White House: Cuba Travel Decisions Made By Treasury Department

Above: Havana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Decisions to issue travel licenses over trips to Cuba are a matter for the Treasury Department and not the White House, according to Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary.

Carney was responding to a question at the daily White House press briefing Monday regarding the recent Cuba trip by music stars Jay-Z and Beyonce this weekend.

US Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen had expressed their concern over the legality of the trip in a letter Friday, as first reported by Caribbean Journal.

“Decisions about cultural travel and academic travel are made by the Treasury Department,” Carney said. “I would refer you for specific cases to the Treasury Department.”

Carney acknowledged that the government had eased the ability to travel to Cuba for certain purposes such as cultural and academic travel.

“There’s a process in place where those who would like to travel seek a licence to travel and that’s done through Treasury,” he said. “It’s not something we have any insight into.”

Earlier Monday, Reuters reported that a source familiar with the trip said it was fully licensed by the Treasury Department.