Why are American politicians questioning Beyoncé and Jay-Z's holiday to Cuba?

Updated
Why are American politicians questioning Beyoncé and Jay-Z's holiday to Cuba?
Why are American politicians questioning Beyoncé and Jay-Z's holiday to Cuba?



Two American politicians are asking whether Beyoncé and Jay-Z were granted permission from the US government to visit Cuba.

The couple reportedly chose to visit the Caribbean island to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. They were pictured touring Old Havana on Thursday surrounded by bodyguards.

The celebrities visited tourist attractions, chatted to locals and took pictures on the trip.

But Republican congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart have now sent a letter to the US Treasury Department querying the type of license they were granted.

Why are American politicians questioning Beyoncé and Jay-Z's holiday to Cuba?
Why are American politicians questioning Beyoncé and Jay-Z's holiday to Cuba?


In the letter, they wrote: "Cuba's tourism industry is wholly state-controlled; therefore, US dollars spent on Cuban tourism directly fund the machinery of oppression that brutally represses the Cuban people."

According to the Associated Press, it is illegal for American citizens to travel to Cuba as tourists, but US citizens can visit the country with a "cultural exchange" license.

Meanwhile, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the Executive Director of Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington DC told TMZ that they should have thought before visiting the communist state.

He said: "There are women getting beaten on a daily basis, women who are being jailed for no reason ... people are fighting for their freedom. It's extremely insensitive."

In January, Beyoncé and Jay-Z enjoyed a family holiday in the Bahamas with their daughter Blue Ivy. The holiday was also a working trip for Beyoncé, who was pictured on a photo shoot.

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