My daughter is trying to kill me!

[suncat05]

This morning I saw something about a shooting in Orlando, but because I just saw a news blurb and no substantive information aside from that, I moved on.
A little while later I received a text from her assuring me that she was okay. Huh? What? What are you talking about?
She then informs me that the shooting from the news blurb happened in the Emergency Room at the hospital she works at. Now, she works on the opposite side of the complex, so she was not directly involved. And the actual shooting happened 'after' she was off duty.
Thank you, sweet Jesus.
And then, without even taking a breath, she hits me with "Oh, by the way, in November some of my friends and I are going to CUBA for the weekend."
Huh? What did you say? WHERE are you going?
CUBA!
Uh, you do know that CUBA is a Communist country? Right? That they are an enemy of the United States?
Oh Dad, don't worry, we'll be safe. We've been assured that where we're going in HAVANA is cool........
Uh, HAVANA is NOT SAFE and it is NOT COOL! GITMO, where you'd be surrounded by M-4 toting United States Marines, would be cool! HAVANA? Not just no, but hell no!
And then we mysteriously were disconnected.

I don't know anybody in Cuba. I have zero contacts there. Not. A. Soul. And, what if one of her 'friends' gets drunk on mojitos and starts some crap and they all end up getting thrown into a damn Cuban jail? Then what? Is it all frigging cool then?
Not to mention that their American dollars will somehow find its way into the hands of Communists and other third world terrorists in other Caribbean, Central & South American countries to be used against us here.
Which she doesn't even realize, because, hey, you know, they don't teach this in American history anymore. So none of them know about the recent Communist history of CUBA.

I swear to God, guys, my daughter is trying to kill me!

[suncat05]

This idea is about as dumb as the one her cousin in Australia came up with. She and her boyfriend got the bright idea that visiting VENEZUELA would be a nice vacation.
At the same time a lot of pretty young foreign girls were disappearing while on vacation. Which even her Dad, my brother-in-law, a defense contractor with the Australian military, did not know. But I did, because I do still have friends in low places in that area.
I am not against her traveling and learning and seeing new things.
But in my estimation, she may as well go to North frigging Korea or visit the ChiComs.
CUBA is just a bad idea in my book.
Good parenting NEVER ENDS, even when they're in their late twenties. And oh, yeah, her Mom is way more upset than I am. Way more.

[CitizenBBN]

Florida is pretty permissive on some things, can you just lock her in her room for a while?

From the little I know, Cuba isn't my first choice, but it's nothing in the sphere of Venezuela, which is insane. That's right above Afghanistan, and maybe below it.

I know some people who went over prior to the opening up, you could go by boat for delivery of "humane medical aid" so they'd take contianers of first aid supplies over with them from key West.

I wouldn't call it secure, but from what I understand it's not unsafe either, and right now they want hard currency so the government is generally pretty friendly to tourists. Europeans have been going there for some time.

But I can't say I'd be OK with it at all as a parent. It's not as bad as North Korea, where they really will throw you in a hole, but like you I wouldn't like her going somewhere that is still basically an American enemy, not an ally.

[Catonahottinroof]

I have Canadian friends that have vacationed in Cuba for years. No issues at all and very cordial hosts toward them when they are there.
Venezuela would be an entirely different altogether.

[suncat05]

We're not Canadians.
And I am firmly against giving Communists any American money. But that's just me.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Cuba is not on my bucket at all. But I know a couple of people that have been and they enjoyed their experience.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[dan_bgblue]

Can Americans visit Cuba without going with a tour group that shepherds the visitors around the island?

[suncat05]

Can Americans visit Cuba without going with a tour group that shepherds the visitors around the island?

I do not know. And that is a very good question, as far as I'm concerned.
Still doesn't matter though. I am still against her going because she and her group do not understand the ramifications of willfully giving good American money to Communist/terrorist regimes.
Good money that will be used for evil purposes against America & Americans. JMHO.

[Catonahottinroof]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2018/04/23/yes-you-can-still-travel-to-cuba/#2c97f9de378d

[dan_bgblue]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2018/04/23/yes-you-can-still-travel-to-cuba/#2c97f9de378d


(It bears mentioning that pure tourism was not, and is still not, allowed. Travelers must fall under one of these 12 categories of authorized travel.)


"If you speak Spanish, you don't need a tour guide,” says John McAuliff, executive director of Fund for Reconciliation and Development Coordinator. “You can do it completely on your own with one of the good guidebooks.”

McAuliff, 75, who has been working to create more ties between Cuba and the U.S. through travel for over twenty years says that although individual “people-to-people” trips were eliminated in June, Americans can visit the country without a tour operator under “support of the Cuban people.”