third world, low priority threat. I'd hold this viewpoint whether or not I engaged in the enjoyment of cigars from the island.

Wilkey
 
Will the publicity of the article make them change their priorities on investigations or do they just dont give a crap? :(
 
Fia said:
Will the publicity of the article make them change their priorities on investigations or do they just dont give a crap? :(
Click to expand...


Apparently, the answer is yes.

VERY RECENTLY HS has instructed Customs that the interdiction of goods of a cuban origin one of it's lowest priority. OFAC is apparently receiving the same admonition from the higher ups in the treasury department. At least, that is what the news asserted this evening.

It's hard to believe though

I wouldn't be so quick to violate the embargo until more clarity develops on this front.
 
I've recently have come back from Italy and I took a flight from Leonardo DeVinci International. All goods at the airpost are duty free including booze and Cuban Cigars. One particular store sold Cohibas and only Cohibas. When I went through US custom the only thing they were interested in were plants and meats. I well let you fill in the details. :rolleyes:

NiteSeer
 
It's f'ing ridiculous that they would expend ANY resources to interdict Cuban contraband considering the terrorist threat we are facing.
 
You can't aggravate and embarrass 9 Presidents of the US and not expect some repercussions.

Doc
 
I think one of the big reasons for the ramp-up in recent years was Fidel's health.

Yeah...stopping a few hundred thousand $ of cigars from reaching the US is going to totally cripple the Cuban economy. :rolleyes:

This is good news though...on all the boards I visit, news of the dreaded letter has become less and less frequent. Maybe they've finally come to their senses and realized that a bunch of maniacs trying to blow up buildings are a wee bit more important than rum and stogies.
 
It is not uncommon on a weekly basis for OFAC and US Customs to "shake down" outgoing/incoming flights from Miami that go to Cuba directly. All must go through Xrays and have their bags manually searched. All of those man hours result in a few bottles of rum and some cigars. All of this property has to be documented, warehoused, and "disposed of" at some point. Seems to me all of those man hours could be dedicated to other resourceful contraband. OFAC and US Customs have bigger fish to fry. You may also see as many as a dozen OFAC/US Customs personnel breaking balls on a flight to Mexico, Bahamas, Cayman Islands for suspicious Cuban-Americans daring to go see their families via a third country. John
 
tandblov said:
My friend said he saw a piece about this on the news.

Apparently, they showed the inside of a customs warehouse where the store confiscated items. One wall was nothing but Cuban rum, the other wall was nothing but boxes and boxes of Cuban cigars.

I have looked for the video, but can't find one.
Click to expand...

I have seen similar pieces on the news. Basically the heat was coming down becuase the Feds were spending so much time and energy going after citizens buying cigars and booze. Meanwhile there is much more that could be done in terms of safegaurding against terrorist attacks and related. I believe that's what was driving the shift in focus. The question was being raised as to what would do the most good to safe guard the country.
 
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