Like most people, I was pleased to hear the news that the United States was considering dropping its almost 55 year old embargo against Cuba.
The euphoria was palpable. Finally the Cuban people would get their just desserts after years of hardship.
Fidel's list of things the Revolution was to accomplish was A.) “I will lead the country to economic and cultural progress without sacrificing individual freedoms. B.) “There is little room in Cuba for communist ideas.” C.) Cuban rebels didn’t preach class war. D.) Promise to restore the Constitution of 1940 E.) The promise of free elections. Source…
Of course he did not live up to any of them.
But even if we ignore the broken promises, you might ask, what the elephant in the room might be?
Well, in a word, Tyranny.
Luis M. Garcia, points out in his blog, CHILD of the REVOLUTION that, the Castro brothers:
"In their twisted, dictatorial paradise, there is room for only one and half tall poppies: the Castro brothers themselves. Sooner or later, everyone with even the slightest smell of ambition gets cut down, whether in a light plane on its way to Havana, in a jungle in Bolivia or in the utilitarian confines of the Palace of the Revolution in Havana.
"No one is safe.
"And guess what? The Castro brothers have always worked on the assumption that since they are in charge, they don't need to explain anything to anyone. Not to the Cuban people. Not even to that small but merry band of Castro apologists outside Cuba, who make a living out of unswerving support for the "revolution".
babalu blog emphasises what the writer calls the "Neo-Nazis" in Cuba in a post entitled, "What very few Americans understand and stubournly refuse to understand about Cuba". Read it here…
Larry Solomon points out that Cuba has played a "Cruel Joke" on her people.
"Welcome to Cuba, 44 years into the Revolution that was to industrialize the economy, eradicate hunger and eliminate the gap between rich and poor in this island nation, previously the most prosperous in the Caribbean. Today, the once-muscular Cuban economy is in tatters and its much lauded social safety net a cruel joke. The poor, in reality, are bled to support the lifestyles of the government elite, which lives in luxury – the driveways of the Havana honchos sport Mercedes – while its populace goes hungry."
"Nowhere in the world does the Almighty Buck more separate the haves from the have-nots. The Cuban government has adopted the U.S. dollar as an official currency that co-exists along with the peso and cleverly keeps the poor in their place. The multinationals operating in the country – Cuba now courts them to earn dollars – are forbidden to pay their Cuban workers directly in dollars. Instead, they must turn over the workers' wages to a government agency which pockets most of the money and gives the workers a pittance in pesos. Cuba's communists have perfected the Double Currency Standard, and the double standard: One currency for the rich, another for the poor, and the rich determine the means of exchange."
Dr. Alejandro Chafuen asks… should we be "coexisting and profiting with tyrants" where dealing with Cuba is concerned?
Just as Batista is not forgotten for his vile ways, neither should the Castro brothers and their cohorts. Just look at the private property they stole, not to mention the deaths they're responsible for. As disgusting as Pinochet was, he eventually allowed (true) free elections and Chile is an economic powerhouse in the region today.
Pinochet was charged in the world court by "free countries" to stand trial for the evil he had done? Of course he doesn't get kudos for the good he did.
There just seems so many double standards for Castro's Cuba?
Freedom might eventually come to the people of Cuba with more American's travelling and doing business there, but it will be a slow process.
All this confirms the elephant in the room all along has been Castro's policies.
Find out more about the Cuban regime in Blogs for a Free Cuba here…
