Asking for Permission to Report in Cuba

at 9:23 AM Saturday, August 2, 2014
In the two tweets below, the BBC's Sara Rainsford explains how she asked for permission to do a story on fishing problems in Cuba -- but was denied.

Interesting issue, but more importantly:

Who did she ask for permission?  The Cuban regime?

If so, why does a foreign journalist need to ask the Cuban regime for permission to report on anything?

 Moreover, what happens if the foreign journalist disobeys and does the story anyway?