America's Castro Industry

Still Dictates U. S. Cuban Policy
Updated Sunday, November 15th, 2015
First, a photo to ponder:

       This photo was taken yesterday -- November 14, 2015 -- by Yves Hernan for Reuters. It shows French soldiers patrolling near the Eiffel Tower in Paris after the dreadful, sadistic terrorist attacks killed or injured hundreds of totally innocent French citizens. Remarkably and perhaps not coincidentally, a white dove -- the symbol of peace -- flew across the path of the soldiers just as the photo was snapped. The dove and the civilized world weeps for Paris and all of its victims.

        Sarah Stephens at the Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas is the best chronicler of U.S.-Cuban relations. Unfortunately, that is precisely why the incompetent, biased, and intimidated mainstream U. S. media seldom, if ever, relies on democracy-loving Cuban experts like her to counter what, since 1959, has been the lucrative, unchecked, and self-serving Castro Industry in the United States.

        This week -- Friday, November 13th -- Sarah Stephens wrote on the Cuba Central segment of The Center for Democracy in the Americas blog:
           "Next week, our friends at the Atlantic Council and Engage Cuba will release their 'America's Heartland Survey' of voter opinions in Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana about U. S. policy toward Cuba. While the hard numbers won't be out until Tuesday, we do know that the poll shows significant support of engagement in those otherwise highly conservative Middle American states.
                  "During the last year, we've seen and studied eighteen surveys measuring public support for President Obama's policy of engagement with Cuba.
                     "...we want to remind you that the policies announced by the President last December 17th have real support and predict the reaction we're likely to hear from the hardliners who see the numbers continue to run against them."
                After those opening words Friday, Sarah Stephens quoted the "reaction" from just two of the "hardliners" -- Mauricio Claver-Carone and Mario Diaz-Balart -- that are synonymous with the economically and politically self-serving Castro Industry that has existed, virtually unchecked, in the U. S. almost since the very day -- January 1, 1959 -- that the Cuban Revolution chased the Batista-Mafia leaders off the island.

          Mauricio Claver-Carone is one of the most powerful and ubiquitous lobbyists in Washington, D. C. His prime agenda is to keep the U. S. embargo against Cuba in place and to strengthen it. He has a plethora of well-financed entities -- US-Cuba Democracy PAC, Capital Hill Cubans blog, etc., etc., etc. In Friday's "Cuba Central" update on the "Center for Democracy in the Americas" blog, Sarah Stephens used this quote from Mauricio Claver-Carone: "We've found that the more information people learn about what happens in Cuba, the more (likely) they are to support U. S. policy." Of course, ultra-powerful and highly financed lobbyists like Mr. Claver-Carone are prime reasons why everyday Americans are the only people in the world who do not have the freedom to travel to Cuba. If they could, of course, they might be able to judge things for themselves instead of being told what to think regarding Cuba. The vast and lucrative Castro Industry in the U. S. remains determined to control both the Cuban narrative in the U. S. and all laws in the U. S. Congress related to Cuba. Many cowered Americans routinely and sadly acquiesce to that dictation.

        The Claver-Carone dictation/quote that riled Sarah Stephens also riles Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs and the island's main expert on all things American. Vidal, who has personally negotiated many positive U.S.-Cuban relations, was back in Washington last week for further impressive diplomatic discussions with State Department officials. But Vidal has also said: "Much of my time is spent trying to stay alert and deal with the myriad of regime-change programs continually funded by the U. S. Congress by elements from the long-ago Batista rule in Cuba. Those continuous regime-change programs include trying to saturate this island with money and other incentives to cause dissident trouble that they hope will provoke a reaction from Cuba that they can exploit against Cuba. Americans now know me for the diplomatic discussions with my friend Roberta Jacobson. But I wish Americans knew how much time I devote to dealing with those in the United States who want to enrich or empower themselves via cruel schemes against the island that are well-funded and legalized by Congress with little or no participation by most Americans."

