cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 $1 | Funding local journalism | Weekly, 4-10 November 2022 Cayman airlift taking off Pages 5-6 Family seeks justice after ‘brutal’ murder Page 10 BUILDING HOPE Revived efforts to address housing crisis Pages 20-22 Photo: Taneos RamsayNORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky The body of another dead dog, wrapped in a tarp, has been found in Barkers in West Bay. This is at least the third report this year of a dead dog being dumped in a public area. A woman walking her own dog in the Barkers National Park came across the animal’s skeleton by a path. She said she had noticed the tarp at the side of the path previously, but it was only when the rain from Hurricane Ian in September disturbed the covering that she discovered the bones of the dog – and perhaps more than one dog – inside. “The remains I found recently were wrapped in a tarp on the side of the main path,” she said in an email to the Compass. “I have seen the tarp there for a while now but only noticed the bones just before Hurricane Ian [Sunday morning, 25 Sept.] – the high water had dislodged it and the bones were (are still) clearly visible. Given the size of the tarp bundle, I think there may be more than one dog inside.” She added, “I am a dog owner and animal lover. I walk my dog in Barkers at least twice a week and it really is distressing to see animals dumped in such a callous way. There is no excuse for this behaviour.” She has reported the incident to the Department of Agriculture, she said, but the body had not been removed by the time she visited the location again last week. The DoA has said in similar instances that unless there is a report regarding concern or suspicion of animal cruelty, the removal of a dead animal would be the remit of the Department of Environmental Health. The woman who found this dead animal had earlier reported the body of another dog that had been dumped in Barkers in February this year, which she said had taken more than three weeks to be removed after she reported it. In August, another dead dog was found inside a black canvas bag that had been dumped or washed up on Barefoot Beach. Matinees (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $9.00 (Mon-Fri before 6pm) Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets 640-FILM (640-3456) Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. 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Compass Centre, Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: T: (345) 949-5111 E: sales@compassmedia.ky W: caymancompass.com NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES BUSINESS EDITOR MICHAEL KLEIN ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER LIVING EDITOR VICKI WHEATON HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCHGILLIES weather Friday Forecast FORECAST Partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of evening showers. SEA STATE Slight with a wave height of 1 to 3 feet. WINDS Northwest at 5 to 10 knots. 77°F HIGH 72°F LOW UK Navy ship seizes £24M of cocaine, burns drug boat UK Naval ship HMS Medway, which was deployed to Cayman in September following the passage of Hurricane Ian, has been involved in a £24 million drug bust near the Dominican Republic. The operation, which happened last week, ended with the drug smugglers’ boat being torched and more than 400kg of cocaine being seized. The crew of HMS Medway, working with the US Coast Guard, boarded the vessel and detained three crew members, Governor Martyn Roper said in a statement on 1 Nov. He commended the teams for their actions on the high seas. “It is fantastic to see the excellent work of our Royal Navy, stopping illicit drugs reaching the hands of dealers and users. We all know the devastating effect such substances can have on the lives of individuals and their families,” he said. Dwayne Seymour escapes injury in Friday night crash Bodden Town East MP Dwayne Seymour escaped serious injury on 28 Oct. when he crashed his car into a CUC pole. “God’s angels had me,” said Seymour, speaking with the Cayman Compass after the collision. The parliamentary secretary said he was doing all right and had been tired, after leaving his offi ce late. Police, in a short statement on the crash on 31 Oct. said the incident happened just after 10:30pm Friday, 28 Oct. on Hurley Merren Boulevard in George Town. Seymour’s car was the only vehicle involved in the incident. The airbags in the car deployed on impact. Seymour said the police were called right after the crash and he stayed until a tow truck removed the car. Premier Wayne Panton also came to the scene of the crash on Friday night. Police said the collision involved material damage only with no injuries. “There was no suspicion that the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated therefore no arrests were made,” the RCIPS told the Compass following queries. New animal shelter on cards for Humane Society The Cayman Islands Humane Society fi nally may be getting a new home, after decades of housing rescued and abandoned animals at a shelter in George Town that is aging and prone to fl ooding during heavy rainfall. At present, every approaching storm brings pleas to the public for help. An application for planning permission has been submitted to the Planning Department for a new shelter for dogs