que no se vayan todos

The Center for Constitutional Rights has a neat summary of U.S. travel rules vis-à-vis Cuba, just one facet of the larger plan to starve Cubans into overthrowing Castro. Why? Because he's cruel, unlike us.

Anyway, one particularly incomprehensible manifestation of the U.S. embargo/blockade shows itself in the case of Kip and Patrick Taylor. Quoting directly from CCR:

Knowing that U.S. law prohibited spending funds in the country, they stocked their sailboat with enough provisions to last for the duration of their trip. It wasn’t until they left Cuba, in fact, that their troubles began.

Sailing from Cuba, their boat was struck by lightning that destroyed the mast. The Cuban Coast Guard rescued the Taylors, towing the boat back to port. But when they applied to the U.S. Representative for permission to repair it, they were told to abandon the boat - and their two dogs - and fly back to the U.S. After weeks of attempting to negotiate, unwilling to leave their dogs and befuddled by a decision that left assets in Cuba worth more than the costs of repairs, the Taylors had the boat fixed. For this - and for being honest upon their return - they were fined $2,000 each. For the next four and a half years, the Taylors - who are on a fixed income - requested reconsideration. In April, 2001, Patrick Taylor’s tax refund, needed to pay for urgent medical expenses, was frozen and applied to the $3,200 they now owe.

Once you begin to wrap your head around the criminal idiocy of this case, keep in mind that rules have since changed (thank our fearless leader's June 2004 vote-whoring update to the Cuba suffocation policy) so that it is now illegal not only to spend money in Cuba, but also to have a Cuban spend any money on you or provide you with anything. I don't remember seeing any of this under executive powers in the Constitution.