The Reality of Foreign Travel to Cuba

at 12:05 AM

By Carlos M. Gutierrez, Jr

The issue of travel to Cuba is a contentious one, both within and outside the Cuban-American community. In essence, the arguments for and against travel can be boiled down to two positions. There are those who believe that increased American travel to the island will result in a vibrant exchange of ideas, an exchange proponents argue will introduce and foster new ideas in the Cuban populace resulting in a newfound awareness of liberty which will then spur democratic change. Opponents of travel to Cuba warn that revenues accrued by the Cuban military regime from increased travel serve to offset any of the potential gains of tourism to the island. While the benefits of foreign travel to the island are intangible and largely immeasurable, the economic and social impact of increased tourism dollars to the coffers of the Cuban regime can be more easily qualified.

Increased Travel as a Way to Bring Democracy?

There is little evidence that increased American travel and tourism will create a democratic opening in Cuba. In recent years, the number of annual tourists to Cuba has reached about 2 million people. The majority of these travelers come from countries we would consider to be free and fair societies. In fact, most of the tourists that travel to Cuba stem from democratic countries. Tourism to Cuba is not a new phenomenon. While the United States has prohibited most travel to Cuba, the rest of the world has never followed suit. Proponents of increased travel to Cuba would be hard pressed to find any sign of a democratic opening correlated to such tourism. Rather, upon analysis of the link between tourism and democracy, one would be more apt to find an increase in government-sponsored repression.

Benefits of Increased Tourism Dollars to Cuba?

First, the Cuban regime, a regime that has -- for years -- been deemed to be on its last legs, has managed to remain standing. Nearly 90 percent of the Cuban economy is controlled by the military apparatus. Generals, high-ranking military officers and members of their families preside over the highest income-earning industries, which of course, includes the tourism sector. Tourism revenue spent on the island does not trickle down to the average Cuban, rather it remains within the control of the Cuban military regime. This yearly $2 billion windfall accrued from global travel to the island is not spent on building and developing democratic institutions or feeding the Cuban people. Rather, it is either re-invested in the upkeep of tourism facilities, and/or used to fund the repressive military mechanisms that are used to stifle public dissent and prevent a free and open democratic discourse.

Second, a result of increased travel by foreigners to Cuba has been the greater marginalization of the Cuban populace. Until recently, Cuban citizens did not have the legal ability to stay in, or even enter, the grand resorts developed for the benefit of foreign tourists. While the Cuban government has lifted such restrictions, it is impossible to imagine that a Cuban citizen making an average of $15 a month can afford a stay in these resorts. Furthermore, despite being deemed public property, ordinary Cubans are not allowed to use the finely combed sand beaches adjacent to these grand resorts. Rather, they are relegated to unclean and unkempt beach sites, far removed from the majestic beauty foreign tourists are able to enjoy. The consequence of this tourist apartheid is that the only role for an ordinary Cuban in a Cuban resort is as a servant. To add insult to injury, these servants must stand idly by while they watch foreign tourists consume steaks, lobster, champagne and various luxuries, which the average Cuban could only dream of eating 90 miles away in Miami.

Third, increased tourism to Cuba has led to the creation and growth of the sexual services industry. The abject poverty faced by both Cuban men and women, and the sexual appetite of foreign tourists travelling to the island, have created an opportunity for the exploitation of Cuban citizens of all ages. As Johns Hopkins University researchers have found, "Cuba is one of many countries that have replaced Southeast Asia as a destination for pedophiles and sex tourists." Having claimed that "Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world," de facto Cuban leader Fidel Castro is not blind to this phenomenon, nor above using it to lure foreign tourists to the island.

Morality and Travel to Cuba

Cuba is an island controlled by a communist military regime. Freedom of press, assembly, to form independent labor unions and to travel outside of the country are non-existent. Cubans are routinely jailed for any activity the government deems to be a threat to the political dominance of the military apparatus. Such behavior has been codified into law, resulting in the "Dangerousness Doctrine" which is outlined in Section 72 of the Cuban Criminal Code. As officially cited, "a state of dangerousness is considered to be the special propensity of a person to commit crimes, as demonstrated by conduct observed in manifest contradiction to the norms of socialist morality." Needless to say, this law has been used to encompass a broad range of behaviors, including (but no limited to) having a conversation, meeting in a park, or even owning a typewriter.

The reach of Cuba's draconian laws are not limited to Cuban citizens. As evidenced by the recent 15-year sentence handed down to American Alan Gross, Cuban authorities are just as intolerant of anti-socialist behavior from foreigners as they are of ordinary Cuban citizens. Mr. Gross' anti-socialist crime: attempting to connect members of Cuba's Jewish community to the internet to communicate with other Jews outside of the island.

A Choice

As Cubans continue to languish in this modern day gulag, faced with the constant threat of incarceration for activities that we take for granted in our free societies, the appropriateness of enjoying luxuries in Cuba which are limited only to foreign tourists and high-ranking members of the military apparatus must be questioned. Ordinary Cuban citizens are not blind to the disparities between their life on the island, and that of a European tourist. They are aware that the foreigner dines on dishes they can never afford, they can see from afar the European tourist enjoying the surf and sand of a beach they are not allowed to step on, and most heart wrenching of all, they can see friends and family members exploited to meet the sexual appetites of morally devoid foreign tourists. When all is said and done, Cuba will one day become a vibrant free, democratic society. A society in which Cubans will be able to denounce and speak of the various atrocities and embarrassments perpetrated against them not only by Cuban military authorities, but also by foreign tourists seeking to have a good time.

As Americans, we can either deny the Cuban government of its largest economic lifeline, or we can join our fellow democratic brethren in the exploitation of a demoralized, abused, yet noble people. Either way, we can be sure that when the time comes, the people of Cuba will not forget those who contributed to their misery, as well as those who refused to stand complicit with those who continue to repress them.

It is my hope that we do not switch sides.

Carlos M. Gutierrez, Jr. is a former Congressional Aide and Trade and Integration Consultant.