The raids were conducted under the auspices of the Trading with the Enemy Act, which grants presidents the authority to prohibit the import of property from specified foreign countries. Federal law has banned most imports from Cuba since July 8, 1963, shortly after John F. Kennedy ordered then‐press secretary Pierre Salinger to go out and buy as many of his favorite H. Upmann Petit Coronas as possible.
In 1996 the Helms‐Burton Act codified many of the unilateral economic sanctions against Cuba that the United States had maintained under the Trading with the Enemy Act. It also added noxious new provisions, such as extraterritorial boycotts of foreign companies that do business in Cuba.
Such laws offer massive potential for abuse because enforcement will always be spotty. Prominent businessmen have been busted, but how many members of Congress have occasionally indulged in a fine Havana Montecristo or Cohiba Esplendidos? Don’t expect to see agents raiding Capitol Hill offices anytime soon.
Besides, is Cuba really our enemy? With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of subsidies to Cuba in the early 1990s, the Cuban security threat virtually ceased to exist. Now we isolate Cuba, not to enhance security, but to “help” the Cuban people.
It’s difficult to see how commando raids on American citizens will promote freedom abroad. In any case, it’s bad policy. Our government was established to protect the life, liberty and property of the people of the United States. We must not allow our rights to be compromised, even for seemingly admirable purposes. The example of a free and prosperous America is a more powerful force for change than any embargo will ever be.
Nevertheless, Customs has dramatically stepped up its enforcement efforts against Cuban cigars. The agency reported confiscating $3.1 million worth last year alone, in 3,700 separate seizures. As is the case with illegal narcotics, prices will rise and more smuggling will occur; oppression in Cuba will continue, however, just as it has during nearly four decades of U.S. isolation.
Sadly, the cigar raids are only the latest example of America’s senseless Cuba policy in action. Continued U.S. antagonism has been a major reason Castro has remained so firmly in power, despite the Cuban economy’s deterioration.
If Congress and the Clinton administration are serious about encouraging liberalization, they should allow Americans to trade freely with Cuba. The Cuban embargo — and the cigar wars — should be consigned to the ash heap of history.