Forget the tales of terror heard about cuba....it is mostly, bullshit...yes, there are people who suffer as political prisoners, and there are injustices and serious mistreatment of people who merely try to speak their minds, But there is far, far, far more suffering and terror due to the vicious, barbaric policy of the USA, which treats this tiny little island as though it were the greatest menace on earth, and treats its people and economy like shit, to teach them a lesson, and to maintain a funding base for spineless American pols who fill their pockets at the expense of a bunch of fanatics in miami, who didn't have the balls to stand and fight when the revolution came to their repressive dictatorship, and instead ran to the safety of a haven for fascists...the USA...
There is a great deal of info coming out - slowly - about the background of the guy who got the mother to take that chance on that leaky tub, and to do so by possibly paying him, and without telling any of the child's family IN CUBA what she was about to attempt...and given the poverty on that island, and the hardships of life, it is not surprising that many would try to get to their gusano gestapo relatives in miami, where the life seems marvelous by comparison, though stories are coming out about that, too...
It seems the happy, harmonious family that is being used by the gusano gestapo is composed, in part, of serious law breakers, drunk drivers, etc, and is hardly the model that most hypocrites believe represents the "family"...
My ancestors came here in relative poverty, and they sought a better material life...period...the crap about freedom and democracy is just that, especially when you consider the lives lead by so many americans, which could easily and truly be depicted as "tales of terror", not the least of which are large numbers of american blacks in miami, and large numbers of Haitian blacks who come over on boats and have their assess booted right back to haiti...what about that??
fs
Take it from a Spanish speaking security consultant, 27 years overseas, who has lived for a time in Coconut Grove and has had many conversations with Miami area Cubans. And has even conversed with the evil Ted Shackley, the guy who helped organize the Bay of Pigs, assassination programs, economic destabilization, etc. in BOTH Cuba and Indochina. A truly evil US government organizer - though NOT at all unique - of racist exploitation and punishment for any like country which dares go against US corporate, Mafia and hegemonic political interests. A real evil bastard of the first order, him and his covert buddies from that period (1959 - 1978). And, sadly for America's reputation overseas, he was, and STILL is, considered a ‘Patriot', acting for the people of America.
Frank Scott may speak nasty words, but they are the real truth behind our racist hate campaign against Cuba. While not a perfect man, old Fidel at least has let his people stand proud, albeit poor $$$ wise, among the MANY gringo oppressed countries in Latin America. Just look at the 10 or so countries where we still control so much gov't corruption, police force and militarism, from Mexico to Brazil.
And, anyone who thinks its some aberration, or not true, what he said, take a look at our trying the same racist economic oppression and sore-looser-hate campaign against the other country that kicked our white asses out after we tried to take them over, VIETNAM.
Embargoes and nastiness, also, THAT IS, until the corporate bosses that macro-manage Washington woke up and saw that all the other Western ‘democracies' were making big progress with new businesses in Vietnam. So, natural to our normal, blatant hubris and abject hypocrisies, we rather quickly forgave Vietnam for killing over 58,000 US citizen-soldiers - - most of whom, don't forget were as ignorant as I was : i.e. were lied to and conned into going to Vietnam as ‘Saviors' from Communism. Yes, saviors of OUR CIA PUPPET ‘DEMOCRAT, Ngo Dinh Diem, and his turn-key US installed, not people approved, ‘fledging democracy'.
So, for $$$ profit, we quickly opened our Christian hearts to Vietnam (after dropping twice the TOTAL tonnage of ordnance on Indochina as was dropped by all parties to W. W. II) - - and now we graciously recognize them.
BUT NOT tiny Cuba, which only has about 10 million potential consumers rather than Vietnam's over 75 millions. AND CUBA has NO natural resources nor strategic positions, things we have a long history of loving to control so to pressure others with; which Vietnam geo-politically possesses in abundance. AND CUBA has none of Vietnam's powerful neighbors our corporations wish to exploit.
AND, worst of all, Cuba still has that too proud bearded, fatigue-dressed Spic Latino, who beat US and threw US back into the Bay of Pigs. So our country does not call him those racist names, which many feel in their Christian Capitalist hearts, but instead we, out of love for ‘Democracy", we love to call him ‘Communist'.
BUT WHY?
In truth, bottom line, because we are afraid of Castro's last ditch efforts to put his people before profit, to retain some Cuban honor and integrity, to keep a people's independence alive, rather than allowing the US to once again make Cuba into a vast heroin transiting, casino gambling laundering, feudalistic slave labor of a bordello..., where coming over from Miami by Pam Am Clipper White businessmen bought anything - to relieve their Old Testament or Victorian frustrated, Virgin Mary sin-perplexed Sado Masochist fantasies - by ordering the services of poor 12-16 old countryside boys and girls, for a few greenbacks only..., while smoking, or using in any way, a Cuban cigar, just like our Sunday church-going pre eminent misogynist Christian President, Billy Boy Clinton, did leading us to the end of the American Century.
Because importing heroin, laundering drug and gambling profits, feudal labor exploitation, child sexual abuse, female bordello slavery, CIA Latin region establishment, support, control of dictatorships, etc., etc, was what the BATISTA military regime was ALL about. Castro is not perfect, BUT he at least ended all that.
Really, though, he has committed a bigger sin than just stopping neo-colonial profits for US corps. His MORTAL SIN is, still today, in refusing to bow down and apologize, to kowtow to US, to Uncle Sam Sama, that benign vision of Jehovah, hands out helping his loyal flock of sheep. Behind whom is the truth, the real power, the ‘Wall Street' bosses. That's why Cuba is a ‘TERRORIST" state in our definition, simply because Castro still refuses to have his people's integrity and true freedoms (not consumer freedom) debased with feudal, sweatshop labor deals - like almost all the rest of Latin America - by allowing the US to force open Cuba with US style savage, laissez faire capitalism.
That's what CUBA's present difficult position is all about. US sour grapes, and US fear of Castro's courageous pride spreading to the remaining hundreds of millions of feudal workers in the still suffering, economically oppressed, Rich family-controlled Latin countries.
So, all one needs to understand the degraded, base, unconscionable lack of any ethics in dealing with Cuba by our many hypocrite politicians...., is to look at the manner they have been using that boy who barely survived a tragedy. Now to be stuffed with Mars bars, TV, Nike sneakers and abject Batista propaganda horseshit by the fascist majority of frustrated Cubans in and around Miami.
When will - realistically, is it still possible? - the US public ever get their international heads out of their ignorance generating TVs and their plastic-filled pocketbooks, to learn what Washington ACTUALLY DOES overseas? What their Christian male leaders do in the name of the public and those other pharses they use to lie and propagandize us: Democracy, Free Market Capitalism, Christian Morality, Globalism, NATO, WTO, WB, IMF, etc., …all now vacant cliches for profiteering on the back of the American superpower experiment In New World righteousness.
Richard Manning
Ex Plans and Ops Officer, Far East Div., SOD, CIA 1967-68