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For many years before the Bush administration’s crackdown, American boaters went to Cuba legally and illegally. Those that went illegally just showed up and continued cruising to other foreign ports, laundering their presence in the forbidden island over the passage of time. Those that came “legally” often simply fibbed to Customs officials, claiming never to have spent a dollar in that dollar-hungry nation. Or they found a way under the various “permitted” travel to come by boat. Not everyone who went was out to circumvent the embargo, per se, but let’s face it Cuba is an awfully tempting playground for adventurous gringos.
Make no mistake about it, however, no matter how apolitical a person may claim to be, deciding to unilaterally declare your own personal foreign policy, one that contradicts that of your nation, is a political decision. American boaters are basically a patriotic lot, but they are independent thinkers as well. For you, we have the text of current U.S. policy toward Cuba, essentially an outright ban on traveling there by boat; we have what we infer is Cuban policy, vis a vis the official American position, and our view, which, given the nature of this online magazine is somewhat predictable.
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