An overview on why the embargo against cuban cigars was enacted, and the price paid for ignoring the sanction.
The sanction on Cuban cigars is just one of many sanctions imposed on products from Cuba. Yet, this is the one most Americans know about.
Shortly after the failed Bay of Pigs incident on July 8, 1963 the United States government issued the Cuban Assets Control Regulations under the Trading with the Enemy Act. From that day forward it was illegal to bring into this country, cigars that were manufactured in Cuba. These sanctions describe clearly that trade with Cuba in any form or fashion by United States individuals or corporations were against the law.
Pierre Salinger, the press secretary to then President John F. Kennedy, reported that the night before the embargo was enacted into law, the President had him go to local tobacconists and purchase 1000 Cuban cigars for his own use. Salinger reportedly purchased 1200 cigars for the President.
It is still illegal to bring Cuban cigars into the United States. It does not matter if the cigar was purchased in Cuba or another country, such as Canada where they are readily available. At the minimum, even the possession of one cigar can carry a stiff penalty. The best case scenario would be the confiscation of the cigar; the worst case could mean imprisonment.
The sanction states the penalties to be up to 10 years in prison and a quarter of a million dollar fine to individuals breaking the Trading with the Enemy Act and possessing more than just a few cigars. Fines against corporations are stiffer, beginning at one million dollars. Civil penalties can also be imposed, with fines up to $55,000.00
There is only one exception to this policy. If you are an employee of the State Department and you enter Cuba on related business, you are allowed to return with up to 100 Cuban cigars for your own personal use.
The United States Customs service reports that they confiscate approximately 90,000 Cuban cigars annually valued at a street price of more than one million dollars. It is estimated that 5 million cigars do make it past customs annually with a value of 75 million dollars. These are then sold on the black market for prices much escalated above their actual worth.
In recent years, there has been much discussion about the effectiveness of the embargo against Cuba. Proponents of the sanctions say that the embargo hurts the communist government, while opponents feel the embargo only hurts the Cuban people.
While Congress has opened talks about lifting the sanctions against trade with Cuba, many analysts and politicians alike feel that the embargo made sense during the cold war, but that the sanctions have not served the purposes intended. The stated purpose was supposed to place pressure on the Cuban government to promote democracy and human rights for the Cuban people.
Even with all the talk, most politicians feel that lifting the embargo will not happen until after the death of Fidel Castro, the dictator who rules Cuba with an iron fist. Until then, most American will never know whether the Cuban cigar is indeed the best cigar in the world or if it is just a myth.