and cats in West Bay. For more on this story, visit caymancompass.com. A drug boat, intercepted by the UK Naval ship HMS Medway, was torched after three people were removed from the vessel and cocaine was seized. - Photo: HMS Medway news in brief Skeleton of dumped dog found in Barkers The skeletal remains of a dog have been found dumped, wrapped in a tarp, by a path in Barkers. - Photo: Submitted cayman compass 2 N news FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022GRAND CAYMAN IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE FIN, THE FIN WE LIVE IN. Effortless luxury is defined by the little things, those that you don't see, that make every stay, meal, outing, and event, truly memorable. From the packed boat picnic to the inflated flamingo floatie, to the hard-to-find spice, the Fl N team ensures every need, must-have and even whim is not only met, but exceeded. For those seeking the extraordinary, there is only Fl N. 345.526.7777 fin@fingrandcayman.com @ fingrandcayman 0 fin.cayman cayman compass 3 FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 20221234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Rejection (7) 5 Until now (2,3) 8 Recklessly audacious (9) 9 Feel remorse for (3) 10 Stratagem (4) 12 Impartial (8) 14 Wily (6) 15 Flourish (6) 17 In progress (5,3) 18 Slip sideways on road (4) 21 Seed of apple etc. (3) 22 Pursuing hotly (2,4,3) 24 Hard, very dark wood (5) 25 Alleviate (7) DOWN 1 Horseman (5) 2 In favour of (3) 3 Team (4) 4 Fond (6) 5 Satisfactory (3,5) 6 Criterion (9) 7 Foot-operated lever (7) 11 Face boldly (5,2,2) 13 Infinite time (8) 14 To collapse (7) 16 Brave and resolute (6) 19 Senior member (5) 20 Become weary (4) 23 Mow (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17153 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. TODAY'S SOLUTIONS Puzzle 17153 ACROSS: 1 Refusal, 5 As yet, 8 Daredevil, 9 Rue, 10 Ruse, 12 Unbiased, 14 Crafty, 15 Thrive, 17 Under way, 18 Skid, 21 Pip, 22 In full cry, 24 Ebony, 25 Lighten. DOWN: 1 Rider, 2 For, 3 Side, 4 Loving, 5 All right, 6 Yardstick, 7 Treadle, 11 Stand up to, 13 Eternity, 14 Crumple, 16 Manful, 19 Doyen, 20 Flag, 23 Cut. The ‘Wild West’ scene at Public Beach [Cayman Compass, 28 Oct.] is a flashpoint for much larger questions over what Cayman’s tourism product should look like. The bustling hub of unlicensed and unregulated trade at the popular seaside spot has become a locus for differing and divergent visions of the future of tourism in Cayman – with ordinary people’s livelihoods caught up in the discussion. The upscale, upmarket image pitched by glossy advertising campaigns that entreat us to ‘Dream in Cayman’ seem at odds with the chaotic scenes at Public Beach, where rival traders clamour for business. Much of the commerce taking place is legitimate, though all of it is currently unlicensed for the beach and elements of it are likely illegal. It’s a poor advertisement for Cayman and a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. We are encouraged to hear that government is finally planning to follow through with plans for a licensing system. But the scenario playing out on the soft white sands of Seven Mile is a microcosm of a wider identity crisis for Cayman. As cruise tourism declines and diminishes, policymakers are rightly targeting an upscale product that prioritises higher spending visitors. But how do we ensure the authentic Cayman experience, and the people who provide it, don’t get left behind in the reshuffle? Drinks in hand, toes in sand There are almost certainly more Caymanians – many of them legitimate business owners and entrepreneurs – on Public Beach, selling jerk chicken and offering deckchairs for hire, than there are on the frontlines of the islands’ five- star resorts. And, as one reader pointed out, it would be a mistake to assume the casual experience they offer is necessarily at odds with the desires of the well-heeled tourists Cayman seeks to attract. ‘Drinks in hand, toes in sand’ is a vibe that anyone can get behind. Tourists who come to the Caribbean at this time of year are seeking escape from the grind of daily city life. As temperatures plummet in much of the world, there is solace (and soleil) in the authenticity and simple charm of beach life in Cayman. Part of the pay-off comes in posting a video to social media – a machete slicing into the fresh coconut you just bought, having collapsed into a hired deckchair under a shady umbrella after a jet ski ride, Cayman’s sea of palest emerald the envy of friends and family bundled up back home. You can’t manufacture that kind of atmosphere and there is an argument that Public Beach offers a more authentic Caymanian experience than many of the islands’ hotels. The mantra of ‘retrain and retool’, which successive governments have espoused for those workers that earn their crust from cruise, including those on Public Beach, is a pipe dream. It is hard to see beachside entrepreneurs, legitimate or otherwise, swapping the rough- and-ready atmosphere of self- employment on Seven Mile to pull on a uniform and work poolside for an hourly wage at a big hotel. The same goes for the bus drivers, tour operators, snorkel crews, cabbies and souvenir salespeople who rely on high- volume cruise arrivals for their daily bread. Life after cruise But if cruise line projections come to pass, passenger