cubaninsider: Visit Cuba to Know Cuba

Then Vent Your Own Propaganda
Updated: Sunday, March 8th, 2015

If you visit Cuba these days this is a common sight you would see -- buildings displaying both the American and Cuban flags. The flags blowing in the tropical breeze seem to be speaking softly, hoping the mutual efforts by the two nations will succeed in normalizing relations. Most Cubans want it to happen. Most Americans, including those in Miami, want it to happen. Most citizens of the world want it to happen. But it probably won't happen. A few vicious Cuban-American benefactors don't want it to happen. From Batistiano bastions in Miami and Union City, a handful of Cuban-Americans have dictated America's Cuban policy since 1959. That won't change in 2015. The American democracy is still strong, but not quite that strong.

This week Conan O'Brien devoted his whole TBS late-night program to Cuba after his visit to the island consumed four days. His video crew preceded his arrival and got some interesting footage of everyday life on the nearby "wickedly oppressed" but "utterly fascinating" nation, which sometimes is just called "wickedly appealing."

Conan O'Brien has been one of America's most notable comedians for the past 22 years and his wackiness on the streets of Havana entertained the Cubans. There were no restrictions on where he could go or who he could talk to, so he engaged in entertaining dialogue with a beautiful Cuban woman in a bar, a charismatic Cuban teacher who tried, mostly in vain, to teach him some Spanish, and another diligent Cuban escorted Conan through a large pig farm. On the streets, including the famed Malecon promenade, Conan's interactions with everyday Cubans highlighted his visit.

Jake Tapper is one of CNN's top anchors and generally considered the networks most erudite and best informed anchor. Yet, his ignorance regarding Cuba is not surprising because, I assume, he has never been there and thus has been susceptible, for all his 45 years of life, to propaganda about the island, mostly from unchallenged Cuban-exile sources. That is not to say that revolutionary Cuba is beyond criticism; indeed it is not and I have criticized it. {But, seemingly unknown to Tapper, the Batista-Mafia dictatorship that preceded it was not exactly a Mother Teresa-type rule}. This week Tapper interviewed Conan O'Brien to promote Conan's program about Cuba. One of Tapper's questions inquired about the "Cuban minders" who, Tapper assumed, allowed Conan to see only what they wanted him to see and go only where they wanted him to go. Conan seemed to shock Tapper when he explained there were "no minders" and both Conan and his large crew were told they could go wherever they wanted and see whomever they wanted with no restrictions. I was told the exact same thing when I was in Cuba to research Celia Sanchez.

Chris Cuomo is another very intelligent CNN anchor. He's also very ignorant about Cuba, which I assume he has never visited but, for all of his 44 years of life, has been told what to think, mostly by Cuban-exiles or their sycophants who have their own special agendas, often monetary ones. Recently, Cuomo interviewed someone who had been to Cuba and tried, unsuccessfully, to get that guest to talk about "the decades of brutality" revolutionary Cuba has subjected its people to since 1959 -- implying, of course, that prior to 1959 the Mother Teresa-type Batista-Mafia dictatorship had treated the Cuban people sweetly. {I obviously watch CNN because I think it is the best cable network news outfit, especially on Breaking News, but like the biased ones -- Fox and MSNBC -- its money-saving overuse of pundits masquerading as experts is a quick turn-off. I merely use Tapper and Cuomo to point out that even CNN is not capable of providing unbiased, intelligent reporting when the topic is Cuba although CNN does have a bureau in Havana. Biased Cuban reporting shames the U. S. media because, although unwittingly, the nearby island -- daily since the 1950s -- has greatly shaped the region's and the world's image of the United States and its democracy}.

Andrew M. Cuomo is the 57-year-old Governor of New York and he is the brother of CNN's highest-profile morning anchor Chris Cuomo. Governor Cuomo is already booked for a trip to Cuba because, like other governors, he hopes the warming of relations between the U. S. and Cuba can benefit farmers and businesses from his state. When Governor Cuomo returns from Cuba he will likely be interviewed by Chris Cuomo. I hope a panting Chris does not begin his typical Cuban interview with this question, "Governor, can you begin by telling the American people about all of those Cuban minders who made sure you saw only what those brutal Cuban leaders wanted you to see?" If Chris prefaced his interview with that question, I would assume Andrew, his brother the Governor, would reply something like this: "Uh, Chris, there were no minders. There were no restrictions on my going where I wanted to go and the top dissidents on the island were not off-limits to me. I..." "But, Governor, before we proceed, at least tell us how nervous you were in Cuba. I mean, we have been reporting all week about the Congresswoman from Miami, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, telling us and the world that, quote, 'Cuba is a clear and present danger to the United States.' Now, Governor, we all know the members of Congress from Miami are the very best sources for true information about Cuba, so as a top American politician, how nervous were you in Cuba about that 'clear and present danger?'" If Governor Cuomo answered such a question, his answer might have been: "Well, Chris, I, uh...you know, my staff had, uh, already informed me that Cuba is probably the safest place for me to visit and they also informed me that Cuban people were friendly to Americans and that I...uh, I know this will surprise you...was what I found.'" {Moral of this apocryphal story: Chris Cuomo gets his Cuban data from Miami and Andrew Cuomo will presumably get his data from an actual visit to the island. And, yes, it is a Herculean difference.}.

