Case and point is the recent partnership between International Port Corp., a Miami company engaged in maritime humanitarian shipments, and the Castro regime's Cuba PACK, which receives, vets and distributes the parcels.
This raises a very serious issue of abuse and the parcels ending up in the wrong hands, as totalitarian dictatorships are infamous for diverting humanitarian aid.
That is why the specifications in U.S. law are so important, as they weigh the cost of the regime profiting from this service versus the benefit of basic humanitarian support.
However, in a recent article about these humanitarian parcel shipments to Cuba, The Miami Herald left the following assertion unchecked:
"Pretty much anything is allowed by the U.S. government under the umbrella of family aid — an exception to the five-decade-old embargo — as long as it’s shipped to an individual or by a visiting Cuban who is returning home, said Leonardo Sanchez-Adega, IPC marketing director."
That statement is misleading, as there are important limitations in the Commerce Department's rules on what can be sent, who it can be sent to and the value of the gift parcel.
First, what can be sent?
Gift parcels may include civilian clothing, personal hygiene items, seeds, veterinary medicines and supplies, fishing equipment and supplies, soap-making equipment, and other non-sensitive items of a type normally sent as gifts between individuals, including certain consumer communications devices.
Who can it be sent to?
Any individual, other than certain Cuban Government or Cuban Communist Party officials, or to a charitable, educational, or religious organization in Cuba that is not administered or controlled by the Cuban Government or the Cuban Communist Party.
What is the maximum value of what can be sent?
Donors may send one gift parcel per month per eligible recipient. The combined total domestic retail value of eligible items may not exceed $800 per gift parcel.
