Beyonce and Jay-Z visited Havana, Cuba to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary and many Cuban-Americans are outraged, Huffington Post reports.
Cuba is a communist nation and America’s 51-year embargo makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba solely for tourism. But travelers can visit the country legally by obtaining a “cultural exchange” license. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which approves travel to the country, would not comment on whether Beyonce and Jay-Z got approval for their trip.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the Executive Director of Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington, D.C., a group dedicated to promoting democracy in the Caribbean country, told TMZ that Beyonce and Jay-Z failed to educate themselves on Cuba’s human rights violations before making the trip.
“It’s extremely insensitive,” he said.
Popular Spanish-language radio personality Ninoska Perez Castellon said:
“It’s sad to see the callous side of these individuals who vacation in a country where there is no respect for human rights and huge discrimination against blacks,†Perez added. “Current U.S. law bans U.S. tourism to Cuba; I hope Beyoncè and Jay-Z are not above the law.â€