numbers will almost halve within two years. The Compass is a firm supporter of a quality-over-quantity approach to tourism. And while some will again make the case for a cruise port, it is fair to say that ship has sailed. That doesn’t mean our problems go away, however. The decline of cruise tourism on the scale anticipated is a seismic challenge for Cayman’s policymakers. The scramble for trade at Public Beach is an early sign of trouble ahead, with struggling businesses and sole entrepreneurs left to squabble for a shrinking piece of the pie. We need to confront the reality of life after cruise. It is an issue the Compass will tackle in a series later this year: How do we prepare? How do we upscale the product and keep Caymanians employed at the same time? How do we fill the lacuna for tourists who want the barefoot, affordable experience once found at Calico Jack’s and Royal Palms? Following Compass reporting, government responded that a long-awaited policy for issuing permits to vendors on Public Beach should be in place by early next year. This represents a potential solution to several of these issues, if the concessions are granted and regulated by the tourism department and limited to a small number of Caymanians who can prove they offer an authentic and well-run business that enhances the overall product. Some will see this approach as caving in to vendors who have pushed the envelope of legality by taking over the beach to ply their trade. Others see the kind of creative compromise that will be required to ensure a place for small Caymanian operators, even as the sector evolves. It is an approach that will need to be replicated across the islands. The lesson of Public Beach is that government can’t sit on its hands and wait to see what happens. Significant changes are coming to Cayman’s tourism product and we need to be proactive in shaping the response. The right moves now will help make ‘Dream in Cayman’ a reality for those who build it, as well as those who enjoy it. Public Beach symptom of longer term problems for tourism Editorial: Tourists descend on Public Beach earlier this month. – Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 4 news N news FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has said government is “strongly considering” restarting a Panama route for national fl ag carrier Cayman Airways as a gateway option into South America. Bryan, speaking on the Cayman Compass weekly Facebook talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ on 2 Nov., said with all systems go for the inaugural Los Angeles fl ight on 5 Nov., focus will now move to opening more opportunities for the Cayman Islands to welcome more visitors from different markets. “I hope to have, in the new year, some linkage directly from Cayman to Panama not only from a leisure perspective, but also from a trade perspective. We have a lot of business owners here who trade through Panama. So we think that there is justifi cation from below the plane and above the plane – and that’s terminology for cargo and seats,” he said. Cayman Airways previously ran a Panama City route, however that gateway was discontinued. Bryan said Cayman Airways is doing the analysis to justify a Panama route and he trusts the board and its new chairman, John-Paul Clarke, “who has been getting all the data”. He said he expects that Cayman Airways will be able to make some “new calls and some new announcements” in the early part of next year. Airlift increases planned Bryan he is looking to make Cayman a hub for travel. Already, he said, four Caribbean countries have reached out to Cayman ahead of the LAX route launch to discuss the possibility of partnerships using here as a stop, since this is the only regional jurisdiction with direct connection from the Caribbean to the US West Coast. However, he said any discussion or arrangement must benefi t the Cayman Islands since Cayman Airways is operating the route – with the potential risks that might entail. “There are a lot of negotiations going on because the government has taken the risk of this route without guarantee of success for the growth of our tourism product... If we see the opportunity where maybe we can get other passengers from other emerging markets... there can be codesharing agreements, as well as potentially fi lling some gaps where there are not enough people,” he said. The minister added that he does not foresee gaps, however, as there has been a lot of interest in the LAX route from fi lm, fi nancial services and leisure businesses. In fact, he said he is hoping that by April 2023 he can add a second weekly fl ight on the route. Bryan shared that two additional airlines are coming on board soon to fl y directly to the jurisdiction. However, the minister said, due to commercial negotiations, he could not release the details just yet. He also said routes like Vancouver could be a consideration for future expansion plans. But he said it would need further data-driven assessment and analysis of passenger trends to justify opening a gateway there. From 17 Dec., Sun Country Airlines, he said, is scheduled to begin a seasonal route. That route will run from Minneapolis/ St. Paul in Minnesota, weekly, on Saturdays. He said he was excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for airlift, including increased British Airways