Jeff Greene. Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has a problem with what have been an illegal 2007 trip to Cuba aboard his 147-ft yacht.
As the St. Pete Times reports, travel to Cuba is an explosive issue in Miami’s Cuban-American community, “where some exiles view visiting the repressive regime as tantamount to treason.”
Greene, during Sunday’s debate with opponent Kendrick Meek, insisted he had not personally taken the yacht to Cuba in five years. Later he said he misspoke and that he the Jewish Federation had obtained a visa for him and other members of the federation visited a synagogue in Cuba.
The St. Petersburg Times story had already quoted former deckhands recounting a lot of partying aboard the yacht.
Yesterday a Greene spokesman changed the tale again. This time the story was the boat had to stop in Cuba for repairs on its way to Honduras.
At least one deckhand disputes that story.
John Walenczyk said the boat traveled from Fort Lauderdale directly to Cuba and docked for about one week.
“It was their total intention to go to Cuba,” he said Tuesday. “We never went to Honduras, not even close. I figure it was the glamour of wanting to go to a banned country.”