CUBA COMMITMENT

Updates:

Our Missionary has returned safely and with a good report.  A full report will be in soon and if you wish we can mail it to you via the postal system.  He was accompanied by two Mexican Pastors and the prayers of the saints.  The trip was a success and allowed the men from Mexico to begin lasting relationships with their Cuban counterparts.  The printing of the ABC’s of Christian Growth is soon to completion and several other projects are coming to a head.  Please continue to pray for these.  Without a doubt, God was with them as they journeyed.  This success revalidates our belief that the Latin American Nationals need to be more and more introduced into this Commitment and further travels.  The men taken or sent so far have been highly effective.  In our next report I will send you information concerning the need and challenges of sending other Latin Pastors and Missionaries to Cuba on our behalf.  The previous trip taken to the island was taken by a missionary to Colombia , his report is ready and you should receive your copy early this next week.

Information:

As you should know by now travel to Cuba is easier than it has ever been.  This is only true if you do this legally and keep accurate records.  It is possible to go to Cuba and not go with the proper authority, or falsify your records to say you are someone to whom you are not.  If you chose the later option the authorities from the Treasury Department will be more than happy to take your license, revoke your right to travel oversees and begin prosecution.  A case this week gave some interesting insight as to why the Government is doing this.  The federal authorities charged two Florida men in a scheme to violate Cuba travel restrictions through travel licenses for fake churches.  This holds serious charges with it.  Two Florida men allegedly concocted a scheme to get around the restrictive Cuba travel ban by creating bogus Baptist Churches and applying for licenses under the name of God that allowed thousands of travelers to visit the island.  The federal government wasn't fooled for long.  On Thursday, authorities filed a criminal complaint in Fort Lauderdale federal court against one man aged 75 and another 42 both claiming to be Baptist Preachers (missionaries). The pair is accused of conspiracy to violate Cuba-related travel regulations. One is also alleged to have made false statements in applications for religious travel licenses to Cuba .  Under the 43-year-old Cuba trade embargo, U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from traveling to Cuba . Among the exemptions: those traveling for religious purposes. To make the trip, as we have, you must obtain a religious license from the federal government and arrange plans with a travel agency.  A rule has been for some time now, that all travel must go through Miami and through a couple of agencies, which monopolize the field of travel and charge very inflated prices.  This has recently changed.  We can now, with the License, travel from any third party nation to Cuba legally.  This I believe is an answer to direct prayer.  We have been praying about this for over two years now, and you have been praying for open doors.  Thank God now!  Enforcement of this travel ban though, is not uncommon.  Authorities have recently stepped up investigations of travel agencies.  The case against these two men is the first criminal prosecution of Cuba travel violations since formation in October of a special team of federal and local law enforcement investigators to root out breaches of the embargo.  This is the special team I have explained in previous e-mails.  The New York Times reported “The Cuban Sanctions Enforcement Task Force was credited Thursday by senior federal law enforcement officials with piecing together the case against Margolis and Vazquez.”  Agencies were used by the men, illegally to travel, those agencies then charged travelers -- more than 4,500 in all -- a $250 fee to use the falsely-obtained license.  In a report to MSN , U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said “…the special task force and the case itself underscores the U.S. government's commitment to tightly enforce the embargo.”  He further mentioned, ''Vigorous enforcement of economic sanctions against the Cuban regime is important to help hasten a transition to democracy on the island,'' he said.  The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers the embargo, found that Vazquez and Margolis had obtained licenses ''under false pretenses'' for churches that did not exist -- stretching back to March 2004.  The agency, the affidavit said, received one of the first applications for a Cuban religious-travel license on March 25, 2004, from Vazquez on behalf of the First Church of Christ in Winter Garden, near Orlando . They got the license within a week.  At some point, the agency became suspicious and launched an investigation, finding a parking lot at the address given. The men had apparently organized 15 trips under the religious license, taking no more than five to 15 people per trip to Cuba .   The men, after investigation, had traveled 45 different times over the two-year duration of the license, averaging two trips a month.  Investigators also found that more than 2,000 people had traveled to Cuba between March 2005 and April 2006 under the First Church of Christ license.  Delving deeper, investigators discovered the two men had applied for religious licenses through nonexistent churches in Alabama , Colorado and Oregon , setting up mailboxes to receive correspondence.  This has spurred the special investigators to now search out ALL licenses of religious origin.  This is a matter of prayer.  All of our records are accurate and the Churches to whom we cooperate with are as well.  We believe in doing things “decently and in order” as we are commanded in our Bible.  With personal discussions with federal officials and reports like this one, we have been stirred to become as compliant as possible with our federal government and its laws.  Our testimony and the souls in Cuba are at stake.  Pray for us and all that labor in this field, that we not arm the enemy.

Prayer Request:

With your intercession doors have opened.  With your passion we will move forward.  Pray this week for this latest trip into Cuba , that impact will be felt while we are not there.  Men are waiting to be trained and several more waiting to hear for the first time.  Please pray this week.

In HIS Service,

Travis A. Jones

travis@metrobc.org

Metropolitan Baptist Church

6051 Azle Ave.

Ft Worth, TX 76135

www.metrobc.org