fl ights from March next year. The airline, which fl ew weekly repatriation fl ights into and out of Cayman during the pandemic, currently fl ies four times a week to the jurisdiction via Nassau, and plans to launch a fi fth weekly fl ight, on Wednesdays, from March next year. This means fl ights will depart from London on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Director of Tourism Rosa Harris told members of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association last month that it was anticipated that British Airways fl ights from the UK, via the Bahamas, are expected to be at 91% of 2019’s levels in the fi nal quarter of this year, and at 97% in the Bryan sets sights on restarting Panama route in 2023 Interview: Kenneth Bryan “I hope to have, in the new year, some linkage directly from Cayman to Panama not only from a leisure perspective, but also from a trade perspective. We have a lot of business owners here who trade through Panama. So we think that there is justifi cation from below the plane and above the plane – and that’s terminology for cargo and seats." Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6» cayman compass 5 news N news FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022Saturday, 5 November 6-10 am Registration on Saturday, 5 November: $30 per vehicle Compass Centre Parking Lot 100% of registration proceeds going to: community@compassmedia.ky 949-5111 fi rst quarter of 2023. “The UK has always been strongly performing,” Harris said. “And that’s probably because we had continued service on BA throughout lockdown, so the awareness in the UK was a lot more consistent, despite the borders being closed.” Airport redevelopment plan underway With expanded airlift top of the agenda, so, too, is the need to redevelop the Owen Roberts International Airport to keep pace with the additional demand. He said the current redevelopment plan is obsolete and that, generally, every eight years it should be revisited. With that process in train, he said the questions for the community have to be: “Where do we want to be in 10 years? Where do we want to be in 20 years? And how does that look?”. He said he appreciated that the airport had undergone recent upgrades, but with increasing passenger numbers, there is a need to revisit what exists and see what else might be needed. Bryan said while work on the new redevelopment plan progresses, government is looking at upgrading the private aviation area of the airport, which he said, in his opinion, is “below standard”. The service, he said, is quality, but the surrounding infrastructure needs upgrading. Additionally, he said, if Cayman is looking to embrace emerging markets where there is “oil money” then the jurisdiction needs to get them here and that means looking at the existing airport and whether the runway can accommodate bigger planes that come from longer distances. The plan, he said, will look at all of that. However, he said, fi rst we need to decide what the vision is for Cayman and “design” the airport around that. “With the projections of good growth in tourism, we need to improve the airport yet again. It sounds very, very early but that’s how fast we are growing in that respect and seize the opportunities there,” he said. Brighter days ahead Bryan said he is looking forward to very positive numbers for the high season ahead. He dismissed any notion that there would be a need for a stipend for tourism workers at Christmas, since the trends are showing that Cayman could see numbers similar to those pre-pandemic. He said, while health offi cials are warning that COVID cases look like they are trending upwards, with countries like the UK already seeing a spike in the number of cases, Bryan said the feeling in the industry is “what COVID?”. Health is still a priority and while the reality of COVID still exists, tourists do not want to be “bombarded” with health protocols. He said they just want to know that the right steps are being taken for their safety like vaccinations, boosters and sanitation. “I would encourage the industry in tourism to continue to follow those protocols we have sent out and guidelines on cleanliness and checks on your workers. COVID is still around, it’s still dangerous,” he said, adding that Health Minister Sabrina Turner has been pushing the booster and vaccination programme ahead of the winter rush. Additional reporting by Norma Connolly. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 WATCH THE VIDEO ONLINE CAYMANCOMPASS.COM Watch ‘The Resh Hour’ every Wednesday on Facebook at 6pm. Plans are underway to review capacity of Owen Roberts International Airport. - Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 6 news N news FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022Great people make a great company, and at Butterfield we have some of the best; dedicated to meeting our clients’ needs and exceeding their expectations. We’re proud to recognise and celebrate our long-serving employees, and we thank them for their contributions. Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited is licensed to conduct banking and investment business by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Address: 12 Albert Panton Street, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Thank you 30 YEARS 15 YEARS 10 YEARS 5 YEARS 25 YEARS Left to right: Andrea Simpson, Benjamin Brooks, Christopher Ebanks, Ethel McLean, Jacqueline Scott-Rankine, Kerling Wong, Monique Frederick, Renee Maycock and Terez Rivers Edrelee Myles Left to right: Bethany Ebanks-Pacheco, Maureen Daykin and Michael Ewing-Chow Left to right: Erwin Dikau and Lorna Beckford Not photographed: 15 years; Bethany Bailey, Saday Chiu Swaby, Ashmarie Powell, Michael Miller, 25 years; Derek Bush Left to right: Albert Whittaker, Audrey Hind, Goodman Powery, Luz Garcia Mena, Omar Clarke, Reyna Terry, Shauna McLaughlin and Yamillette Lam 202202_5-AD-Compass-FP-LSA-2022-WOB.indd 111/2/22 3:48 PM cayman compass 7 FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Travellers from the Cayman Islands are becoming collateral damage in the renewal of Cold War hostilities between Cuba and the US. Anyone that has visited the communist island since January 2021 could face challenges getting into the United States. And, according to some reports, people who have visited Cuba at any time since 2011, could be ineligible for the US ESTA visa- waiver programme, meaning they will find it significantly more difficult to travel to the US. The new restrictions are a result of former President Donald Trump’s decision to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. One consequence of that policy, which came quietly into effect in January of last year, is that anyone who travels to Cuba is ineligible to enter the US through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation – the swift, cheap and easy online approval process used by Caymanians travelling to the US on UK Overseas Territories passports, as well as travellers on UK passports and a number of other eligible countries. That means that instead of a 10-minute, $21, online application for a visa-waiver, they will have to apply for a full visa and travel to the US consulate in Jamaica for an in-person interview, with an application fee of US$160 before being eligible to visit the United States. That process – required to even transit through the US – can take several months to complete. The exact details of the policy and how it is being enforced remain vague and travellers’ experiences appear to be variable. The Compass has received reports from local travel agents of Cayman residents who have been barred from the ESTA programme after arriving in the US directly from Cuba. Meanwhile, other Caymanians who have a Cuban stamp in their passport, are reluctant to run the gauntlet of border control and risk a sanction that could see them banned from visiting the US. The policy, which affects travellers all over the world, has a disproportionate impact on Cayman. Cayman Airways flies four times a week to Cuba and many living in the jurisdiction are likely to have visited the island at some point. Some rely on the air-link with Cuba to maintain family connections, while political issues between the two islands, including the vast number of Cubans arriving in Cayman to claim asylum, sometimes make official travel necessary. Last week, between 26 Oct. and 29 Oct., 28 Cubans arrived irregularly in Cayman according to Customs and Border Control. The same is true for Cayman Islands residents who rely on travel to the US for a host of reasons, including for specialist medical treatment. Neither the UK media, which has covered the issue extensively, the US consul in Cayman, the Governor’s Office, nor local travel agents were able to say for certain whether the policy is being enforced from 2011, as some reports indicate. But what seems certain is anyone who has visited Cuba since last January is ineligible for an ESTA. Challenges for Cayman residents One Caymanian, who recently travelled to Cuba, said they were distraught to learn they could no longer get an ESTA to visit family in the US. They said the policy had already prevented them from making a work trip to another Caribbean island, transiting through the US. “This is a huge problem for many of us in Cayman. There are people that have children in school in the US, people that need to travel for medical reasons; it seems unbelievable really.” They said they were not willing to risk travelling to the US, despite reports that some Caymanians had got past US border control with a Cuban stamp in their passport. “What if you got caught and banned for life? It’s too big of a risk. “I never would have travelled to Cuba if I had been aware of this.” Varied enforcement No official source was able to give clear and definite advice on the detail of the policy or how it is being enforced. What is confirmed is that anyone who has travelled to Cuba since January of last year, or who travels to the island in the future, is not technically entitled to an ESTA visa-waiver. Gary Montemayor, consular agent for the US Consulate in Cayman, said he was receiving regular calls about the issue, but there was nothing that could be done about it from Cayman. He said the best advice was not to travel to Cuba and certainly not to get a stamp in your passport, if you wanted to travel freely to the US. He said he believed the policy was effective from January 2021, rather than being backdated to 2011. Montemayor acknowledged getting a visa was significantly more complex than getting an ESTA. “You actually have to go to the US Embassy in Kingston for an interview and sometimes it can take a long time to get an appointment. It is a much more difficult process.” A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office said officials were in touch with the embassy in Washington and were seeking, among other queries, to determine the date at which the policy had become effective. “We have sought clarity from the State Department and expressed our concern about the significant impact if these reports are true,” the official said, referencing the suggestions raised in the UK’s Independent that the policy would be backdated to 2011. 