         At age 27, Crisitna Escobar is Cuba's brilliant and influential television news anchor. She is fiercely Cuban and, on both Cuban and regional television as well as on her visit to Washington to cover the last Vidal-Jacobson diplomatic session, is uncompromisingly outspoken about "The vicious lies the U. S. media tells about Cuba." This past week she told her viewers: "The U. S. media allows without question the Miami and Congress Cubans to say whatever they want to demean Cuba. They say...we must strengthen the embargo because every dollar or peso that gets to Cuba goes in Castro's pockets or his Swiss bank accounts. This week the UN, UNESCO to be exact, congratulated Cuba for the incredibly high percentage of its income devoted to education and health for the Cuban people. In the last few weeks both the World Bank and the World Health Organization singled out Cuba for the same thing -- the high percentage of Cuba's wealth devoted to education and health, not to mention shelter and food. I've been to Castro's home and we on the island know he lives modestly and doesn't have bank accounts or even much interest in money. The Miami and congressional liars live in mansions, I believe, with bulging bank accounts. But, as a journalist in Cuba, I mostly blame the U. S. media for the lies about Cuba, and that's exactly what I said when I was in Washington." 

       Mario Diaz-Balart has represented Miami in the U. S. Congress since 2003. His older brother, the Havana-born Lincoln, represented Miami in the U. S. Congress from 1993 till 2011. In this week's "Cuba Central" segment on the "Center for Democracy in the Americas" website, Sarah Stephens quoted Mario Diaz-Balart as saying, "That is an absolute lie." He was referring to an article in the New York Times that pointed out that most Cuban-Americans in Miami desire a more decent U. S. policy towards Cuba but only anti-Castro hardliners like the Diaz-Balart brothers get elected to the U. S. Congress from Miami.

            Rafael Diaz-Balart was the father of four sons -- two born in Cuba and two in Florida -- including the two sons who have represented Miami, and the Diaz-Balarts, in the U. S. Congress since 1993. Rafael Diaz-Balart was a key minister in the Batista dictatorship that was ousted by the Cuban Revolution in January of 1959. Then Rafael became one of the richest and most ardently anti-Castro zealots in South Florida.

         This Washington Post photo shows Rafael Diaz-Balart flanked by his four sons, who are now four of the richest and most powerful people in Miami with massive tentacles to Washington. On the far right is Mario, ensconced in the U. S. Congress since 2003. Second from the left is Lincoln; he was born in Havana in 1954, was in the U. S. Congress from 1993-2011, and is now a lawyer and major anti-Castro zealot in Miami. On the far left is Havana-born Rafa; he is a very rich investment banker. The Post said Lincoln and Rafa work in the same Miami office. Second from the right is Jose; he is a very influential television anchor with his own Miami-based programs on both Telemundo and MSNBC. Based on the avalanche of laws that fiercely harm Cubans on the island and incredibly favor Cubans in Miami, it can be said, I believe, that the four sons of Rafael Diaz-Balart have far more influence in the U. S. Congress and in the U. S. media {when it comes to Cuba} than America's 314 million non-Cubans. Thus, democracy-lovers are often victimized.

          This photo shows Governor Jeb Bush, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and President George W. Bush in Florida during a period when this trio was instrumental in strengthening the anti-Castro, pro-Cuban exile U. S. laws. Since 1989 the Miami-to-Congress pipeline -- from Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to the Diaz-Balarts to Marco Rubio to Carlos Curbelo -- has been greased by the self-serving Bush dynasty. 

        Actually, the first President Bush -- George H. W. Bush -- as CIA Director in 1976 and then as Vice President for eight years under Ronald Reagan, began the Miami-to-Washington parade of Cuban-Americans. The genesis for that was when George H. W. Bush anointed Jorge Mas Canosa {above} as the leader of what essentially has been the Cuban government-in-exile. Mas Canosa then became a reputed Miami billionaire and the primary force behind America's Cuban policy via such things as the Torricelli Bill, the Helms-Burton Act, the Cuban Adjustment Act, Wet Foot/Dry Foot, etc., that to this day encourage Cuban defections to Miami with special privileges that include uniquely instant welfare and legal residency.

