
STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL ADVISORY - Cuba
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CUBA - CAUTION (corrected copy)
 July 25, 1991

Pan American Games: the Pan American Games will be held in Cuba
August 2 - 18,
attracting thousands of foreigners, including American athletes and
their family members,
to the island.  The games are being held in Havana and in the city
of Santiago de Cuba, in
the far south-eastern coast of the island.  Americans planning to
travel to Cuba should be
aware of conditions which could affect their travel.

Transportation and communication between Havana, where the U.S.
Interests Section is
located, and Santiago can be extremely difficult.  It may therefore
be very difficult for the U.S.
Interests Section to assist distressed Americans outside Havana
during the Pan American
Games.  If an emergency should arise, it may not be possible to
arrange transportation for
American citizens from other parts of Cuba to Havana during this
period.

Telephone service within Cuba and between Cuba and United States is
very poor.  A
traveller needing to communicate quickly by telephone, even within
the same Cuban city,
should expect lengthy delays in getting telephone calls through.
It can take several days for
an international call to or from the United States, and in many
cases such calls cannot be
completed at all.

Travelers are also advised that due to the deteriorating economic
situation in Cuba,
robberies, including those resulting in injuries, are increasing.
Even the low-budget traveler
has many items, including currency, which are not available in Cuba
and which are
attractive to thieves.

The Cuban government prohibits currency exchange except at the
official rate and at
government offices.

The U.S. Interests Section is the first and last source of
assistance for Americans dealing with
potentially complicated exit permission arrangements and stringent
customs and currency
regulations.  There are no parallel service organizations, such as
travel agencies or
international bank transfer arrangements.  Social service
organizations such as the
Salvation Army do not exist.

Given the media attention focused on the games, Cuban dissenters
may  demonstrate
against the Castro regime.  American travelers are strongly advised
to remain clear of and
avoid any participation in any anti-government demonstrations or
activities of any sort.  It
is expected that the games will have a very heavy security presence
to insure that there are
no incidents.  Visitors are advised that their activities and
comments will be carefully
monitored during their stay.  Words or actions which might be
construed as critical of the
government or its leaders have been and may be dealt with harshly.

Dual Nationals: The Department of State advises that the government
of Cuba considers all
Cuban-born U.S. citizens to be solely Cuban citizens. The Cuban
government does not
recognize the right or obligation of the U.S. government to protect
dual U.S./Cuban citizens
and has consistently denied U.S. consular officers the right to
visit incarcerated dual
U.S./Cuban nationals in order to ascertain their welfare and proper
treatment under Cuban
law.

Dual U.S./Cuban nationals may be subject to a range of restrictions
and obligations,
including military service, in Cuba.

Dual U.S./Cuban nationals are required by Cuban law to enter and
depart Cuba using Cuban
passports.  Using a Cuban passport for this purpose does not
jeopardize one's U.S.
citizenship; however, such persons must use their U.S. passports to
enter and depart the
U.S. and to transit any countries en route.

Dual U.S./Cuban nationals are strongly urged to seriously consider
these potential problems
when making a decision to travel to Cuba.

Cuban assets control regulations:  The U.S. Department of the
Treasury's Cuban assets
control regulations, effective May 15, 1982, require that persons
subject to U.S. jurisdiction be
licensed to engage in any transactions related to travel to and
within Cuba.  Failure to
comply with these regulations could result in prosecution upon
return to the United States.

Travel is authorized under a general license for the following
purposes:

--Official travel by government official or by an official of any
intergovernmental
organization of which the U.S. is a member;
--Travel for reunification of close relatives living in Cuba
(family visits);
--Travel by certain professional researchers; and
--Travel by news media personnel.

Travelers who fall in the above categories do not need to obtain
Treasury Department
approval for their travel transaction.  They should, however,
insure that the purpose of the
visitclearly falls within the categories listed above.

Travel may be authorized under specific licenses to persons wishing
to travel for other
humanitarian reasons or for participation in public exhibitions or
performances.  Individual
written applications to the Treasury Department are required for
specific licenses and
decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.  Special licenses have
been issued under these
provisions to U.S. Olympic Committee personnel officially
participating in the 1991 Pan-
American Games and to a limited number of relatives of athletes.

Transactions relating to travel to Cuba for tourism and business
purposes are not authorized
by the Department of the Treasury's general license.  Neither are
specific licenses issued for
such travel.

The use of credit cards in Cuba by U.S. citizens and permanent
resident aliens is prohibited.
U.S. cedit card companies will not accept vouchers from Cuba and
Cuban shops, hotels, and
other places of business do not accept U.S. credit cards.  Personal
checks drawn on U.S. banks
are also not accepted in Cuba but certain types of travelers checks
are.  Offers to exchange
money in the street are illegal and travelers are advised to avoid
all such transactions.

For further information and to apply for a specific license,
travelers should contact the
Licensing Division, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of
the Treasury, 1500
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Treasury Annex, Washington, D.C.,20220
(tel: 202/535-9449; fax:
202/377-7222).  Travelers should also contact this office for
further details on established
guidelines and for any changes which could affect their plans.

Americans are urged to register with the United States Interests
Section, Embassy of
Switzerland, Calzada Entre L & M, Vedada Seccion, Havana, tel.:
320551, 320543.

 No. 91-152

This advisory replaces the one issued September 9, 1988 by
including information on the
Pan American Games.

