To promote a peaceful transition to a Cuba that respects human rights
and political and economic freedoms
The Revolt in Cuba is against Communism, dictatorship and for Freedom. Cubans need the solidarity of the free world.
Rolando Remedios Sanchez arbitrarily detained since July 11, 2021. Source: CubaLex
Summary political show trials continue in Cuba. The Castro regime does not release information on how many have been arrested, but other sources provide estimates along with concrete data. 14ymedio, the press outfit founded by independent journalist Yoani Sanchez, estimates more than 5,000 detained. The human rights group Cubalex has identified 757 detained or missing Cubans, related to the protests that began on July 11th, in their database as of 5:42pm on August 2, 2021, but the list will continue to grow.
The number of dead remains unknown, but video images of gunshot victims, in a country where only the police and military have firearms, tells us that the regime was using deadly force against nonviolent protesters.
A new generation is subjected to the political terror of Castroism that previous generations have endured, but this time is different. Fidel Castro is five years dead, Raul Castro just turned 90, and the first generation of communist rulers is being forced off the stage by the biological clock. The experts in building a totalitarian police state are on their way out, but as was the case with Mao Zedong in China, it can also be when they are at their most murderous.
Cubans never asked for communism. It was imposed on them by the Castro regime first by lies then by terror, and with this mixture, ruled Cuba and garnered international support for over six decades. The truth was spoken aloud across Cuba on July 11, 2021 and in the days that followed, and those who spoke it are paying a terrible price. We owe it to them to listen, and not misrepresent them. Michael Huling writing in The American Conservative, writes on the nature of the protests:
A viral video released on Sunday shows a large group of Cubans shouting “Cuba isn’t yours” in front of the Communist Party headquarters. Protesters also yelled “down with communism” and “down with Díaz-Canel,” in reference to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who also serves as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, having succeeded Raúl Castro (the younger brother of Fidel Castro). The obvious takeaway from the protests is that a significant portion of the Cuban population has had enough of communist rule, expressing their opposition to the regime. But according to Twitter’s description, the protests were due to “shortages of COVID-19 vaccines and basic necessities.” The New York Times offered a similarly disturbing evaluation, arguing that the Cuban protesters “shouting ‘freedom’ and other anti-government slogans” were simply upset about “food and medicine shortages.”
Jay Nordlinger writing in National Review asks the key question with the proper comparative historical context on what is unfolding in Cuba:
Can the Cuban dictatorship survive the Castros? That is a big question, asked for decades — asked by friend and foe alike. The Soviet dictatorship survived Lenin. It lasted 74 years. The Chinese dictatorship survived Mao. It has lasted for 72 years. In North Korea, three Kims — father, son, and grandson — have ruled for 73 years. Two Assads have been on the throne in Syria for 51 years. The Castro regime — we can still call it that, given the hovering presence of Raúl –has lasted for 62 years. How? Especially given the hostile superpower next door? This is the subject of books, rather than brief articles. The Castros had a Soviet sponsor. Then they had a flood of European and other “investment,” meaning hard currency for the regime. Then they stayed afloat on a sea of Venezuelan “petro-dollars.”
"Engagement" with the Castro regime, and not the Cuban people, may lead to the same outcome that engagement with the Chinese communist regime did. It strengthened and modernized a totalitarian dictatorship that does great harm at home and abroad. Before Hugo Chavez and Maduro, European and Latin American investors helped fund Castroism, and legitimized it internationally. It was complicity with a dictatorship oppressing the Cuban people, and in the case of Latin America led to the destabilization and destruction of democracy in Venezuela.
There is a prudent path for U.S. policy makers to pursue on Cuba, and the Center for a Free Cuba has made some suggestions, and signed on to petitions delivered to the Biden Administration. Elliott Abrams, a long time National Security expert serving in Republican administration wrote in The Bulwark on July 13, 2021 the following policy suggestions for the White House:
"First, keep up the rhetorical and political support for Cubans. Denounce the repression. Take the issue to any international organization where we can make a fuss. Second, assess all our democracy-support programs—in USAID, the State Department, the National Endowment for Democracy, and everywhere else—and see how they can be strengthened to support Cubans right now. Better internet access? Support for opposition groups? Training in third countries? Third, offer all sorts of support for Cuba, such as allowing Cuban Americans to send more money there or making tourism easier, if the regime makes serious moves toward political freedom. Make it clear that what stands in the way of a better life is still the Castro regime—just as it has since 1959. In other words, say and do everything we sensibly can to stay on the side of the Cuban people."
Now is the time for President Joe Biden, and other leaders of the free world to stand with the Cuban people, not the dictatorship that has been terrorizing and killing them for 62 years, and with international solidarity and recognition help to empower Cubans to free themselves.
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