Cuba, USA

Or Cuba & the USA

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Times.

      Fabiola Santiago is a prime example of why many people wish Cuba and America were separate sovereign countries as opposed to partly being Cuba, USA since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959. And that rationale is not just because that was the day the revolution chased the leaders of the Batista-Mafia dictatorship off the island only to have them quickly resettle on U. S. soil, mostly in the vicinity of Miami, Florida. On the heels of that phenomenon, it wasn't long before exiled Cubans controlled the U. S. media and dominated the U. S. Congress whenever the issues pertained to either Cuba or Cuban-exiles. Thus, Miami predictably began sprouting billionaires like tropical mushrooms...not to mention a steady stream of anti-Castro zealots in the U. S. Congress and in the U. S. media.

       Fabiola Santiago was born in Matanzas, Cuba. She came to the U. S. in 1969 as part of the historic Freedom Flights {above} from Cuba to Miami. Between 1965 and 1973, the so-called Pedro Pan flights brought 265,000 Cubans to the U. S. where special economic, residence, and citizenship privileges awaited them. By 1980 Fabiola Santiago was working for The Miami Herald and soon became that newspaper's editorial editor. From 1980 till today, what she writes is supposed to never be challenged in the U. S. although it never fails to reek of anti-Castro venom, which spills over into being typical anti-Cuban propaganda. Regarding President Obama's recent trip to Cuba, she blared this headline: "IF ENGAGEMENT GIVES FIDEL CASTRO A HEART ATTACK, IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME." Then she added, "After the elegant speech by President Obama and the free concert by the Rolling Stones, we didn't have to wait long for..." And then she waxed eloquently and, of course, without bias, about Fidel Castro's written reaction to the President's visit.

       And that brings us around to Fabiola Santiago's huge editorial in The Miami Herald yesterday, April 7th. It's title was: "CARNIVAL CRUISE TO CUBA DISCRIMINATES AGAINST A CLASS OF AMERICANS." With not a scintilla of biased logic, she wrote: "Imagine a cruise line that won't take African Americans on sailings to Africa. Or won't take bookings from American Jews to Israel. One class of U. S. citizens banned while others get access. No company in contemporary America would ever survive such blunt discriminatory business practices. But that's exactly what Carnival Corporation is doing in cohorts with the Cuban government and with the endorsement of the U. S. Treasury -- barring Cuban Americans from upcoming cruises to the island starting May 1." After that somewhat one-sided bit of journalism, Ms. Santiago added, "Forty-seven years in this country, 36 as a U. S. citizen, a voter -- and I cannot sail on an American cruise ship because Cuba says so."

       Carnival Cruise Lines begins it cruises to Cuba on May 1, 2016. On its website it says: "Be the first to cruise to Cuba in over 50 years. Visit our sister Fathom Travel and reserve your spot now." There is no reference to discriminating against Cuban-Americans, as Fabiola Santiago states. But Ms. Santiago also mocked the prices: $3,115 per passenger; $7,350 for suites; and $283 for port fees. After mentioning those prices, Ms. Santiago wrote: "Carnival and Cuba are making a nice profit. Discrimination seems to be working for them." To be fair, anything that resembles a positive for Cuba would most likely irk Fabiola Santiago and other Miami hardliners. 

         Fabiola Santiago, the Cuban-born editorial editor for the Miami Herald, is well aware of the aforementioned historic photo depicting the Freedom Flights but I believe she should also be cognizant of other historic U.S.-Cuban photos, such as the one above. It shows a Cuban mother and daughter who were waiting at Jose Marti Airport for their son and brother to arrive from Caracas, where he and other teenage Cubans had won Gold Medals in the Central American Championships. When this photo was taken, they had just gotten the news that the airplane, known to history as Cubana Flight 455, had been blown into the ocean by a terrorist bomb and all 73 on board had perished. That historic day was October 6, 1976. From that day to this day, because it was a Cuban civilian airplane, it's been a non-factor in U. S. history books and in the U. S. media. The one Cuban-American newsman in Miami who complained about such things, Emilio Milian, was himself car-bombed. The one Miami Herald columnist, Jim DeFede, who wrote a scathing article excoriating Miami members of the U. S. Congress such as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers for supporting the well-known terrorists, was himself fired. Cuba to this day blames the demise of Cubana Flight 455 on the two most famed CIA-connected Cuban-American anti-Castro zealots Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles. Bosch, after being pardoned by President George H. W. Bush at the pleadings of his ambitious son Jeb, lived out a heralded life in Miami. Posada, after being surreptitiously freed from two Latin American prisons, is today a heralded citizen of Miami. In other words, the U.S.-Cuban history concerning the Freedom Flights that brought Fabiola Santiago and 265,000 other Cubans to the U. S. is one thing, but so is Cubana Flight 455. Perhaps, in 2016, it is time for even the Miami Herald to acknowledge two sides of a two-sided story. And while doing so, an editorial on April 7th about Cuban-Americans being "discriminated against" could possibly spawn an editorial on April 8th about a plethora of U. S. laws that discriminate in favor of Cuban-Americans, such as The Torricelli Bill, The Helms-Burton Act, Wet Foot/Dry Foot, Radio-TV Marti, Cuban Adjustment Act, etc., etc., etc.