        This photo shows Jorge Mas Canosa, second from the left, basking in the glory of a Bush signature on a Cuban law. On the left is Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, entrenched in the U. S. Congress since 1989.

       In 1989 Jeb Bush was Ros-Lehtinen's Campaign Manager and in the photo above he is mimicking a halo around her head the day she was elected to Congress. The Havana-born Ros-Lehtinen remains in the U. S. Congress to this day as the first and still one of the most vociferous anti-Castro zealots. Future Governor Jeb Bush, following the lead of his father and brother, established his political roots in Florida by stressing the Bush dynasty's indelible alliance to the most hard-line Cuban-Americans in Miami.

       There is no American who knows more about the Cuban influence on the U. S. government than Julia E. Sweig. But that's why you will not see Julia E. Sweig on network news programs when Cuba or U.S.-Cuban relations are discussed. The U. S. networks much prefer Miami propagandists such as Ana Navarro.

         Julia E. Sweig's seminal book on U.S.-Cuban relations is "CUBA: What Everyone Needs To Know," including a revised updated edition. This classic gem documents many things that Americans need to know about Cuba to counter a Cuban narrative dictated by America's all-consuming Castro Industry. For example, Ms. Sweig explains that when the Bush dynasty anointed Jorge Mas Canosa as the leader of the Miami Cubans, Mas Canosa was advised to study and then replicate the ultra-powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC. Mas Canosa followed that advice and created The Cuban American National Foundation, which quickly came to rival AIPAC's virtually unchecked power in the U. S. Congress, a situation that exists to this very day.

         All of which brings us back around to Sarah Stephens and her Center for Democracy in the Americas. If you want the pertinent and unbiased truth about U.S.-Cuban relations, depend on Ms. Stephens, Ms. Sweig, etc. If you want to be brow-beaten and propagandized with self-serving innuendo from the vast Castro Industry in the United States, depend on Mauricio Claver-Carone, the Diaz-Balarts, etc.

And speaking of the Diaz-Balarts........

       .........Mirta Diaz-Balart is the aunt of Miami's four rich and powerful Diaz-Balart brothers. Their father Rafael was Mirta's brother. Mirta turned 87 on September 30th.

In 1948 Mirta married a young Cuban lawyer named Fidel Castro.

They honeymooned in Miami and New York.

They had a baby boy they called Fidelito.

        By 1952 Fidel Castro had decided to do the impossible -- overthrow the Batista dictatorship that was aligned with the Mafia and backed by the mighty United States.

       Fidel's first major thrust against Batista was the ill-fated attack on the Moncada Army Barracks on July 26, 1953. The AP photo above shows the bodies of some of his men. Most of the lightly armed 120 rebels were killed in the initial attack or then tortured to death shortly thereafter. 

        After the disastrous Moncada attack, Fidel Castro became prisoner #3859. Unlike many of the other prisoners, he was not tortured to death because the U. S. was aware of two things: {1} Fidel was the hero of the peasant majority on the island; and {2} his supporters, which included Herbert L. Mathews of the influential New York Times, closely monitored Fidel's well-being in prison.

        In May of 1955 Fidel was freed from prison because the U. S. was embarrassed by newspaper accounts of atrocities in the Batista dictatorship that were highlighted by female street marches. Batista assigned a death squad to finish off Fidel but Cuban women like guerrilla leader Celia Sanchez and his lover Naty Revuelta provided him safe houses till he escaped to Miami, New York City, and then Mexico. In December of 1956 he joined Celia Sanchez's guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra foothills on the southeastern tip of the island. The rest is chronicled by world history.

Fidel's union with guerrilla leader Celia Sanchez was critical.

A tired but victorious Celia and Fidel on January 4, 1959.

Celia's/Fidel's Cuban Revolution triumphed on January 1, 1959.

