ira

>... the ban on travel to Cuba is not only ludicrous but un-american in my opinion ...<

Where is it written that a citizen of any country has an inalienable right to travel to any other country?

waring

To my knowledge, as a UK citizen, I am allowed to travel to any country in the world.

Not having a written constitution, this right is not written.

It appears that neither the Cubans nor Americans have this right. Ironic eh?

audere_est_facere

As a government employee, I would have to get permission to go to some countries (Iran, N Korea etc), but this is a condition of my employment, and if it bothered me I could simply get another job. (Although as I have no access to anything sensitive the permission would be granted)


Also permission to travel isn't an absolute right - your passport can be withdrawn. Although in theory this doesn't actually stop you travelling, it does in practice.

Sue_xx_yy

lobo mau

I'm still confused, since as you know the cocktail drink would be familiar to President Clinton et al, especially since Coke is an American-derived product. There are also restaurant/bars in the US that go by the name of Cuba Libre.

Anyway, to put politics aside and go on to the more interesting subject of drinking and the origin of the cocktail drink: There's the legend put out by Bacardi about the Cuba Libre being made for US troops during the Spanish-American war, and a more recent legend that I read about on Wikipedia about the drink being invented by member of the US Signal Corps around 1900, supposedly just after Coke was first bottled. It became a popular drink in the Southern US, (in which, needless to say, President Clinton has his roots.)

Kate

Regarding US Laws on restrictions on trade with Cuba, my understanding has always been that there are not laws as such against Americans travelling to Cuba (many do, perfectly legally) but that Americans are not allowed to spend money in Cuba or on Cuban goods - hence the restriction on buying cigars, whether you're in Cuba or not.

I still thinks it's daft.

(It always amuses me when I see my US immigration stamp on the same page as my Cuban immigration stamp, obtained some years earlier)

Sue_xx_yy

Regarding the issue of the right to travel anywhere, no country can guarantee this right to its citizens since of course the destination country has some say in the matter. Furthermore, one's rights potentially get diluted precisely because, not despite, one's undertaking to travel, at least outside one's home country. Most foreign affairs departments are quick to remind their citizens going abroad of this reality, particularly if said citizens are thinking of breaking the law (e.g., smoking marijuana, or whatever) of a foreign country. In other words, one could argue that a right is meaningfully a right, only when there is some agency with authority to guarantee it, and this authority doesn't extend to citizens who travel outside the country's borders.

Not to mention that in practice, to exercise any 'right' to travel requires one to have at least some money in order to do so, and as such travel doesn't fall into the same category as the right to vote or to receive due process under the law. In other words, the issue of universality, normally a cornerstone of what makes a right a right, is somewhat moot where travel is concerned.

tower

All: I

Visiting Cuba legally in '03 was one of the most fascinating, poignant trips we've ever had. We were a party of two (DW and I) bringing in 40 pounds of impossible-to-get medicines, heart, diabetes, etc). A friend of ours had a license and named us as part of her "mission"..official letter and all. We breezed by customs in both US and Cuba with that letter. Enjoyed the visit tremendously...and if anyone is going I can give you a wonderful hotel reco, and a few great "official" "private" Paladares (eateries) around Havana. (and scanned photos if you wish...had no digital back then.)
Write.

Stu T. ([email protected])