Actor Sean Penn on a Reporting Trip to Cuba
EmailABC News' Eduardo Sunol reports: One of Hollywood’s most liberal voices, actor Sean Penn, is in Cuba to report on measures recently taken by the Obama administration toward greater engagement with Havana, Penn’s publicist Mara Bauxman said – not, as had been rumored, to conduct a rare interview with Fidel Castro.
Penn, who interviewed Cuba’s current President, and brother to the longtime leader, Raul Castro last December, is there on a reporting assignment for Vanity Fair magazine, Bauxman said.
“He doesn’t have any intention of seating down with Fidel Castro,” Bauxman said about rumors. “It’s a very short trip,” she added.
Calls to Vanity Fair magazine to confirm Penn’s assignment in Cuba have not been returned.
The Oscar winning actor has played journalist before, interviewing Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, one of Cuba’s primary allies in 2008. Penn arrived in Havana in a private plane from Las Vegas with a “number of people” including two movie producers. Bauxman could not confirm if the two movie producers were carrying cameras or any filming equipment.
The US Treasury Department, which has the power to grant licenses for journalistic or cultural events to Cuba, did not provide any information about what kind of permission Mr. Penn received for the trip.
“It’s not the Treasury’s policy to comment on specific licenses,” Marti Adams, spokesperson from the Treasury Department said.
Shortly after his arrival in Cuba Penn visited the Island of Youth, a special municipality 90 miles to the south of Havana that was damaged badly by Hurricane Gustav in 2008.
It’s not known how many days he will stay in Cuba.
CPAC: Romney Struggles to Convince Voters 
Obama Backs Off Birth Control Battle?
i’ll surely sleep better tonight knowing this.
Posted by: davidfrat21 | October 26, 2009, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
Sean Penn likes Communist and Marxist dictators almost as much as Jimmy Carter. Maybe Spiccoli should go visit a cuban jail and have a look at what happens to people who oppose Castro. Maybe it will open his bug eyes.
Posted by: Mike Jones | October 26, 2009, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm
Why does Sean Penn fly all the way to Cuba to visit with Communist leaders when All he has to do is fly to Washington DC. and visit with Pelosi, Reid, Kerry and Obama. I am sure he could get a helluva lot nicer hotel in Washington than he could in Cuba.
Posted by: Mike Jones | October 26, 2009, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
The sad thing is he’ll probably star in a blockbuster film before long. Isn’t that just lovely.
Posted by: John | October 26, 2009, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm
Political Future? Sean Penn is so far left he is making a circle.
Posted by: d | October 26, 2009, 10:28 pm 10:28 pm
Who knows, we might just get a different perspective on whats REALLY going on over there….Good, better, bad or worse than what we have been led to believe.
You can actually learn a lot by just sitting down with average citizens of a country to find out what their feelings are.
Posted by: Lillian | October 26, 2009, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
Sean Penn’s WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY too far left.
Posted by: secondlook | October 26, 2009, 10:51 pm 10:51 pm
I’ve seen video of Sean Penn pulling hurricane Katrina victims from flooding waters. One, in a wheel chair almost dragged him under. TOO LEFT? Good for Sean, anyone who believes someone like him is too left, is way too right to be spewing anti-Penn opinions publicly.
Posted by: able | October 27, 2009, 3:35 am 3:35 am
Sean suffers from that very common Hollywood guilt problem called I MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY, while so many others have nothing. He could keep the average Americans salary and give the rest to the government, but no, he has opted to telling the rest of us what to think and do. And lives a lavish, decadent lifestyle as he sputters.
Posted by: jerry | October 27, 2009, 7:56 am 7:56 am
And yet Senator Demint, with the blessings of McConnell, can take a trip to Honduras to meet with and encourage the illegitimate post-coup government
Demint commits treason…according to the Logan Act forbids “unauthorized citizens” from negotiating with foreign governments. In a 1936 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Sutherland wrote that “the President alone has the power” and “the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it.”
