Embassy/Consulate Addresses | Foreign Relations | Travel Advisories | Travel Tips | Customs/Duties



EMBASSY/CONSULATE ADDRESSES

Cuban Interests Section in Washington DC
2630 and 2639 16th Street, NW
Washington DC 20009
Tel: (202) 797-8518
Fax: (202) 986-7283


United States Interests Section in Havana, Cuba
Seccion de Intereses de los Estados Unidos Calzada entre L y M Vedado
Havana Cuba
(Calzada between L & M Streets)
Tel: (53-7) 833-3551/9
Fax: (53-7) 833-1054

After-hours emergencies: 833-3026 or 2302

The U.S. Interests Section in Havana provides a wide range of consular services to Americans abroad, including emergency assistance, passport services, reports of births and deaths abroad, and notarial services, among others.

Interests Section and Consular Web Site for Cuba

U.S Interests Section in Cuba


FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS

Cuba's authoritarian regime assumed power by force in 1959 and has severely restricted fundamental freedoms, repressed political opponents, and violated human rights. The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba in 1960 and broke diplomatic relations in 1961, following the Cuban Government's expropriation of U.S. properties and its move toward adoption of a one-party communist system.

U.S. policy toward Cuba is focused on encouraging democratic and economic reforms and increased respect for human rights on the part of the Cuban Government. The U.S. Government has taken steps to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their country’s future. Although Cuba is subject to U.S. trade sanctions, the United States remains Cuba’s second largest supplier of food. The United States is committed to supporting safe, orderly, and legal migration from Cuba through the effective implementation of the 1994-95 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords.

U.S. Assistance to Cuba

U.S. programs in Cuba include humanitarian support to political prisoners and their families, human rights and democracy promotion, and facilitating the free flow of information to, from and within the island.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Remittances play an important role in Cuba's state-controlled economy, with much of that funding coming from families in the United States. In 2009, the United States announced the lifting of restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba, expanded the list of items eligible for humanitarian export to Cuba, and announced new regulations for U.S. telecommunications companies to expand the flow of information to Cuba. In 2011, the United States announced regulatory changes that increase purposeful travel including religious, cultural, educational, and people-to-people travel; expand the individuals and groups eligible to send and receive remittances; and allow all U.S. international airports to apply to provide charter services to Cuba (previously only three airports were authorized).

Travel to Cuba is restricted by U.S. regulations to licensed travelers engaged in a set of specified activities. All U.S. travel to Cuba must be licensed by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and must fall into one of 12 categories. Further information on the licensing process can be obtained from OFAC or at its website. Those contemplating a visit to Cuba should consult the consular information page about the country.

All exports to Cuba must be licensed by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Further information on exports to Cuba can be found at the BIS website.

Cuba's Membership in International Organizations

Cuba has an activist foreign policy and aims to find new sources of trade, aid, foreign investment, and political support, as well as to promote opposition to U.S. policy toward Cuba, in particular U.S. trade sanctions. Cuba and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Cuba was readmitted to the Organization of American States in 2009 after having been expelled in 1962, but the country has refused to rejoin.

Bilateral Representation

The Chief of Mission of the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba is John Caulfield; other principal officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.

Cuba is represented in the United States by the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.

More information about Cuba is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

Department of State Cuba Country Page
Department of State Key Officers List
CIA World Factbook Cuba Page
U.S. Interests Section: Cuba
USAID Cuba Page
History of U.S. Relations With Cuba
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions Page
Travel and Business Information




TRAVEL ADVISORIES

To obtain the latest Travel Advisory Information for Cuba check the U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet.


TRAVEL TIPS

Driving TBA
Currency (CUP) Cuban Peso
Electrical 110/220 Volts
Telephones Country Code 53, City Code, Habana 7+6/7D, Pinar Rio 8+4/6D, Guantanamo Bay 99+4D



Time: GMT - 5.

Electricity: 110/230 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style flat two-pin plugs are generally used, except in certain large hotels where the European round two-pin plug is standard.

