To promote a peaceful transition to a Cuba that respects human rights
and political and economic freedoms
Why appeasing terror state sponsor Cuba leads to misery. In Havana, US and Cuban officials conclude their "Law Enforcement Dialogue."
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) published on January 20, 2023 an OpEd in Medium on how appeasing the Cuban government leads to misery. They highlight the brutality of the dictatorship against prisoners of conscience, and the fact that there are over a 1,000 Cuban prisoners of conscience today in the island.
“Last month, regime thugs savagely beat pro-democracy activist José Daniel Ferrer at a state prison in Santiago de Cuba. His wife and two children were forced to watch. And when Ferrer’s young daughter tried to protect her father, the officials brutalized her, too. This is not an isolated incident. For years, Ferrer has been on the receiving end of cruel and unjust treatment simply for speaking out against the Cuban regime. Tragically, there is no end in sight for him, his family, or the more than 1,000 Cubans jailed and tortured for using their voices.”
On October 28, 2022 a Cuban coast guard ship purposefully rammed and sank a boat just north of Bahía Honda, in the province of Artemisa that was heading north to the United States with Cuban refugees. At least seven were killed. Family members of the victims, and survivors spoke out, and where then targeted by the secret police.
Officials prepared a montage denying that the events had taken place, but one of the victims bravely spoke out again to set the record straight, and three others survivors, who escaped the island in mid December, confirmed that the government’s version was false. It had been a premeditates massacre. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba on October 29, 2022 tweeted that the massacre had been an “accident” repeating the Cuban government’s false narrative.
Senator Rubio (R-FL) and Congressman Mario Daz-Balart (R-FL) wrote a paragraph in their OpEd referring to Jose Daniel Ferrer's plight that also applies to the October 28th Bahia Honda massacre.
These are not the actions of a government seeking greater openness and good-faith engagement. These are the actions of criminals interested purely in self-preservation, who routinely use force to oppress, intimidate, and silence anyone who dares to challenge their illegitimate rule.
The State Department on January 19, 2023 following the “Law Enforcement Dialogue” published a statement that is troubling when one considers the record and nature of the Cuban government.
“This type of dialogue enhances the national security of the United States through improved international law enforcement coordination, which enables the United States to better protect U.S. citizens and bring transnational criminals to justice. These dialogues strengthen the United States’ ability to combat criminal actors by increasing cooperation on a range of law enforcement matters, including human trafficking, narcotics, and other criminal cases. Enhanced law enforcement coordination is in the best interests of the United States and the Cuban people.”
Engaging in “international law enforcement coordination” through increased “cooperation on a range of law enforcement matters, including human trafficking, narcotics, and other criminal cases” with the Cuban government does not enhance the national security of the United States.
Havana’s sponsoring of terrorism, its ongoing harboring of notorious terrorists wanted by US justice, its involvement in drug trafficking, and weaponizing and profiting off human trafficking, demonstrates that Cuba today is run by a criminal regime.
With regards to bringing “transnational criminals to justice” the three years of “Law enforcement dialogues” did not see terrorists or cop killerspursued by the FBI turned over. On August 3, 2022, Senators Bob Menendez (D) and Marco Rubio (R) introduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate to extradite a number of criminals harbored by the Cuban government after committing terrorist acts and murdering Americans in the United States. Among those still wanted by the American justice system are Joanne Chesimard, William "Guillermo" Morales, Charlie Hill, and Victor Manuel Gerena.
Worse yet, the regime in Cuba has a track record of passing (or selling) U.S. secrets to enemies of the United States. In the case of Russia the only time that relations cooled, was not due to U.S. engagement, but to Russia flirting with Perestroika and Glasnost during the Gorbachev era, and entered a deep freeze during the Boris Yeltsin presidency. Relations resumed their historic closeness with Vladimir Putin’s presidency in 2000.
The response by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez should equally give one pause.
“Bilateral cooperation to confront scourges like terrorism, illegal trafficking of migrants and migratory fraud benefit both countries and we are committed to it despite the economic blockade and incessant hostility of the United States.”
Is the U.S. cooperating with Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism on the scourge of terrorism? Will they also be cooperating with Iran, North Korea and Syria? The State Department 2022 report on Cuba and human trafficking is damning.
“The Government of Cuba does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Cuba remained on Tier 3. Despite the lack of significant efforts, the government took some steps to address trafficking, including investigating, prosecuting, and convicting traffickers, and identifying victims. However, during the reporting period, there was a government policy or pattern to profit from labor export programs with strong indications of forced labor, particularly its foreign medical missions’ program. The government continued to deploy Cuban workers to foreign countries using deceptive and coercive tactics and failed to address labor violations and trafficking crimes despite an increasing number of allegations from credible NGOs, former participants, and foreign governments of Cuban officials’ involvement in abuses.”
Will the Biden Administration in the next trafficking report downplay Havana’s dismal record on trafficking in 2023, as was done in 2015 during the Obama Administration that outraged anti-trafficking groups who condemned the report for being politicized?
Unmentioned in the reporting is what the Castro regime is doing today on the international scene.
The Cuban government’s ongoing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for China’s aggressive actions against Hong Kong and Taiwan, the backing of other terror regimes in Iran, North Korea, and Syria. These regimes all share a profound hostility against the United States, and democracy more broadly. Cuba also participated in military exercises conducted by Russia in Venezuela and Iran in 2022.
Havana has soldiers and intelligence agents in Venezuela that have been described by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro as an “occupation army”. In addition to their other duties in Venezuela some of these Cuban assets are overseeing the torture of Venezuelan dissidents.
In Venezuela, Havana has soldiers and intelligence agents who have been described as a "occupation army" by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro. In addition to their other responsibilities in Venezuela, some of them supervise the torture of Venezuelan dissidents.
No comments:
Post a Comment