Five Members Of The U.S. House Of Representatives Reportedly Refused Visas To Visit Cuba

Five (5) members of the United States House of Representatives reported they did not receive visas from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba for a visit to the Republic of Cuba scheduled from 24 June 2016 to 26 June 2016. 

The delegation are members of the Committee on Homeland Security of the United States House of Representatives:

Michael McCaul (R- Texas)- Visa Not Approved
John Katko ( R- New York)- Visa Not Approved
Martha McSally (R- Arizona)- Visa Not Approved
Richard Hudson (R- North Carolina)- Visa Not Approved
Henry Cuellar (D- Texas)- Visa Not Approved

The Honorable Michael McCaul is the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security; Representative Katko is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security of the Committee on Homeland Security.  

The stated purpose of the visit was to inspect civil aviation security and passenger screening procedures at airports including Jose Marti International Airport in the city of Havana, Republic of Cuba.

In June 2016, the United States Department of Transportation issued the first round of regularly-scheduled commercial flight routes for the Republic of Cuba.  

For the first 52-week period, the total number of authorized airline seats for the regularly-scheduled commercial routes is 1,904,396 (or 2,159,196 using 157-seat aircraft average for Havana).

The fifty-two week total regularly-scheduled commercial airline passenger capacity from the United States to the Republic of Cuba represents 54% (to 61%) of the Republic of Cuba’s 3,524,779 tourist arrivals in 2015.