Francois Hollande, the President of France, has scheduled a visit to Cuba as the European Union seeks closer relations with the island. President Hollande, instead of getting his Cuban information from Miami, apparently believes it is best to get it first-hand. Of course, Presidents of nations that promote or consider reasonable relations with Cuba -- such as Panama in recent days -- can expert scathing letters on congressional stationery reminding them of the error of their ways. I have read the scathing letters to the Panamanian President. I am not sure the French President has gotten his, but it's probably now in the mail to Paris.

This Enrique De La Osa/Reuters photo was taken late this week -- Thursday -- in Havana. It shows Christan Leffler, the European Union's top diplomat for the Americas, holding a news conference to conclude his two-day stay in Havana. He told Daniel Trotta of Reuters that the EU is elated with the U. S. effort to normalize relations with Cuba. He said, "The two processes -- America's and ours -- complement each other and we very much welcome the step the U. S. is taking away from constant confrontation. It lifts a cloud that has hung over the region." The EU lifted sanctions against Cuba in 2008 but, because of the worldwide influence of the U. S., has been reluctant to go further. But in Havana this week, Mr. Leffler made it plain that the EU and the rest of the world does not feel so "restrained" in its dealings with Cuba if it does not anger the world superpower, the U. S. As Mr. Leffler and the world understands, that U. S. policy since 1959 has been dictated by self-serving Cuban exiles and their carefully honed sycophants in the U. S. Congress, from Jesse Helms to Lindsey Graham...and beyond.

This Reuters photo was taken Thursday {March 5th} at a meeting between Cuba and the European Union. The main Cuban negotiator, depicted on the left-front, is Abelardo Moreno. The primary EU negotiator, on the right-front, is Christian Leffler.

As President Obama battles a Bastistiano-dominated U. S. Congress in a brave and gargantuan effort to normalize relations with Cuba, Jose Marti Airport in Havana is flush with visitors from the U. S. hoping to benefit from more normal relations with the neighboring island. This Reuters/Getty Images photo shows some of the 95-members of a powerful American Agricultural Coalition that visited Cuba for three days this week. The Americans shown above are sampling fruit and juice from a Cuban farm and it appears they were impressed. Among the 95 Americans in this group were two former U. S. Secretaries of Agriculture. Their visit was appropriate as opposed, say, to calling on Cuban-Americans in Congress to tell them all about Cuba.

To praise or damn Cuba, it is best to visit the island and judge it for yourself because the U. S. media is not yet capable of providing Americans an unbiased view. I have been to Cuba and traveled the island from one end to the other, without any restrictions from what Chris Cuomo called "minders." Thus, I believe I can praise it or damn it, which I do in this forum. Yes, a voracious Havana-born member of the U. S. Congress from Miami lobbed a grenade to counter President Obama's efforts to normalize relations with Cuba and got the usual mainstream media coverage with that "Cuba is a clear and present danger to the United States" propaganda. Such uncontested comments insult the late Tom Clancy and...America.

By the way, in the past week 88-year-old Fidel Castro was well enough to host the Cuba 5 in his Havana home. They are the five Cubans who had been sentenced in Miami to 15 years to life in American prisons but two were released after serving their terms and the other three secured their freedom as part of the December 17th deal that freed American Alan Gross from a Cuban prison. In this photo, the most famed member of the Cuba 5 and the one that had received the life sentence in that Miami courtroom, Gerardo Hernandez, is shown shaking hands this week with the seated and obviously very weak Fidel Castro. By the way, this photo shows three of the Cuba 5 paying homage to revolutionary icon. The man on the right is Alejandro Castro Espin. Alejandro is the 49-year-old son of Cuban President Raul Castro and his wife Vilma Espin, the late and legendary revolutionary. Alejandro is a Colonel in the Cuban army and it appears he escorted the Cuba 5 to his uncle Fidel's home in Havana.

In the early days of March, 2015, Fidel Castro remains very sick and quite weak. Dalia, his wife since 1980 and the mother of his last five sons, minutely determines who gets to see him. "He is 88-years-old," she told Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro two weeks ago. "The illness that almost killed him in 2006 remains my worry. I allow you to see him again but, understand, it is on a good-day/bad-day basis now." Thus, based on his prime care-taker Dalia, February 27th was a "good day" for Fidel because that was the day she allowed the Cuba 5 to spend five hours with him.

On a different topic................