A quick factual, chronological report of what happened to me on Wednesday at US Customs in Toronto. I’ll be posting commentary and my unpublished daily updates, photos and videos in the next few days:
I arrived in Harrisburg this morning after a two-day trip from Havana that brought me to Toronto last night. Direct commercial flights between the United States and Cuba are prohibited by US law.
I got to the airport in Toronto at 5:35 AM. I checked in with Air Canada and proceeded to U.S. Customs. I filled out my declaration form honestly and wrote that my trip included Canada, Mexico and Cuba.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen people in Toronto and other major Canadian airports instead of in the U.S. The officers can deny entry to travelers and can impose fines, but they do not have the power to arrest in Canada.
When I got to the customs officer he asked me the usual questions until he got to the section about what countries I had visited. When I mentioned Cuba he stopped the interview, put a big red "S" on my declaration form and brought me to a room for "further screening."
A quick factual, chronological report of what happened to me on Wednesday at US Customs in Toronto. I’ll be posting commentary and my unpublished daily updates, photos and videos in the next few days:
I arrived in Harrisburg this morning after a two-day trip from Havana that brought me to Toronto last night. Direct commercial flights between the United States and Cuba are prohibited by US law.
I got to the airport in Toronto at 5:35 AM. I checked in with Air Canada and proceeded to U.S. Customs. I filled out my declaration form honestly and wrote that my trip included Canada, Mexico and Cuba.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen people in Toronto and other major Canadian airports instead of in the U.S. The officers can deny entry to travelers and can impose fines, but they do not have the power to arrest in Canada.
When I got to the customs officer he asked me the usual questions until he got to the section about what countries I had visited. When I mentioned Cuba he stopped the interview, put a big red "S" on my declaration form and brought me to a room for "further screening."
I waited about five minutes before my name was called by an officer. (I have the names of all of the officers and supervisors involved, but will not use them in public.) He began by yelling at me, "What year were you born? Don’t you know that we’ve been trying to isolate Cuba since 1959?"
I answered that I thought the embargo was unjust and should be repealed. I wanted to challenge the embargo and refused to lie about going to Cuba.
(Over 100,000 US citizens go to Cuba each year without a license from the US Treasury Department. Almost all of them lie. It’s easy to do and tour books on Cuba even tell you how to do it.)
Another officer yelled from her station nearby, "It’s people like you who make it bad for everyone else!"
The first officer said, "You’re in big trouble. Plan on staying here a while. What time is your flight?"
I told him 7:30. He told me there was no way I would make that flight. He then left me to get some paperwork.
While he was gone his supervisor came over and said, "I understand you have a problem with rules. You’ll find out what it’s like for rule breakers."
When the first officer cam back he said "We’re confiscating everything that reeks of Cuba." He then looked at every item in both my carryon and my big bag. He finally identified the following as subject to confiscation: two books, two DVDs, three music CDs, two t-shirts and 2 hats (for my younger children), daily newspapers, business cards from Cubans and a other printed materials that originated in Cuba. Oh, and two packs of Cohiba cigarettes for friends who asked me to bring them Cohibas (I couldn’t afford the cigars!). I also had about 20 Cuban coins for my kids’ coin collections.
He took all of my papers, including business cards of people I met, notes, and travel information. They made copies of everything.
While they were making copies, other officers came by to check me out. Two officers came by picking up each item, whispering to each other and laughing while pointing at me. Another supervisor looked at each item, making small talk. One of the CDs had a statue of Che on the cover, prompting him to say, "Songs about a terrorist. You can lose your passport for this." Another officer came by and said "I just wanted to see the crusader. This is probably going to be your last flight out of the country."
Around 7:30 the first officer told me they were going to confiscate everything that was questionable. I told him that even during the Cold War it was permissible to bring back educational and informational materials. That has always included books and has been expanded to include DVDs and CDs in recent years. He said that was true only under licensed travel.
Around 7:45 I was told I could go. (My flight was scheduled for 7:30) They told me that I could keep the printed materials and the CDs and DVDs, essentially agreeing with me about my ability to bring them back to the US. They also told me that they were not confiscating my other items, but I couldn’t bring them into the US. The officer told I would have to throw them away. When I got to a trash can I placed the items on top of the can so that someone might find them and take them since they were brand new. He told me I had to put them in the can. I reluctantly complied.
Before leaving me, he said "This isn’t over. You can expect a big bill in the mail."
I got on my flight and returned to the land of the free.