Spanish Journal (Milwaukee), May 22-29, 2002

Bush's Hardline on Cuba Threatens Milwaukee Church Members

By Matt Nelson

Motivated by pressure from extreme anti-Castro Cubans in Miami and the push to re-elect Florida Governor Jeb Bush, President Bush's call for a crackdown on "excessive travel" to Cuba is hitting growing numbers of people in Wisconsin, according to Milwaukee attorney Arthur Heitzer, who represents US travelers to Cuba now being threatened with large fines.

In January of 1999, six members of Milwaukee's Central United Methodist Church (CUMC), who were commissioned by their church to participate in the 100th anniversary of their sister church in Havana, traveled to Cuba. Three of the six including the two people of color in the delegation are now being threatened with fines of up to $7,500 each.

Their case raises questions of separation of church and state, as well as arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of US government policy.

"Around 70,000 people go to Cuba each year without a license. Procedurally, the US Government sends a letter that demands people to supply them details of the trip. Then, people receive a pre-penalty notice regarding a fine and they may request a hearing to be held in Washington DC," said Heitzer.

According to Attorney Heitzer, no hearing has ever occurred in DC and when people have requested a hearing the fines have not been imposed. "The Bush administration's sharp increase in enforcement and harassment is arbitrary and appears to be discriminatory," continued Heitzer.

During former President Clinton's last year in office, 188 persons were notified of fines for traveling to Cuba. In President Bush's first year, the number of fines jumped to 766, and is still increasing. This is compared to over 200,000 US nationals who visit Cuba annually, and the US Treasury Department estimate that some 60,000 did so last year in defiance of US restrictions.

When Jimmy Carter was President, he lifted the US ban on travel to Cuba, but it was re-imposed under President Reagan. The government not issues "licenses" to allow some people to travel to Cuba, generally to journalists and academics, but this is not available to many others.

The CUMC members do not believe any fine is justified, and they want to help defend the right of all people in this country to travel as free people.

According to the Church, during a listening session, US Senator Russell Feingold responded that he did not believe these travel restrictions were justified in any way, and that he greatly appreciated being informed of how this apparent crackdown by our own government was affecting his constituents concretely. He also stated that he would support legislation to repeal the travel ban when it comes up in the Senate and that he would have is office investigate and pursue these specific cases in Milwaukee.