       From 1959 till her death from cancer on January 11, 1980, Celia Sanchez, with Fidel's blessing, was the prime decision-maker on the island of Cuba. Americans are not supposed to know that but America's best Castro biographer, Georgie Anne Geyer, pointed out that Celia "over-ruled" Fidel whenever she chose, which was often. Respected and still-living associates of Celia and Fidel understood that key fact. Roberto Salas in his book said, "Celia made all the decisions for Cuba, the big ones and the small ones." Acclaimed journalist/author Marta Rojas told me in 2004, "Since Celia died of cancer in 1980, Fidel has ruled Cuba only as he precisely perceives Celia would want him to rule it." Since 1959 the Castro Industry in the United States has concentrated on vilifying Castro, sanitizing Batista, and ignoring Celia Sanchez, the child-loving doctor's daughter. The Castro Industry realizes Celia Sanchez cannot be vilified but, at least in the U. S., she can be ignored.

       After his revolutionary soul-mate Celia Sanchez died of cancer in 1980, Fidel married Dalia Soto del Valle, Celia's close friend from Trinidad, Cuba. Dalia remains fiercely devoted to the 89-year-old Fidel and she is the mother of his last five sons, all of whom are devoted to their parents.

      Which brings us back to Mirta Diaz-Balart. Now 87, she is shown above with her son Fidelito. She has a home in Spain and another one in Havana that awaits her when she visits her son and her ex-husband Fidel. While Mirta is not on good terms with her four anti-Castro nephews in Miami, she remains quite fond of Fidelito, Fidel, and Fidel's second and current wife Dalia Soto.

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Decline of U. S. Journalism

And How It Hurts Democracy
Updated:  Friday, November 13th, 2015

Note:

        I wrote and posted this essay entitled "Decline of U. S. Journalism on Wednesday, November 11th. The next day -- on Thursday, November 12th -- The New York Times had a major editorial entitled "Why Has Trust in the News Media Declined?" Because I believe a strong and brave democracy needs a strong and brave media, I invite you to read the The New York Times editorial as well as this Cubaninsider "editorial" that I updated today. The operative word is "Decline," which is very bad for the U. S. and democracy.

         This is Leslee Udwin, a great broadcast journalist. She was born in 1957 in Israel and she is England's greatest film-maker, and the winner of numerous "Best British Film" awards. Broadcast journalism in the United States does not have a Leslee Udwin because in the U. S. the two over-riding priorities are money and political correctness, neither of which afflicts Leslee Udwin's contributions to journalism.

         Leslee Udwin's latest documentary is entitled "India's Daughter." It is not only brilliant and topical, it is important. In recent days the routine rapes of women and children in India have made worldwide headlines. With courage and brilliance, Leslee Udwin's "India's Daughter" examines the portion of the patriarchal society in India, a democracy, that condones and tries to legalize this abominable practice.

          India has banned Leslee Udwin's "India's Daughter." Yet, as Ms. Udwin is informing the world, India condones 900 or so porn sites "as freedoms of expression in a democracy." Leslee Udwin believes that, for example, the two infants recently raped in India also deserved some democratic freedom.

        Leslee Udwin uses speaking engagements to promote "India's Daughter" in the hopes that India will relent and allow its people to view it. She is a superb speaker and her outrage over the rape of women, children, and infants should be observed and supported by all the decent people worldwide.

         Rana Ayyub is India's greatest investigative journalist. Bravely, brilliantly, and consistently, she has reported in India on female rights...especially the right of women, girls, and infants not to be raped.

