Two To Be Sentenced For Obtaining False Religious Licenses For Cuba Travel

In Miami, Florida later this week and next two men will be sentenced after being convicted in a scheme in which they fraudulently obtained religious travel licenses for travel to Cuba. Today's Miami Herald reports that Victor Vazquez and David Margolis created phony churches to apply for the licenses. They then sold the right to travel under these permits to some 6,500 people. One of the few ways for Americans to legally travel to Cuba is under this type of religious travel permit that is issued by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control . 31 CFR Sec. 515.566 sets out the rules for obtaining licenses for religious activities in Cuba.