Cuba Libre

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Havana, Cuba. There we saw a tragedy in the making- a once great city being turned into what could pass as a bombed out rubble. Except It’s not the result of bombs, it’s the result of our American foreign policy.

The irony is that this once beautiful, vibrant place could be beautiful and vibrant again with United States help and United States investment. But since 1959, our policy has been aimed at strangling our neighbor through an embargo that has deprived it of food, fuel, medicines, and all the materials essential to keep it from crumbling. Now, as things go from bad to worse, the embargo is depriving Cuba of people, as many of its young leave to pursue futures in places where a future can be had.

Before our trip I was apprehensive. Our government actively discourages travel to the island. News about electrical blackouts, interception of needed oil, and the American war fleet building off the coast of Venezuela didn’t seem to bode well for a warm Cuban welcome. But to our surprise, a warm welcome is what we encountered. The people we met in Cuba wanted us there, and they want our help, and they were desperate to have their story told. That is why I’m writing this.

The goal of the embargo, originally, was to create a situation so desperate that those we were choking would rise up against a communist government that, during the domino-theory haze of the 1960’s, seemed to pose a threat to us. Today these concerns are long past. Communist China and Viet Nam are major trading partners, and we’ve (literally) rolled out the red carpet to Putin. So what do we gain from inflicting such hardship on our desperate Cuban neighbors?

Please understanding I am not arguing in favor of the Cuban communism. If anything, my trip to Cuba has shown me the disastrous consequences that can come with a utopian vision that leaves no room for individual freedom and initiative. I believe that Cubans have learned that lesson for themselves, and are ready for something else.

For those that have not already connected the dots, please allow me my version: The undeclared war that is taking place against Venezuela was obviously never about drugs- it’s about the Venezuelan oil that we want. Venezuelan oil is holding up Cuba, which we don’t want. So regime change in Venezuela leads to regime change in Cuba, creating a golden twofer that’s just too good a deal for this administration to pass up. End result: a Cuba once more in the US sphere of influence, with endless possibilities for development and reclamation by Trump, Rubio, and all those who are waiting in line. But by continuing with our current sanctions, it seems much more likely that the reward we’ll get for all this unnecessary cruelty will be another Haiti.

I hope everyone reading this will have enough interest to read up on what is happening 90 miles off of our shore, and reach your own conclusions. I’ve attached link to a you-tube documentary by Oliver Stone and Danny Glover called “The War on Cuba,” which tells the story I’ve tried to introduce here:

https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/the-war-on-cuba