A viral video on the social network
The images revealed customs officers at the port of entry to the United States inspecting a carefully wrapped package. When they open it, they discover an unusual substance: husk! Something that American officials evidently did not understand.
Religion or smuggling? The cascarilla, used in the Afro-Cuban religion for rituals and protection, generated confusion among the agents. Suspecting that it could be an illegal substance, a drug test was performed.
Fortunately, the test was negative and the young Cuban was able to explain that the husk was a gift for a friend, from his mother, and that he had no intention of trafficking it. This incident reminds us of the importance of knowing customs restrictions when traveling with religious or cultural objects.
Cuban-American with a helmet suffers a scare at Boston airport
The young Cuban-American returning to Boston found himself in a tense situation when airport authorities detained his religious products, such as cascarilla, used in Afro-Cuban Santeria.
The officers, not recognizing the shell and other items, confiscated them and conducted drug tests. Fortunately, the tests came back negative.
The video of the incident went viral on social networks, where many Cubans expressed their support for the young man and criticized the officers’ lack of knowledge about the Afro-Cuban religion.
Some users even pointed out that in Miami, a city with a large Cuban population, these types of situations would not occur, since cascarilla is a familiar element for the community there. But this is not the case for the authorities in Boston, for example.
Finally, the young man was able to recover his products and continue his journey to the interior of the United States. Although no one can take the scare away from him now.
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