By: Alberto Luzárraga
Frankly
it’s about time to clean the attic in the Western Hemisphere.
Forty-one years of one man rule is quite enough. Consider the results.
Twenty per cent of the population exiled, abject poverty, a privileged
ruling class, and 17,000 documented firing squad executions. Not to
mention the much larger undocumented number of Castro induced killings
through wars, revolutions, attempts to escape, prison beatings, and
disappeared persons. It has been estimated that all this amounts to
more than 100,000 dead, by far the bloodiest tyranny in the Americas.
This
tyrant excels only in one thing: Propaganda and creating the illusion
that Cuba is something else.
By
now even that Potemkin Village image is pretty frayed. It takes a
stretch of the imagination not to accept the inevitable conclusion.
Practically every body in the world has gone to visit Castro and has
"suggested" reforms and ways of effecting a transition.
Results
so far? More repression and a regime that has turned from socialist to
fascist as it grants investors the right to exploit Cubans by paying
them under market wages. And to compound insult to injury the Cuban
government keeps the lions share.
Can
we imagine the hue and cry if Pinochet had let companies come into
Chile and hire Chileans through government "employment
companies" which pay them a pittance in pesos( $15.00 US is the
average monthly salary in Cuba) while collecting payment from the
investor in dollars in the hundreds? And even these rates are under
market, because that is the way you get investors to
"cooperate".
Castro
is the Enver Hoxha of the Americas. Hanging on to power and dreaming
of a totalitarian comeback. Some of his old allies seem to have
yearnings as well.
The
New York Times in its 12/15/00 edition covers Mr. Putin's visit to
Cuba. Mr. Putin and Mr. Castro are quoted as follows:
"Mr.
Castro and Mr. Putin found some common language in complaining about
the advent of a world dominated by the United States. Mr. Castro
claimed seniority in the struggle by asking, "Who knows better
than the country situated only 90 miles from the biggest superpower
of the world?"
Mr.
Putin, without mentioning the United States, agreed that such "unipolarity"
allows one country to "monopolize international relationships
and to dominate them." He said the last time this occurred,
"we all know how it ended," apparently a reference to Nazi
Germany and World War II. "
According
to the Black Book on Communism this system has caused 100 million
deaths in the twentieth century. And still one of this pair has the
audacity to obliquely compare the United States to Nazi Germany!
But
it does not end here. Putin wants to consolidate his grip on his Cuban
outpost. The NYT continues:
"Mr.
Putin also brought along his defense minister, Marshal Igor D.
Sergeyev, for discussions that appeared to be related to the
degraded state of the Cuban armed forces since Soviet advisers were
withdrawn and spare parts for Soviet equipment left in Cuba dried
up.
Mr.
Putin and Mr. Castro toured the secret intelligence base that Russia
inherited at Lourdes, outside Havana, where a huge array of antennas
allows Russian military technicians to monitor civilian and military
communications in the United States and Latin America. Russia still
pays rent for the facility with oil shipments, Western officials
say.
Western
journalists were barred from the tour."
The
intent is clear and when related to the next item in the agenda, i.e.
the huge Cuban debt to the former Soviet Union the plot thickens.
Putin wants to consider "debt for asset" swaps and thus
consolidate juicy deals for his new coterie of KGB yuppies. His only
problem is Castro and his yuppies. But they will find way to come
together and yet squeeze some more blood from the suffering Cuban
population. Here is what the NYT quotes from Putin:
"The
Soviet Union has invested a lot in Cuba’s economy. This is worth
billions of dollars, and we have to understand what to do about
this."
And
the article continues:
"[Russian]
officials said Moscow had presented to Mr. Castro several proposals
for swapping Cuba’s debt for Russian stakes in potentially
profitable Cuban enterprises in oil refining, nickel production and
other sectors.
But
Cuban officials are looking for debt forgiveness "
At
this point there is no more justification for congressional visits,
panels, proposals, deals etc. Castro is an enemy of the United States
and will always be one. His reach is extending now into Venezuela. His
narco connections are well documented. The security interests of the
United States require that US legislators look at this situation
squarely in the face and stop pretending that it can be fixed. That
path has already been tried . We should not be talking about ending
the embargo but about ending Castro.
And
this does not mean, as some Castro lovers will soon jump to point out
a US invasion or anything of the sort. For starters the simple
statement that enough is enough when expressed clearly to our trading
partners and allies will have an incredible effect for change inside
Cuba. Many young people in the government (there is only one employer)
are desperate for a change that will allow them to live normal lives
but find no outside support. Their only hope is an exit visa. But if
they saw a glimmer of hope things would be different. The realization
that living a better life in Cuba, without having to emigrate, is
attainable in the short term, will be a potent tonic for dissent.
One
cannot underestimate the power of the United States if it begins a
concerted campaign to tell the world the truth about Castro in a
persistent and open way. The simple quoting of Cuba’s Kafkian
legislation will be most revealing.
The
problem right now is that the governing elite is just too comfortable.
It has enjoyed too many years of sweetness and light which it used to
threaten with dire consequences if it does not continue in power.
What
are the consequences? Well a boat exodus of course. It’s the perfect
argument for continued tyranny. Let me hang on or I will create a
problem. It is an insult to the honor and traditions of the United
States and false argument. Given a chance the Cuban people will turn
Cuba into what it was before Castro: a very prosperous country.
No
other exile group has had so much success in the United States in so
short a period of time. We are an entrepreneurial and active people.
There are more where we came from. We have the capital and knowledge
to make it work.
So
what are we afraid of? Fellow Americans: Let us rise to the challenge
and tell the only tyrant in the Western Hemisphere:
