[george wythe]

Now, I know what comes next; "It says specifically that family members shouldn't call them." Yeah, it does. Now if I could only remember where it was that I read that they can call ahead of time to let the government know that their loved ones had taken to sea in a bid for freedom. I don't remember, so don't ask.

I won't.

[george wythe]

National Review

The "wet feet-dry feet" policy allows individuals who can prove during their at-sea interviews that they face immediate persecution if they return to Cuba to seek asylum. But in most cases, this is impossible to prove. Most Cubans who attempt to flee and fail face reprisals because they attempted to flee. And reprisals can be subtle, such as the denial of employment. (With the exception of a few luxury Varadero Beach resorts from which most Cubans are barred, the government is the only employer of any significance in Cuba.)

Consider the story of Cuban dentist Noris Pena, who defected to the U.S. in 2001 while in Zimbabwe. Her parents and brothers were granted visas through the lottery. But, because she declared herself a political refugee, Castro's government denied her family members exit papers. "They were told the only way they were going to get off the island was on a raft," Pena told Newsday. Her family then decided to pay a smuggler to carry them to Florida. But Castro's secret police found out about their escape plan and met them before they reached the boat. They jailed Pena's father for three days and seized the family's life savings of 48,000 Cuban pesos (about $2,500). "If people use smugglers to leave Cuba, I think it's . . . a crazy idea," says Pena. "If my family told me they were going to try it, I would tell them no. But would I do it if I was still in Cuba? I think yes."

Human Rights Watch 2002 report

The government continued to prosecute people for "illegal exit" if they attempted to leave the island without first obtaining official permission to do so. Such permission was sometimes denied arbitrarily, or made contingent on the purchase of an expensive exit permit.

Prisoners were kept in abusive conditions, often in overcrowded cells. Many prisoners lost weight during incarceration and received inadequate medical care. Some endured physical and sexual abuse, typically by other inmates with the acquiescence of guards. Prison authorities insisted that all detainees participate in politically oriented "re-education" sessions or face punishment. Political prisoners who denounced poor conditions of imprisonment were frequently punished by long periods in punitive isolation cells, restricted visits, or denial of medical treatment.