The Government Accountability Office issued a study yesterday on how U.S. agencies enforce the stupid embargo against Cuba. Among other things, it found that Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control spends a huge amount of time tracking down and punishing people who buy Cuban cigars on the Internet. "After 2001," the report says, "OFAC opened more investigations and imposed more penalties for embargo violations, such as buying Cuban cigars, than for violations of other sanctions, such as those on Iran."

"OFAC penalties for Cuba embargo violations represented more than 70 percent of its total penalties in 2000-2005, falling to 29 percent in 2006. Most Cuba embargo penalties were, on average, smaller than the penalties for violating other sanctions... Our analysis of OFAC data shows that from 2000 through 2006, the agency collected fines totaling about $8.1 million for 8,170 violations of the Cuba embargo -- and average of $992 per violation. Most of these violations were relatively minor, such as purchasing Cuban cigars on the Internet. Over the same period, OFAC imposed fines totaling about $12.4 million for 3,054 violations of other sanctions programs, such as those on Iran, North Korea and Syria -- an average of about $4,071 per violation. Although the Cuba embargo is one of more than 20 sanctions programs that the agency administers, OFAC data show that from 2000 through 2005, Cuba embargo cases -- most involving unlicensed travel and imports of Cuban cigars -- accounted for over 70 percent of the agency's total penalty cases."

Be very thankful the government is on the job here. Otherwise somebody could be enjoying an illegal, $10 Gloria Cubana and financing employment for poor Cubans. GAO did note that other agencies -- Commerce and Justice -- concentrate more on "export violations and crimes that present a greater threat to homeland and national security or public safety."