2011 or 2021? If that is correct, that would catch millions of additional travellers, including thousands in Cayman. Simon Calder, the Independent’s travel editor, quoted a US state department official in a recent article insisting the effective date of the policy was 2011. “Any visit to an SST (State sponsor of terrorism) on or after March 1, 2011, even if the country was designated yesterday, renders the applicant ineligible for Esta.” Calder attempted to explain the policy in a separate column earlier this month. He wrote, “All you need to know is here. In one of his last acts as US president, Donald Trump added Cuba to the American list of nations that have ‘repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism’. However implausible a description that might be of the government in Havana, his successor, Joe Biden, has left the designation in place.” Acknowledging conflicting reports over the effective date and from travellers, some of whom have been granted ESTA visa waivers despite travelling to Cuba, he stated US authorities had reiterated that “any visit since March 2011 scuppers the right to an ESTA”. Confusingly, multiple additional sources, including the International Air Transport Association, indicate that the policy applies only to travel after January 2021. Loopholes It remains open to any traveller to ask for their passport not to be stamped on entry to Cuba or to replace a ‘lost’ passport after they have travelled. Equally, many people will have renewed passports anyway since 2011, effectively wiping the slate clean of any problematic stamps. However, it is not clear what additional information US border control staff may hold, and the consequences of lying on a travel declaration form are likely severe. Confusing matters further, the current online form to apply for an ESTA does not include any specific question about Cuba. The homepage of the site, however, does include a warning that the US designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terror on 12 Jan. 2021. It adds, “If a traveller is found to have visited a country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, the traveller is no longer eligible to participate in the visa waiver program and must apply for a visa to enter the United States.” ‘If in doubt, don’t go’ Fiona Brander, of Travel Pros Cayman, said the safest advice in the absence of further clarification from US authorities was not to travel to Cuba, if you wanted to go to the US via an ESTA, the easiest and preferred option for most people in Cayman. She said the alternative of getting a full visa is a costly and time-consuming process that could take months or even years in some cases. In reality, she said, many travellers were getting granted ESTAs and travelling to the US despite prior travel to Cuba. But she warned this carries a risk. “If the US finds out you have been to Cuba and you tried to conceal it then you could be banned from getting an ESTA again and you might have difficulty getting a visa,” she added. Brander said she was getting numerous questions about the policy. She said she had somebody come to her for advice who had their ESTA pulled after transiting through Miami on a return trip from Cuba to Cayman. Other travellers have reported successfully travelling to the US with a Cuban stamp in their passport since January 2021. Travellers to Cuba may not be allowed into US National Capitol Building in Havana. The online form to apply for an ESTA does not include any specific question about Cuba. cayman compass 8 news N news FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 202204 November East End Heritage Day 4-6 November Little Cayman Pirates Festivities 10 November Pirates Fest Happy Hour and Kick-off Party 11 November Airport Welcome Reception Pirates & Wenches at Cayman Cabana 12 November 5K Sea Swim Cayman Airways Cardboard Boat Regatta Pirates Landing Water Mermaids Showcase Float Parade Food Festival National Song Competition District Heritage Costume Competition Fireworks 14 November Savannah/Newlands Children’s Day Pirates Fest ½ Mile Sea Swim 16 November Cassava Cake and Conch Fritter Competition 2022 Schedule of Events 18 November George Town Heritage Day 25-27 November Cayman Brac Pirates Festivities 17 November Airport Welcome Reception Pan n de City Steelpan Competition Food Festival 18 November Airport Welcome Reception Turtle Release, Governor’s Beach Pirates Fest 5K Run/Walk Food Festival Block Party Street Dance 19 November Pirate Pooch Parade Food Festival Children’s Play Area Trial of the Pyrates Teen Up Street Dance Fireworks (Closing) Grand Finale Street Dance 20 November Pirates Against Plastic Beach Clean-up Family Fun Day Pirates Underwater Treasure Hunt cayman compass 9 FRIDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2022Next >