But that’s our GOP, hard at work undermining and opposing this President.
So, Penn’s visit is at the very least Not treasonous…
Posted by: theafalcon200 | October 27, 2009, 8:02 am 8:02 am
Communist sympathizer Sean Penn again. I hope he stays there. Who cares what this cruddy actor is doing?? I hope he is kept there for something.
Posted by: Jim Rod | October 27, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am
And yet Senator Demint, with the blessings of McConnell, can take a trip to Honduras to meet with and encourage the illegitimate post-coup government
Demint commits treason…according to the Logan Act forbids “unauthorized citizens” from negotiating with foreign governments. In a 1936 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Sutherland wrote that “the President alone has the power” and “the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it.”
But that’s our GOP, hard at work undermining and opposing this President.
So, Penn’s visit is at the very least Not treasonous…
Throw that stone…. Didnt Pelosi go over somewhere on our behalf, Kerry too? Yeah, thought so. And, I would even say any politician has more authority that Sean Penn. Logic ftw.
Posted by: dillholedemo | October 27, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am
He should stay there permanently.
Posted by: Kathy | October 27, 2009, 9:33 am 9:33 am
Maybe they’ll keep him. What’s life without hope?
Posted by: Willie12345 | October 27, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am
Penn is an uneducated, untrained, buffoon who made his fortune pretending to be someone he isn’t. Why would anyone care what he does except for the entertainment value.
Posted by: John M | October 27, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am
good job Sean.
you are making cry a lot of proto-fascists here. :-)
Posted by: sergio | October 27, 2009, 10:27 am 10:27 am
So what? Penn is an actor, that is all. He appears to be acting like an idiot.
Posted by: lfrichar | October 27, 2009, 10:58 am 10:58 am
I wish someone would give this guy an IQ test, I’m guessing he wouldn’t get past double digits.
Posted by: Ron | October 27, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
Who cares. Sean Penn is only significant to Sean Penn and the Liberal media.
Posted by: Peter King | October 27, 2009, 12:16 pm 12:16 pm
Sean is such a clown. At least Carter can be said to be out of his mind and a old fool. Sean on the other hand is just a self important actor who boarders on being a traitor to his country.
Posted by: a citizen | October 27, 2009, 12:27 pm 12:27 pm
I’ve seen video of Sean Penn pulling hurricane Katrina victims from flooding waters. One, in a wheel chair almost dragged him under. TOO LEFT? Good for Sean, anyone who believes someone like him is too left, is way too right to be spewing anti-Penn opinions publicly.
Posted by: able | Oct 27, 2009 3:35:50 AM
Are’nt special effect great.
Posted by: Lizzie | October 27, 2009, 12:30 pm 12:30 pm
I wonder if Charlie Rangel owns a condo in Cuba. Dodd could get him a better loan if he does.
Posted by: jamescbuilder | October 27, 2009, 12:50 pm 12:50 pm
I was under the impression it was against the law for American Citizens to visit Cuba? Where does Penn get his priviledges granted from? He is a 2 bit actor not a represenative of the U.S. government. If the treasury department is this flakey than anyone who wants should be allowed to visit Cuba.I guess it depends on who is in the White House and how much of a communist you are.
Posted by: strikerF | October 27, 2009, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
Able, show us proof. He says alot of things, so do his fans. Ive never seen this footage and I pay pretty close attention. I would be willing to bet it isnt as romantically heroic as implied.
Posted by: dillholedemo | October 27, 2009, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm
Now this is a Non-Event!
Posted by: Gunrunner | October 27, 2009, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
Posted by: lfrichar | Oct 27, 2009 10:58:11 AM – “So what? Penn is an actor, that is all. He appears to be acting like an idiot.” ** I would have to agree, except that I don’t think Sean is “acting” like an idiot. I think he is just being himself (and idiot).
Posted by: d | October 27, 2009, 10:30 pm 10:30 pm
I sure hope that’s a one way ticket he purchased !!!
Posted by: hkdakota | October 28, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am