      Yesterday's blistering article in the Miami Herald by editorial editor Fabiola Santiago reminded me of Katie Sizemore, a brilliant young journalist who believes that the U. S. media should report the news, not propaganda, even if the topic is Cuba. Katie has already carved out credentials as a Latin American expert and as a talented and unbiased journalist. In a major article published this week by, among others, The Huffington Post & The World Post, Katie Sizemore very bravely wrote these exact words: "While President Obama was keeping his eyes on the ball during his recent trip to Cuba and Argentina, most of the U. S. media severely missed the point of this pivotal moment for U.S.-Latin American relations. Instead of focusing on the monumental significance and opportunity by both a historic opening of ties with Cuba, and a warming of political and economic cooperation with Argentina for the first time in a decade, media outlets nationwide narrowed in on criticizing Obama and his family's activities. This oversimplification of the way international political leaders develop relationships, find common areas of interest, and appreciate cultural symbols only serves as a distraction and insults the intelligence of the American people. This opportunity for re-engagement is important not only for economic reasons...but also because it opens the door to great collaborations in areas of science, education, terrorism, and drug and human trafficking. We would do well to focus on how our leaders can continue important engagements, rather than focusing on trivialities that are easier to criticize than the complexities of international political relationships." If you want to Google the entire article by Katie Sizemore, it first appeared April 3-2016 and is entitled: "MISSING THE POINT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S TRIPS TO CUBA AND ARGENTINA." And I think you should Google it. Katie Sizemore, I think, epitomizes the young-adult generation of Americans that appears to be totally fed-up with the incompetent, biased U. S. media and with the bought-and-paid-for, corrupt aspects of the U. S. government. Such incompetence, propaganda, and rampant corruption, to precisely quote Katie Sizemore, "serve as a distraction and insults the intelligence of the American people." Beyond any shadow of any doubt, as Katie Sizemore understands, two generations of Americans since the 1950s have had their intelligence insulted. It is hoped that Katie's generation will correct those insults to the U. S. democracy.

        Katie Sizemore understands that it was very wrong for the U. S. government to team with the Mafia to support the thieving and brutal Batista dictatorship in Cuba.

        Katie Sizemore understands that from 1959 till 2016 it has been wrong for the United States to punish innocent Cubans in the guise of "hurting Fidel Castro."

        Katie Sizemore understands that declassified U. S. documents dating from November of 1976 clearly show that the U. S. government knew the terrorists who repeatedly terrorized innocent Cubans, but they were/are never held accountable.

      Katie Sizemore understands why angry demonstrations awaited Mr. Obama after he left Cuba and landed in Argentina last month. The angry signs blared "OBAMA GET OUT OF ARGENTINA!" The Argentineans, of course, were blaming an innocent Mr. Obama for what the U. S. government did in Argentina throughout the 1970s.

       Katie Sizemore understands what inflames the passions of Argentine mothers and grandmothers like these. Mothers of the Plaza still march in Argentina and have chapters in cities around the world as they protest the murders by U.S.-backed dictators of their loved ones in the 1970s. {"Ninos" means "Children."}. They should not have taken their grief out on Mr. Obama but the still-living Americans they hold responsible will not visit Argentina, so Obama was unfortunately their scrape-goat.

Katie Sizemore.

         As a journalist and as a Latin American expert, Katie does not believe that either the U. S. media or the U. S. government should "insult the intelligence of the American people." In that regard, her article this week indicates she thinks Cuba and Argentina would be good places to start regarding both history and current events.

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