What happens if you are caught with cuban cigars

But if you're not a cigar aficionado, you might not be able to tell. Many people are snookered by counterfeits. Real Cubans are expensive. Sadly, that means the rules could exclude the best Cuban cigars. Stephen Pulvirent at Bloomberg writes:. There are vintage and limited edition cigars for which a single stick will still be too pricey to make it into the U.

By Kara Brandeisky December 18, The deterrent for me was the quality of the cigars. My reputation is on the line. The embargo was tightened last year by President Clinton after the Cuban military shot down two unarmed civilian planes carrying four Cuban-Americans looking for people who may have escaped the island nation on rafts.

Even so, cigar aficionados claim that today, there are 10 times more Cuban cigars available in the United States than there were five years ago. Prices have skyrocketed. At that price, an American authorized to visit Cuba could bring home only two--legally. Right now, good legal cigars are hard to get. San Domenico sells no Cuban cigars but does not stop customers from firing up what they claim to be a Havana. And there are plenty of fakes on the market.

At least two London tobacconists regularly ship Cuban cigars via air to American customers using this dodge. The story is similar at Dulles airport in suburban Washington, D. Referring to the seizure of Cuban cigars, Tony De Felippo, chief inspector of passenger operations at Dulles, says, "it happens, and when it does we reluctantly enforce the rules.

It is unclear whether this was due to policy or some ongoing investigation Kennedy has been the focal point of interdicting Cuban cigars in recent years , but questions about Customs operations at the airport were dodged and attempts to visit Customs at Kennedy were refused. Publicly, officials at OFAC take a dim view of lax embargo enforcement.

However, one official, who does not wish to be identified, says, "no one has ever told me not to enforce the law, but if you have a docket full of murderers and then a guy spitting on the sidewalk, what's going to take precedent? But according to federal law, the mere possession of Cuban cigars is equivalent to guilt. In other words, if authorities can prove that you have the goods, you are in direct violation of TWEA.

Luckily, most travelers and smugglers know that Uncle Sam doesn't have the time, personnel or money to bother with small-time embargo breakers. In Miami, where the Cuban-American community is especially powerful, Customs officials are noticeably rattled by the embargo's anomalies. A year veteran at Customs and part of a special-embargo-enforcement task force isn't afraid to lay it on the line: "You are talking about the paradox of the Cuban embargo here.

But the biggest violators of the embargo are Cuban-Americans. So you think I'm going to knock myself out trying to enforce this when they don't even know what they want? Do you want cops in the street to stop jaywalkers or homicides? Hey, I'll stop cigars, but don't come crying to me when your old lady gets whacked. Customs readily acknowledges that small parcels of cigars for personal use get through by mail and by hand but OFAC has operations in place to stop bigger violators: the few retailers who sell Cuban cigars.

There have been wild estimates on the number of Cuban cigars that were smuggled into the United States until ; the estimates range between 5 and 10 million cigars per year. Yet most people who monitor the industry--and even people involved with interdiction--agree that illegal sales of Havana cigars at the retail level have declined in this country.

Although demand is still quite high, Cuban production has fallen off sharply. There just isn't enough merchandise to go around. And because retailers can lose their licenses for dealing in contraband, most agree that it would be economic suicide even to try--especially with sales of legal cigars up as much as 30 percent see "Rolling Along," page With so few Cuban cigars available and demand riding an upward trend, some Americans violate both travel and trade restrictions to buy Havanas.

And occasionally, things get a little scary even before the cigars leave Havana. A Hollywood star, he had been courted like a prince. Every woman wanted to meet him and wherever he went, people gave him boxes of cigars.

Leaving the country was disconcerting to Fauci, if only because he would eventually have to arrange to get 42 boxes of cigars 20 of which had been gifts back to his California home.

However, Fauci, like most illegal travelers to Cuba, was flying via a third country--one that doesn't have any trade or travel restrictions with the island nation. As he checked his baggage at Varadero airport, a small international hub west of Havana, trouble began. Fauci unaware that Cuba allows only seven boxes of cigars per tourist was asked to produce receipts for his Cuban purchases, but he didn't have receipts for the 20 gift boxes of cigars.

It was stiflingly hot and dark in there, and there were five guys with machine guns. But it never reached Fidel's lips. In a cartoonish manner, the United States attempted to kill "El Caballo" with an exploding cigar! Bugs Bunny would be proud. Other zany attempts include a scuba diving suit tubercle bacilli and a booby trap conch on the bottom of the sea where he dove.

Man, this stuff is so crazy you can't make it up! Many believed that the embargo would be removed after Fidel Castro's death, but this was not the case. In the restriction on bringing Cuban cigars into the U.

However, there was a catch. The point is you did not want to look like your selling "Cubanos" in the Little Havana section of Miami as soon as you jump out of your Uber.

Also, you had to purchase the cigars from independent Cuban merchants. As I've mentioned, the entire Cuban cigar industry is run by the state. You're officially in the "books". So bringing more than that through U. Customs could have aroused suspicions. The regulations that were loosened by the previous administration were tightened once again under the Trump administration.

This has effectively made over hotels and lodging properties off limits to U. This embargo against Cuba forces U. Thus making the times feel more reminiscent of February than There has been much backlash from travel providers and globe trotters alike. As a result of these strict regulations, cuban cigar loving citizens from the United States will be deterred from attending yearly events such as the prestigious Habanos Festival and the world renowned Havana Jazz Festival. The world renown Cohiba "Cubano".

By far, cigars are Cuba's most precious export. And perhaps the most famous cigar brand in the world, Cohiba was established as a private limited production. Cohiba was created to supply Fidel Castro and his cohorts with premium "stogies" and what is now coveted cuban tobacco. The cigar began to take on a cult-like following as they were often handed out as gifts to diplomats. Thus, they have been a state-run cigar industry since their inception.