[House Document 108-165]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

108th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-165

 
                 CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY

                       RELATING TO CUBA, ET. AL.

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

  TO CONTINUE THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED IN PROCLAMATION 6867 OF 
MARCH 1, 1996, IN RESPONSE TO THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT'S DESTRUCTION OF TWO 
  UNARMED U.S.-REGISTERED CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE 
   NORTH OF CUBA; A PROCLAMATION EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF THE NATIONAL 
    EMERGENCY AND INVOCATION OF EMERGENCY AUTHORITY RELATING TO THE 
    REGULATION OF THE ANCHORAGE AND MOVEMENT OF VESSELS INTO CUBAN 
             TERRITORIAL WATERS, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1601




  February 26, 2004.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    Pursuant to section 1 of title I of Public Law 65-24, ch. 
30, 50 U.S.C. 191, and sections 201 and 301 of the National 
Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 16501 et seq., I hereby report that 
I have exercised my statutory authority to continue the 
national emergency declared in Proclamation 6867 of March 1, 
1996, in response to the Cuban government's destruction of two 
unarmed U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in international 
airspace north of Cuba. Additionally, I have exercised my 
authority to expand the scope of the national emergency as, 
over the last year, the Cuban government, which is a designated 
state-sponsor of terrorism, has taken a series of steps to 
destabilize relations with the United States, including 
threatening to abrogate the Migration Accords with the United 
States and to close the U.S. Interests Section. This conduct 
has caused a sudden and worsening disturbance of U.S. 
international relations.
    In my proclamation (copy attached), I have authorized and 
directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to make and issue 
such rules and regulations that the Secretary may find 
appropriate to prevent unauthorized U.S. vessels from entering 
Cuban territorial waters.
    I have authorized these rules and regulations as a result 
of the Cuban government's demonstrated willingness to use 
reckless force, including deadly force, in the ostensible 
enforcement of its sovereignty. I have also authorized these 
rules and regulations in an effort to deny resources to the 
repressive Cuban government that may be used by that government 
to support terrorist activities and carry out excessive use of 
force against innocent victims, including U.S. citizens and 
other persons residing in the United States, and threaten a 
disturbance of international relations. Accordingly, I have 
continued and expanded the national emergency in response to 
these threats.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, February 26, 2004.
                                 Notice

                              ----------                              


  Continuation of the National Emergency Relating to Cuba and of the 
  Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and 
                          Movement of Vessels

    On March 1, 1996, by Proclamation 6867, a national 
emergency was declared to address the disturbance or threatened 
disturbance of international relations caused by the February 
24, 1996, destruction by the Cuban government of two unarmed 
U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in international airspace 
north of Cuba. In July 1996 and on subsequent occasions, the 
Cuban Government stated its intent to forcefully defend its 
sovereignty against any U.S.-registered vessels or aircraft 
that might enter Cuban territorial waters or airspace while 
involved in a flotilla or peaceful protest. Since these events, 
the Cuban government has not demonstrated that it will refrain 
from the future use of reckless and excessive force against 
U.S. vessels or aircraft that may engage in memorial activities 
or peaceful protest north of Cuba. Therefore, in accordance 
with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 
1622(d)), I am continuing the national emergency with respect 
to Cuba and the emergency authority relating to the regulation 
of the anchorage and movement of vessels set out in 
Proclamation 6867.
    This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and 
transmitted to the Congress.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, February 26, 2004.
    Expanding the Scope of the National Emergency and Invocation of 
  Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and 
           Movement of Vessels Into Cuban Territorial Waters

