Beyoncé and Jay-Z trip to Cuba reportedly licensed by U.S. Treasury

The GOP continues its inquiry into the stars' vacation to an island where U.S. tourism is prohibited

Published April 9, 2013 1:00PM (EDT)

The GOP continues to question how celebrity couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z were allowed to visit Cuba, a country that the US has restricted tourism to for over 50 years. Although Obama loosened American travel restrictions to allow educational and cultural visits in recent years, media reports indicate that the celebrity couple went on vacation to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.

Prompted by inquiries into the trip from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, sources have come forward to say that the US Treasury sanctioned the visit. From the Guardian:

The stars' controversial trip was legal, a source confirmed to Reuters. Beyoncé and Jay-Z were apparently carrying licences provided by the Treasury's office of foreign assets control, which oversees US citizens' visits to Cuba. The terms of these permits are not clear: Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, called it "a Treasury matter", while the Treasury's spokesman, John Sullivan, told the Associated Press he could not comment on particular licences.

But the GOP remains unconvinced. Sen. Marco Rubio responded to the news, saying that even if the trip was fully licensed, “The Obama administration should explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba and it should disclose how many more of these trips they have licensed.”


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Beyonce Cuba Jay-z Marco Rubio Us Treasury