Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba: Implementation Highlights

In May 2004, the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (CAFC), chaired by the Secretary of State, submitted its initial report to the President. The report represents an inter-agency effort that serves as a blueprint for an integrated, comprehensive U.S. Government approach to hasten a transition to democracy on the island and assist the Cuban people after a democratic transition. After meeting with the Commission, the President directed that agencies begin implementation of the recommendations contained in chapter one of the report. The following highlights the actions taken to-date to implement the CAFC recommendations.

I. Empower Cuban Civil Society -- Provide additional grants to support democratic and human rights groups. Streamline licensing requirements for providing computers and other basic equipment to civil society.

• The Department of State reprogrammed $14.41 million in 2004 Economic Support Funds (ESF) providing additional funds to support democracy-building efforts in Cuba. State administers $8.41 million and USAID administers the remainder. State awarded grants in excess of $5.9 million to three NGOs and the National Endowment for Democracy to provide a range of activities to support democratic and human rights groups on the island, and to provide information about democratic political systems.
  
• The Department of Commerce and other involved agencies streamlined licensing requirements to permit Cuban civil society groups to receive high-speed laptop computers for the first time ever. Computers have already been delivered in Cuba under the new guidelines.
  
• The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is licensing religious groups to undertake activities to promote the development of Cuban churches on the basis of new detailed foreign policy guidance while at the same time taking steps to curb any abuse of the licenses inconsistent with their issuance.

II. Break the Information Blockade -- Deploy Commando Solo for weekly airborne broadcasts to Cuba.

• Commando Solo has flown on a weekly basis since August 21, 2004. Reception reporting from the island indicates that the TV Marti is being seen like never before.
  
• The International Broadcast Bureau’s FY ’06 budget request includes $10 million to acquire and refit a dedicated airborne platform.

III. Deny Resources to the Regime

Taken as a whole, the following new measures designed to deny resources to the regime have had the effect of cutting travel by U.S. persons to Cuba by approximately 57%. Taking into account reduced travel and remittances, we estimate that in the first post-CAFC year, we have denied the regime at least $500 million.

A. Undermine Regime-Sustaining Tourism -- Enforce travel restrictions; change Treasury regulations to eliminate abuses; improve efforts to prosecute pleasure boaters who travel illegally to Cuba.

• Treasury issued regulations:
  
• eliminating the provision allowing for the import of $100 worth of Cuban goods;
• limiting educational travel to full-semester study programs; and,
• eliminating the concept of fully-hosted travel;
• The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) was provided authority to require U.S. vessels, including pleasure boats, to demonstrate that they have valid Treasury and Commerce licenses to travel to Cuba before receiving a USCG permit to leave U.S. waters and enter Cuban territorial waters.
  
• Department of Commerce revised regulations limiting the issuance of Temporary Sojourn Licenses for private travel to Cuba only for the delivery of humanitarian goods or when it is in the U.S. foreign policy interests.
  
• The new requirements have cut U.S. pleasure boat traffic at "Marina Hemingway" by more than 90%, cutting into regime resources.

B. Limit the Regime's Manipulation of Humanitarian U.S. Policies - Tighten current policies on remittances, gift parcels, and family travel to decrease the flow of resources to the regime.

• Treasury issued new and revised regulations:
  
• prohibiting remittances to certain Cuban government officials and Communist Party members;
• permitting remittances only to immediate family members; and,
• limiting visits to immediate family once every three years by specific licenses.
• Commerce issued regulations:
• limiting the types of non-food items that may be included in gift parcels (to medicines, medical supplies and equipment, receive-only radio equipment and batteries);
• limiting eligible recipients to include only immediate family members;
• limiting the frequency of such parcels to once per month per household; and,
• prohibiting gift parcels to be sent to certain Cuban government officials and Communist Party members.

C. Deny Other Revenue Sources to the Regime -- Neutralize Cuban government front groups; pursue Title IV visa sanctions.

• Treasury created the Cuban Assets Targeting Group (CATG) to facilitate intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies in order to target Cuban front companies and other channels through which the Cubans are seeking to acquire hard currency. The CATG is developing a targeting list of the top ten entities for enforcement actions, as well as sting operations against illegal remittances forwarding networks. 
• The Department is actively investigating 26 entities for possible enforcement of Title IV of the Libertad Act. The most recent Title IV trafficking determination against a new entity was made on April 13, 2004. This was the first determination since 1997. On May 6, 2005, the Department implemented Title IV visa sanctions against additional officers of an entity already determined to be trafficking in confiscated property in Cuba.

IV. Illuminate the Reality of Castro's Cuba -- Enhance public diplomacy efforts to disseminate information on U.S. foreign policy related to regime abuses.

• As part of a projected $5 million program, $475,000 in new public diplomacy funds were made available to help promote greater information about U.S. policies towards Cuba, greater international involvement in support of democracy and the development of civil society in Cuba, and to support publications specializing in penetrating academic discussions about Cuba.
• Engaged in international efforts in Europe and Latin America in support of NGOs committed to highlighting the plight of political prisoners as well as promoting human rights and democratic transition on the island.

V. International Diplomatic Efforts -- Encourage international solidarity for Cuban democracy, human rights, and labor activists.

• The Commission briefed representatives of European and Latin American embassies in Washington, as well as Permanent Representatives to the Organization of American States on the Commission’s recommendations in order to generate additional discussion of transition planning and to seek out areas for international cooperation on ways to hasten the transition.
  
• The State Department participated in and supported the September 2004 three-day conference of the "International Committee for Democracy in Cuba" (ICDC) comprised of distinguished former world leaders, including Vaclav Havel, in Prague. The "Declaration of Prague" called for the release of all political prisoners, and condemned the Castro regime.
  
• Encouraged engagement and action in support of Cuban civil society, in the area of corporate social responsibility, focusing on Cuba.

VI. Undermine Regime Succession Strategy -- Target regime officials who engage in serious human rights abuses or assist fugitives from U.S. justice.

• The Department of State has placed the names of more than 300 regime officials who participated in the 2003 "show trials" resulting in the convictions of 75 civil society activists on the visa lookout system.
  
• Requested the interagency provide the names of human rights abusers and regime officials who assist fugitives from U.S. justice for inclusion in the visa lookout system.