Jay-Z and Beyoncé celebrated five years of marriage this week with a vacation in Cuba, prompting Republicans to accuse them of violating travel restrictions to the communist island. Hip-hop’s first couple were photographed walking through Havana, as Jay-Z puffed on a Cohiba cigar while she took pictures, and an entourage of bodyguards held fans at bay. Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represent districts in South Florida with large Cuban exile populations, demanded information from the federal government as to “who approved such travel,” calling the Castro regime “murderous.” Under the U.S. trade embargo, travel to Cuba is prohibited without a special license granted for academic or cultural exchanges. A source told the New York Daily News that the Treasury Department had given the couple a license to visit Cuba, but since Jay-Z and Beyoncé are friends with and contributors to President Obama, Republicans want to know why.
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