      In my opinion, the grandest broadcast journalist in America is Kate O'brien. I believe if the great visionary Ted Turner was still in charge of his brainchild CNN, he would have Kate O'brien in charge of that network to set the example for all broadcast networks to emulate. For thirty years, starting right after she got out of college, Ms. O'brien was the prime dynamo in the radio and television news division at ABC. Safely ensconced as the top decision-maker at ABC News, she tired of the increasing demands of money-crazed executives to reduce covering news and concentrate on the less-expensive tactic of saturating newscasts with talking-head pundits, many of whom welcome the free airtime to promote themselves, their latest books, their blogs, etc. Kate O'brien left ABC-TV because she wanted to cover the news and not be a reservoir for talking-head pundits. She believed Aljazeera America provided that opportunity as long as its bosses in Doha, Qatar, let her be the boss. They agreed; she agreed. She hired 800 reporters and anchors -- including many of the very best on the planet, including John Shuster, John Siegenthaler, Ali Velchi, Sheila McVicar, Libby Casey, Stephanie Sy, Joie Chen, Soledad O'Brien, Andrew Simmons, Karl Penhall, Lisa Fletcher, Adrian Brown, Harry Fawsett, Jennifer Glasse, Ms. Charlie Angela, Rosalind Jordan, Nicole Mitchell, Mary Snow, Catherine Soi, Jonathan Betz, Del Walters, Patty Culhane, Mauhamad Jamjoon, etc. In addition to raiding U. S. and British networks, Ms. O'brien hired many of the best English-speaking journalists in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the volatile Middle East. For example, many Americans and Latin Americans believe the three best broadcast journalists covering Latin America are Lucia Newman, Teresa Bo, and Virginia Lopez -- all of whom now work for Kate O'brien. On YouTube you can view a 15-minute interview of Kate O'brien at Kent State University in which she expresses her disdain for talking heads and her love of actually sending talented reporters out to cover the news. She also is a strong advocate of pertinent documentaries and in the last week of October, 2015, her Aljazeera America network debuted two stunning documentaries -- one entitled "The Cost of News" about the murders or silencing of great journalists in countries such as Mexico and Russia; and one entitled "The Hostage Business" that documents such things as Western nations paying sums such as "$525,000" to terrorist kidnappers so they will free nationals and then the governments cover up the payments. TechKnow features her award-winning documentaries on the environment. In the first week of November she had top reporters covering pertinent stories such as damnable conditions on Indian reservations in the U. S. and why such a high percentage of black babies die in Cleveland. She has world-class reporters covering war and terrorist zones from Nigeria to Syria and beyond. Kate O'brien is the prime reason you should sample Aljazeera America because she prefers covering news important to Americans and disdains repetitive talking-head pundits other networks utilize as a cost-saving ploy. Kate O'brien, journalism's superstar!!

      This is Naomi Kikoler. She is a great lady. One of Kate O'brien's best reporters, Tom Ackerman, this week explained on Aljazeera America why she's a great person. She devotes her life to preventing genocide and reminding the world of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Serbia, etc. She is now making sure the world knows about the plight of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, especially the slaughter of Yazidi children.

     Naomi Kikoler works for The Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. Her work is far more important and topical than biased opinions of talking heads on cable networks. At least, Kate O'brien believes that is so and I believe she is correct. Thanks, Ms. O'Brien. Now I know about Naomi Kikoler.

      To be perfectly fair, occasionally the Talking Head-obsessed U. S. networks send excellent investigative reporters to report on issues important to Americans. Hallie Jackson works for NBC News. This week Ms. Jackson was afforded airtime on NBC's prime 6:30 P. M. newscasts. She explained to us why the cost of prescription drugs in the U. S. are far, far higher than in any other Western nation. We already knew the reason was that, in the U. S., lobbyists and pharmaceutical companies can easily buy-off enough members of the U. S. Congress so they can maintain their absurd prices on prescription drugs. But it was still refreshing that Hallie Jackson and a mainstream newscast in the U. S. actually reminded us of that fact.  Hallie Jackson is a recent hire of NBC, which also has recently hired one of Kate O'brien's best journalists -- Morgan Radford. It's a reminder that Kate O'Brien's propensity for news gathering, opposed to Talking Heads, is beginning to influence the mainstream U. S. networks...and let's surely hope so.

         I think 27-year-old Morgan Radford is America's best young broadcast journalist, putting her in a virtual tie with Cuba's brilliant 27-year-old Cristina Escobar. Ms. Radford, a North Carolinian, graduated from Harvard and Columbia universities, interned at CNN, worked at ABC-News, and then was hired by Al Jazeera's Kate O'brien. But now NBC-News has hired talented Morgan Radford away from Al Jazeera.

