For nearly 40 years the U.S. government has forbidden Americans to travel to Cuba. Excluding… For nearly 40 years the U.S. government has forbidden Americans to travel to Cuba. Excluding special circumstances, such as family visitation, for which travel visas are issued, any American caught ignoring the nearly four decades old economic embargo is subject to $250,000 in fines and 10 years imprisonment.

Well, theoretically, travel itself is not forbidden. But spending any money in Cuba is, so essentially travel is impossible.

So then, the question is why? Well, the most common rhetoric goes something like this – Fidel is a ruthless, heartless tyrant and any money that gets pumped into Cuba’s economy doesn’t go to the people or towards improving the communist island’s infrastructure. It just makes Castro’s and his comrades’ pockets fatter.

The fact is this sort of corrupt money filtration, or lack thereof, happens in scores of countries whose brochures can be picked up at any of your local travel agencies.

Yes, it’s true that Mr. Castro’s ideologies are a dangerous contrast to those which this country was founded upon. However, if the U.S. government’s true concern is for the Cuban people, then its continuing decision to leave the embargo in place could not be more contradictory.

Castro is still smiling, living large and puffing stogies. It’s the people who are suffering.

The economic embargo hasn’t succeeded in removing Castro from power in well over a third of a century, and it never will. All the embargo has managed to do is destroy the lives of innocent people.

So I say we end the embargo and go drink some mojitos.

But considering Dubya is in the control booth, I doubt that will happen any time soon. Thus, I’ve taken the liberty of providing you with some useful tips on how to get to Cuba while the travel ban is still in place.

Basically, Cuba can be visited via any other country. As long as you have a passport valid at least six months ahead and are willing to shell out the nominal fee of $15 U.S. dollars for a tarjeta turistica (tourist card) which can be purchased upon arrival, entry should not be a problem.

Cuban customs officials will also conveniently forget to stamp your passport as you arrive and depart so there will be no official evidence of your travels when you return to the United States.

From the United States and more specifically, Pittsburgh, the best route to take, if you’re not looking to bounce around another exotic location prior to Cuba, is via Canada. You can buy a fairly inexpensive train or plane ticket to Toronto or Montreal and go from there.

This summer, I was quoted a price of $455 U.S. dollars roundtrip from Montreal to Havana on Cubana Airlines, which is Cuba’s national carrier. However, the best time to go is in the winter or spring. Summer and early fall are hot as hell and always offer that slim but dreadful opportunity of living through – or dying as a result of – a category five hurricane.

One last tip: Do yourself and everyone else a favor and leave your politics at the custom’s counter. Have fun. Let the old guys in Washington and Havana do the bickering while you drink rum, smoke cigars and salsa til dawn.

This economic embargo and subsequent travel ban are the products of an idea. And ideas should be put out into the open for people to examine and toy with. They should never be instilled by force.

This is more than just a political issue. It’s an ethical one. It’s an issue which gives rise to the question, “Does anyone have the right to tell me what to think?”

This issue of what works best when it comes to the governing of societies is still up for debate. Whether it be democracy, communism, a blend of both, or any other past or current system, they all have their cracks and squeaky parts.

So if this issue has yet to be resolved, then damn the person who chooses to hand down a verdict on me with the intent of swaying my beliefs in any one direction. The seed of freedom is independent thought. Allow me to water my seed as I see fit.

Ben Magid is not a communist, but he is a columnist at The Pitt News and he can be reached at [email protected].