I don't usually post political opinion here on my blog. I have on occasion written about politics regarding Cuba because it's not just politics to me. It falls more under the umbrella of home town gossip.
Cuban politics in particular aren't just things that are happening 3,000 miles away. They affect real people in my life. People I am related to, or that I've met, or who's writings I read almost daily.
On Wednesday, President Obama made the declaration that now was the time for the U.S. to be "normalizing" relations with Cuba. I had been traveling all day. Just returned from a family trip to Northern California and had not heard the announcement. But my inbox was full of inquiries from the media. Would I be willing to give my reaction to the president's announcement?
I was conflicted for a moment. I know how these discussion inevitably go. There's the "it's about damn time" group. They are of the opinion that Cubans will be better off as soon as U.S.-Cuba relations begin to thaw. The argument goes something like this: There will be a new influx of American currency into the now 3rd world (or is it 4th world?) country which will save the day.
Always missing in this argument is the fact that Cuba has been able to trade with every other nation. Today there are tourists spending their hard currency on the streets of Havana, not making a bit of difference to the lives of everyday Cubans. Those are the ones with names and faces and children and dreams. They are the ones most affected in this drama. And all that money is going straight into the coffers of the Castros, who just happen to be millionaires, by the way.
Also, the U.S. already provides food and medicine and goods to Cuba. (You didn't know that, did you?) The only difference is that, up to now, Cuba has had to pay for those. With this new U.S.-Cuba BFF system, it's like we've issued Cuba an unsecured credit card. Our taxpayer dollars get to prop up the declining Cuban economy. And what do we get in return? Umm…we get to go to Cuba and spend more of our money to buy what? Cigars? Coffee? Seriously?
Let me say here that I'm glad American Alan Gross has been released from his 5 year Cuban prison ordeal. He was "swapped" for the remaining members of the Cuban 5 who were serving long prison sentences for espionage and murder. Yes, you read that right. An innocent man incarcerated in a Cuban jail for 5 years exchanged for convicted spies and enemies to our nation. Remind me, please, how this is in any way fair?
There are also rumors that 53 other prisoners will be released. But there are thousands. What about them? Will all the political prisoners be released? Why not? That means there really won't be any noticeable change. Next week, 53 more will take their place. That's how the communist apparatus keeps the population in line.
I have so much I want to say. And I'm so conflicted.
In a perfect world, opening up relations between the U.S. and Cuba would make life easier for my family, the ones who are scraping by, making impossible ends meet every single day. Or would it? This particular world is far from perfect. And it's being run by a treacherous, murdering regime who care nothing for human rights or for the welfare of their people. That is the hard truth.
The president wants to normalize relations with Cuba, but sadly, Cuba is not normal.
I have thousands more words to write on this topic, but I'll just leave some links here and you can feel free to educate yourself. It's tough to be Cuban right now on either side of the Florida Straits. Because those of us who left early on in the revolution have tasted the bitterness of having all we loved ripped away and have also known the sweetness of growing up in freedom. Those still there in Cuba can't even remember what hope tastes like.
What do I wish the outcome of all this would be? A free Cuba. Sadly, I don't think that even came up in the talks between the Castros and the president.
And that's the saddest thing of all.
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Here are some links. If you have any you'd like to add, please feel free to share in the comments of this post.
My interview with KCET – In California, Announcement Seen From Varying Points of View.
My friend, Robert Molleda posted this very articulate essay on Facebook.
From Capitol Hill Cubans – Cuban Dissent Leaders React to Obama's Announcement.
From the PanAm Post – Only Cubans Can Save Cuba.
From HuffPo – In Cuba Policy Debates, Theories Don't Cut It.
From Cuban blogger, Yoani Sanchez – Goliath Opens His Wallet.
From my friend, Marc Masferrer over at Uncommon Sense – If U.S.-Cuba normalization doesn't free the Cuban people, it will fail.
From Gustavo Perez-Firmat – The Last Exiles.
From Gustavo Perez-Firmat's daughter, Miriam Perez – Why I Don't Want To Hear About Your Vacation To Cuba.
Follow updates from lots of sources over at Babalú Blog.
You didn’t mention Rolando Sarraff Trujillo who was also freed.You can read about it here
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/world/americas/cia-mole-now-out-of-prison-helped-us-identify-cuban-spies.html?referrer#_=_
I, too, am first generation Cuban-American, and I could not agree more! Viva Cuba libre, hopefully sooner rather than later!!!
The overall reaction I’ve read from those in Cuba on Twitter is betrayal. For the first time during the more than half-century of Castro tyranny, a U.S. President is siding with and protecting the dictator, instead of those bravely campaigning for freedom and human rights. Shameful.
This is a very touchy subject and it is conflicting. I’m a Cuban American, 1st generation American born, and I am saddened that I have never been able to visit the country my parents and grandparents came from and talk about lovingly. BUT I do think that starting talks with Cuba is long overdue. Where the conflict lies though is in the trade. Here’s my take on it:On the one hand we have Alan Gross. He is a human, an American Citizen and he was for all intents and purposes kidnapped by the Cuban government. He’s been in jail for 5 years there. I don’t know what Cuban jail is, as I’ve never been there, but I can imagine that our jails are like resorts in comparison to a Cuban jail. Now there are the remaining Cuban 5. They have served almost 20 years in our jails for facilitating the murder of the Hermanos al Rescate flight. Anyone else in the US who facilitated a murder would have gotten about the same jail sentence, so they were do for release on that charge alone. Now they are in Cuba and are no longer our problem, as far as paying for their stay in our jails. Of course that doesn’t mean that the CIA won’t stop keeping tabs on them. Their cover has obviously been blown.
