Despite ban, US cruise lines hired Cuban agencies to provide ‘tourism services’ to passengers

At the height of the enthusiasm sparked by President Barack Obama’s historic restoration of relations with Cuba, several cruise lines rushed to secure a piece of the island’s untapped market under newly eased regulations promoting “people-to-people” engagement. The cruise companies knew that traveling to Cuba for tourism was illegal. So, instead of sipping mojitos at Varadero beach, Americans going to Cuba were supposed to participate in humanitarian and social-impact initiatives to help Cubans gain independence from the state, the cruise lines pledged. But a recent trove of unsealed documents...