Telephone: IDD to Havana only. Country code: 53. Outgoing international code: 119. Phonecards for both internal and external calls are readily available from shops and kiosks (tourists must pay in US dollars). Some calls must be made through the international operator, and may be subject to delays.

Climate: Hot, sub-tropical climate all year. Most rain falls between May and October and hurricanes can occur in autumn (August to November). Humidity varies between 75 per cent and 95 per cent. Cooler months are January to April when the least rain falls.

Required clothing: Lightweight cottons and linens most of the year; the high humidity makes it unwise to wear synthetics close to the skin. Light waterproofs are advisable all year round.

Food & Drink: Restaurants (both table- and self-service) are generally inexpensive. Cuisine is continental or Cuban with a strong emphasis on seafood. Cuban food uses more garlic and less chilli than elsewhere in the Caribbean. Favourite dishes are omelettes, often stuffed with meat and/or cheese; maize fritters; a thick soup made of chicken or black beans; roast suckling pig; chicken and rice; plantains baked or fried; and local Cuban ice cream. Tour food served in hotels is not always exciting but it is adequate and will include chicken, fish, ham, cheese, fresh papaya, melon, pineapple, mangoes, bananas, fresh vegetables and green salads. Desserts are sweet and include pastries, flans, caramel custard, guava paste and cheese.
Bars generally have waiter and counter service. Cuban coffee is very strong, but weaker, British-style coffee is available. Cuban beer is tasty but weak. Spirits are reasonably priced; rum is good and plentiful and used in excellent cocktails such as daiquiris and mojitos (pronounced ‘moh-hee-tos’).

Nightlife: Nightlife is concentrated in Havana, Varadero Beach and in the major tourist resorts. Cuba is renowned for its salsa dancing and visitors can attend dance classes or swing their hips with the locals at the Tropicana and Varadero Mumbo nightclubs. Much entertainment may be planned by the visitor’s guide or tour operator, and it is common to attend in organised groups. Even medium-sized bars usually have a house band playing Cuban classics. There is a choice of floor show entertainments, nightclubs and theatres. The Tropicana nightclub stages spectacular open-air shows. Theatre, opera and ballet are staged all year round in Havana and seats are very cheap. Cinemas show films in Spanish, but some have subtitles.

Shopping: Special purchases include cigars, rum, coffee and local handicrafts. The main hotels have a few luxury shops. There are duty-free shops at the airport and in the centre of Havana. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1800, Sun 0900-1200.

Tipping: Moderate tipping is expected. However, as more foreigners pass through Cuba, many people who would not normally merit them have begun to demand tips. Some discretion may be required.

Currency: Cuban Peso (peso) = 100 centavos. Notes are in denominations of peso100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of peso1, and 20, 5, 2 and 1 centavos. The US dollar is also legal tender since 1993 and it is very difficult for visitors to use anything else. In some tourist and large, urban areas, the Euro is also accepted. Hard currency must be used in most transactions.

Currency exchange: Money should be exchanged at official foreign exchange bureaux, banks or international air- and seaports, which issue receipts for transactions. ATMs are currently only available in Varadero and Havana, but cash can be obtained in banks with visa credit or debit cards. At official tourist shops, purchases are made only in US Dollars, it is therefore advisable not to change too much hard currency into pesos. Black marketeers may offer as much as 20 times the official rate for US Dollars, but tourists are advised to avoid them as severe penalties for black marketeering are imposed. There are also many scams as moneychangers on the street often give tourists old pesos instead of the new peso convertible (equal, in theory, to US$1 for a Cuban within Cuba).

Credit & debit cards: Visa and MasterCard are increasingly accepted provided they are not issued by a US bank, but check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available. American Express and other cards issued by US banks are not accepted.


CUSTOMS/DUTIES

Tobacco.................200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco

Liquor....................3 litres of alcoholic beverages

Perfume.................Reasonable for personal use

Cameras................No restrictions

Film.......................Reasonable for personal use

Currency...............Must be declared on arrival

Gifts.......................Up to a value of US$100

Prohibited items.....Natural fruits, beans or vegetables, meat and dairy products, weapons and ammunition, all pornographic material and drugs.



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