I’m not saying that starting talks is going to lead to a free Cuba, because that is a very naive statement. What I am saying is that the embargo and the lack of communication has done absolutely nothing for the people of Cuba and it’s time for the US to start having a relationship with Cuba. The Castro’s are 150 years old (kidding of course), they will not last forever – unless they really are cucarachas and if that’s the case we have a whole other problem on our hands – and we need to have some kind of relationship with the country prior to both of them being out of the picture. It just makes sense in the long run. Yes they are criminals, yes they are murderers, yes they have human rights issues, but so do a lot of other countries and and we have relationships with them. Not to mention, with the way things are going with North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela as of late, we need to make sure we have a relationship with Cuba to make sure they are not too influenced by these other countries that would lead us to another Cold War situation.
In my opinion, as much hurt as there is with what has transpired and continues to transpire, it is a necessary evil.
Just trying to help you see thing in another light.
What about justice for the genocide committed by the Castro brothers? I’m all about normalizing relations with Cuba, but you can’t ignore the thousands of innocent Cubans who died at the firing squad for simply disagreeing (or being accused of disagreeing) with the regime.My grandfather marched into Havana with Fidel in 1959. He wasn’t pro Batista. One day he showed up to his cigar factory for work to find that it had been taken over by the government. My family lost everything, their home, business, savings, everything. My father got out with Peter Pan and spent years in an orphanage out in the mid west – not speaking a word of English when he arrived at the age of 13. His parents eventually got out with nothing but the clothing on their backs.
Lets normalize relations with Cuba, but first send in Seals team 6, take Raul and Fidel to The Hague for trial, and then normalize relations.
What’s next? Saying Hitler wasn’t really that bad? Maybe we should normalize relations with ISIS?
Very apropos, Lissette. I feel exactly the same.
Pretty sure the Castro boys are indeed cucarachas!Your Blog post, Marta (obviously a person of great intellect…haha) is well put, as are the comments of many others. I will say that I am also tired of Americans of non-Cuban descent treating our concern as though we are emotional and “just can’t let it go.”
It is complicated, but our concerns are legitimate. The Cuban regime is a card carrying human rights violator and exporter of terror. These issues need to be dealt with and we need to see the Cuban government make changes. Not just so that people can get rum, cigars and lounge on great beaches.
I am sure this is how the Jews feel about our president NOT supporting Israel…betrayed!
The truth is the Soviets no longer exist (on paper) and Russia has abandoned Cuba, Venezuela is a mess and the Chinese don’t care about Cuba. The brother’s are afraid of the Arabs…so who’s left. My only solace is that Fidel had no other option but to turn to the US for help. And make no mistake…that is what it was, no matter how it was positioned.
I also know we are the ones who are going to end up rebuilding their infrastructure, destroyed by the “boys’ ” poor leadership, to the tune of billions of dollars. And, we are struggling to repair our own infrastructure.
My God help us.
All good points, Lissette. I have always believed that if the Cuban people could really see how the rest of the FREE world is living they would not stand for the conditions and torment under which they live. We do need to let the LIGHT in!! However, as part of that process we need to have transparent discussions that address the issues you aptly raised. By that I mean, those who can bring perspective and context to the issues.
Wonderfully and clearly stated.
How are relations with the US going to change what Cubans see? Cubans know how life is in America and the rest of the world. They know that except for a few other countries in the world, and it’s becoming fewer and fewer, the rest of the world lives better than they do.Cubans have seen Europeans and Canadians come to Cuba and spend their dollars and Euros, but what have they gotten? A few pesos that amount to nothing. It is slavery in an apartheid regime where foreigners have rights and the citizens don’t.
The Castros will not allow the citizens to see one bit of progress. About the only thing that can happen is that the regime will not be able to use the embargo as the reason for all the poverty and the repression, but the Cubans have never believed the embargo is a real issue.
Obama just threw those criminals a life jacket as their ship was sinking. I wonder if he’ll do the same for Venezuela?
It’s not Venezuela that influences Cuba…it’s Cuba that influenced Venezuela. There is already tourism in Cuba and lots of money being spent there. I’ve been there, I know. The money however, does not help the people one bit. The Cuban people are not even allowed in the hotels as guests unless of course that Cuban is a prostitute accompanying a tourist. I also saw lots of that going on too. Opening relations right now is a HUGE win for the Castro Regime. Russia’s economy is in the dirt and Venezuela is also crippled. Why help Cuba now? This is the perfect time time to put the screws to that regime. It’s the worst time to help pour more money into a regime so they can stick around a lot longer. This makes zero sense.
Wonderful post Marta. As usual you speak from the heart and make total sense. We will see how this pans out but I fear nothing will be to the benefit of Cubans on the island, only to the criminals in power.
Will this lead to a free Cuba? I honestly do not know. What I do know, without a shadow of a doubt is that what we’ve been doing for the past 50 years has.not.worked. period. The very definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. It’s time ( long past time imo) that we try something different. Without some sort of open dialogue, there is no hope of change..
I agree with Lissette. I’m not Cuban, but I believe that we can not continue punishing to the people in Cuba for a selfish greedy family (Castros). However, I believe that ” you want your friends closed but your enemies closer!
Excellent post. Clear and measured reasoning.Why would the most powerful nation in the world reward a bloody and brutal regime hoping that they would behave differently?