Which Americans Are Allowed to Go

Who can go there: Can you investigate Cuba for yourself? Aren’t Cuba’s borders closed to Americans?

Sort of. A U.S. embargo, part of the ominously named Trading With the Enemy Act, limits travelers to those going on family visits, official government business, news-gathering assignments, educational research or as guests of a Cuban institution. The purpose, as stated in the U.S. guidelines, “is to isolate Cuba economically and deprive it of U.S. dollars.”

Cuba, on the other hand, welcomes pretty much anyone, and the common currency (outside of the Cuban peso) is the American dollar. The embargo, regulated by the U.S. Treasury department, is trade-related and restricts Americans from spending money there.

If you work in the entertainment industry, you can go for the film festival each December. If you teach Latin American history or a related topic, you might be able to organize a professional research group of people in the same field and Marazul may be able to put together a trip. If you have eligibility questions, call the Office of Foreign Assets Control at (202) 376-0392.

The way things are changing in the rest of the world, the restrictions--established by the United States, not Cuba--can only become less impassable. Last year, about 8,500 Americans visited the island.

Tours: Marazul Tours, a New York City tour packager, specializes in trips to Cuba, and handled fairly competently my reservations, although there was no visa under my name when I landed in Havana from Miami.

Marazul can be reached at (800) 223-5334, and ask for Bob Guild. Marazul can tell you more precisely who qualifies and who doesn’t. It also arranges charter flights from Miami and hotel accommodations.

For a fixed fee (about $700 a week), tour groups will set up and prepay airfare, hotel rooms and meals in the hotels.