Well the second part of that was a little redundant... but my point was, when granted the specific journalistic or academic travel visas that I mentioned, it is not illegal for the holder of said visa to then purchase Cuban goods - obviously, you cannot actually travel to a country and stay for any length of time without making a single purchase.
Regardless, the embargo is frivolous at this point, especially given the huge capitalist changes being made by Raul. He is currently selling off huge plots of lands for privatized agricultural endeavors (taxed, but not Govt run). They also just cut out a bunch of state provided amenities as well.
Except they still hold and execute political prisoners, still deprive their people of elections, still abduct at dissenters - you see where I'm going with this. Raul has liberated a small segment of the economy - he still holds everything else in an iron grip. And if memory serves, Cuba has a history of "forcefully nationalizing" assets when they feel like it - so the current "capitalist changes" don't mean anything until the Castro's swing from a rope
Hays:
Technically speaking, it is not illegal for an American citizen to be present on Cuban soil. The problem lies in the fact that the embargo makes it illegal for a US citizen to, in any way, further or contribute to the Cuban economy.. so you can't buy anything. As has already been mentioned, both journalists and academics can be, and regularly are, granted travel visas to Cuba with no special restrictions on their purchases. This would then make it entirely feasible for a long-established, nationally published magazine to obtain the journalistic license necessary to review these cigars.
Thanks for clarifying things, Hays, letsgowithbob; this makes a lot more sense. I always wondered how CA reviewed cubans and never had the Feds knocking on their door. Of course this also kills my hope of finding a legal loophole in the law :-/
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Thanks for clarifying things, Hays, letsgowithbob; this makes a lot more sense. I always wondered how CA reviewed cubans and never had the Feds knocking on their door. Of course this also kills my hope of finding a legal loophole in the law :-/