                              ----------                              


            By the President of the United States of America

                             A PROCLAMATION

    By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the 
laws of the United States of America, in order to expand the 
scope of the national emergency declared in Proclamation 6867 
of March 1, 1996, based on the disturbance or threatened 
disturbance of the international relations of the United States 
caused by actions taken by the Cuban government, and in light 
of steps taken over the past year by the Cuban government to 
worsen the threat to United States international relations, 
and,
    WHEREAS the United States has determined that Cuba is a 
state-sponsor of terrorism and it is subject to the 
restrictions of section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration 
Act of 1979, section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961, and section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act;
    WHEREAS the Cuban government has demonstrated a ready and 
reckless willingness to use excessive force, including deadly 
force, against U.S. citizens, in the ostensible enforcement of 
its sovereignty, including the February 1996 shoot-down of two 
unarmed U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in international 
airspace, resulting in the deaths of three American citizens 
and one other individual;
    WHEREAS the Cuban government has demonstrated a ready and 
reckless willingness to use excessive force, including deadly 
force, against U.S. citizens and its own citizens, including on 
July 13, 1995, when persons in U.S.-registered vessels that 
entered into Cuban territorial waters suffered injury as a 
result of the reckless use of force against them by the Cuban 
military, and including the July 1994 sinking of an unarmed 
Cuban-registered vessel, resulting in the deaths of 41 Cuban 
citizens;
    WHEREAS the Cuban government has impounded U.S.-registered 
vessels in Cuban ports and forced the owners, as a condition of 
release, to violate U.S. law by requiring payments to be made 
to the Cuban government;
    WHEREAS the entry of any U.S.-registered vessels into Cuban 
territorial waters could result in injury to, or loss of life 
of, persons engaged in that conduct, due to the potential use 
of excessive force, including deadly force, against them by the 
Cuban military, and could threaten a disturbance of 
international relations;
    WHEREAS the unauthorized entry of vessels subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States into Cuban territorial waters 
is in violation of U.S. law and contrary to U.S. policy;
    WHEREAS the objectives of U.S. policy regarding Cuba are 
the end of the dictatorship and a rapid, peaceful transition to 
a representative democracy respectful of human rights and 
characterized by an open market economic system;
    WHEREAS a critical initiative by the United States to 
advance these U.S. objectives is to deny resources to the 
repressive Cuban government, resources that may be used by that 
government to support terrorist activities and carry out 
excessive use of force against innocent victims, including U.S. 
citizens;
    WHEREAS the unauthorized entry of U.S.-registered vessels 
into Cuban territorial waters is detrimental to the foreign 
policy of the United States, which is to deny monetary and 
material support to the repressive Cuban government, and, 
therefore, such unauthorized entries threaten to disturb the 
international relations of the United States by facilitating 
the Cuban government's support of terrorism, use of excessive 
force, and continued existence;
    WHEREAS the Cuban government has over the course of its 45-
year existence repeatedly used violence and the threat of 
violence to undermine U.S. policy interests. This same regime 
continues in power today, and has since 1959 maintained a 
pattern of hostile actions contrary to U.S. policy interests. 
Among other things, the Cuban government established a military 
alliance with the Soviet Union, and invited Soviet forces to 
install nuclear missiles in Cuba capable of attacking the 
United States, and encouraged Soviet authorities to use those 
weapons against the United States; it engaged in military 
adventurism in Africa; and it helped to form and provide 
material and political support to terrorist organizations that 
sought the violent overthrow of democratically elected 
governments in Central America and elsewhere in the hemisphere 
allied with the United States, thereby causing repeated 
disturbances of U.S. international relations;
    WHEREAS the Cuban government has recently and over the last 
year taken a series of steps to destabilize relations with the 
United States, including threatening to abrogate the Migration 
Accords with the United States and to close the U.S. Interests 
Section, and Cuba's most senior officials repeatedly asserting 
that the United States intended to invade Cuba, despite 
explicit denials from the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense 
that such action is planned, thereby causing a sudden and 
worsening disturbance of U.S. international relations;
    WHEREAS U.S. concerns about these unforeseen Cuban 
government actions that threaten to disturb international 
relations were sufficiently grave that on May 8, 2003, the 
United States warned the Cuban government that political 
manipulations that resulted in a mass migration would be viewed 
as a ``hostile act;''
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United 
States of America, by the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, 
including section 1 of title II of Public Law 65-24, ch. 30, 
June 15, 1917, as amended (50 U.S.C. 191), sections 201 and 301 
of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and 
section 301 of title 3, United States Code, in order to expand 
the scope of the national emergency declared in Proclamation 
6867 of March 1, 1996, and to secure the observance of the 
rights and obligations of the United States, hereby authorize 
and direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (the 
``Secretary'') to make and issue such rules and regulations as 
the Secretary may find appropriate to regulate the anchorage 
and movement of vessels, and authorize and approve the 
Secretary's issuance of such rules and regulations, as 
authorized by the Act of June 15, 1917.
    Section 1. The Secretary may make rules and regulations 
governing the anchorage and movement of any vessel, foreign or 
domestic, in the territorial waters of the United States, which 
may be used, or is susceptible of being used, for voyage into 
Cuban territorial waters and that may create unsafe conditions, 
or result in unauthorized transactions, and thereby threaten a 
disturbance of international relations. Any rule or regulation 
issued pursuant to this proclamation may be effective 
immediately upon issuance as such rule or regulation shall 
involve a foreign affairs function of the United States.
    Sec. 2. The Secretary is authorized to inspect any vessel, 
foreign or domestic, in the territorial waters of the United 
States, at any time; to place guards on any such vessel; and, 
with my consent expressly hereby granted, take full possession 
and control of any such vessel and remove the officers and crew 
and all other persons not specifically authorized by the 
Secretary to go or remain on board the vessel when necessary to 
secure the rights and obligations of the United States.
    Sec. 3. The Secretary may request assistance from such 
departments, agencies, officers, or instrumentalities of the 
United States as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this proclamation. Such departments, agencies, 
officers, or instrumentalities shall, consistent with other 
provisions of law and to the extent practicable, provide 
requested assistance.
    Sec. 4. The Secretary may seek assistance from State and 
local authorities in carrying out the purposes of this 
proclamation. Because State and local assistance may be 
essential for an effective response to this emergency, I urge 
all State and local officials to cooperate with Federal 
authorities and to take all actions within their lawful 
authority necessary to prevent the unauthorized departure of 
vessels intending to enter Cuban territorial waters.
    Sec. 5. All powers and authorities delegated by this 
proclamation to the Secretary may be delegated by the Secretary 
to other officers and agents of the United States Government 
unless otherwise prohibited by law.
    Sec. 6. Any provisions of Proclamation 6867 that are 
inconsistent with the provisions of this proclamation are 
superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.
    Sec. 7. This proclamation shall be immediately transmitted 
to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord two 
thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of 
America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

                                                    George W. Bush.

                                
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