         Elaine Diaz is a prime example of independent broadcast journalism taking flight in Cuba as the revolutionary government, thanks to a thawing of relations with the United States, opens up a bit...even to critical journalists. Elaine taught journalism for seven years at the University of Havana. Then she spent a year via a Peabody scholarship at Harvard University. Now she is back in Cuba with her own network and outstanding blog. She has hired reporters and is able to pay them starting salaries of $100 a month.

         Cristina Escobar, of course, is Cuba's superstar news anchor. As fluent in English as she is in Spanish, she is not afraid to criticize the Cuban government if she feels everyday Cubans are being mistreated in any manner. Americans may also recall the headlines Cristina garnered when she covered the last Vidal-Jacobson diplomatic session in Washington. She made it a poignant point on U. S. soil -- at a White House news conference and in subsequent interviews and speeches -- to denounce the U. S. media. While in Washington, she repeatedly said: "Lies told by the American media hurt everyday Cubans the most." As Cuba's top newscaster she says she is "more able to tell the truth regarding everyday Cubans than the politically correct U. S. broadcasters are." At age 27, Cristina is also the star of regional network newscasts and you can observe her talent on YouTube. Her influence on the island is huge and growing.

       Meanwhile, this ubiquitous image of Ana Navarro is a journalistic joke in the U. S. and a dire insult to Americans. Note that CNN identifies Ana Navarro as "a Political Commentator." That implies she is about to fill the airways with valuable, unbiased political information Americans need. Ana Navarro was born in Nicaragua but is a Miamian through and through. She has grown rich as a publicist/propagandist for Miami conservatives or right-wingers, working to promote people like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio -- her two favorites to be the next two presidents. She mostly saturates CNN but other U. S. networks use her because, as Kate O'Brien points out, talking-head pundits are a lot cheaper filling air space between commercials than actually going out and covering the news. To his credit, when he introduces Ana Navarro, CNN's Anderson Cooper often points out, "Ana is a promoter of Jeb Bush and a friend of Marco Rubio." How nice!! After that brilliant disclosure, Mr. Cooper permits Ana Navarro free airtime to propagandize Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in the guise of being an unbiased political journalist.

       

           Alex Castellanos was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1954. The Castro Industry in the U. S. has been a goldmine for Alex and many other Cuban-Americans. He too is a publicist/propagandist for conservative or right-wing Republicans. Usually without delineating his background, Alex is ubiquitous on CNN and other U. S. networks while being promoted as "a political commentator." Ted Turner, Kate O'Brien and others who respect great broadcast journalism surely cringe at U. S. networks who insult both journalism and their viewers with their emphasis on talking-head pundits. Kate O'Brien, when she left ABC-TV News for Aljazeera America, expressed that anti-talking head, anti-pundit opinion in the YouTube interview.

        Ted Turner, the visionary founder of CNN in 1980, is now 76-years-old and retired. Unfortunately, he sold CNN to corporate interests far more interested in money than news, thus the proliferation of talking heads. Ted Turner, like Kate O'Brien, relished sending good reporters out to cover real news. Except for O'Brien, cable news in the U. S. has evolved into a joke much funnier than Jon Stewart's former satirical puns on Comedy Central. When O'Brien left ABC-TV News for Al Jazeera America because she detested talking heads and loved covering news, it reflected the sorry state of the television news industry in the U. S. Also of significance, I believe, was/is the scathing analysis of the U. S. media by Cuba's young and highly respected top newscaster. Ted Turner's splendid vision, like a gradually expanding sinkhole, has dissolved into an abyss of greed in which talking heads have replaced actual news coverage. 

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Cuba Emerges From The Cold

Obama Thaws Paying Off

         Josefina Vidal, Cuba's unfathomably brilliant Minister of North American Affairs, returned to Washington this week for more talks with State Department officials. Yesterday -- November 10th -- she held a news conference at the new Cuban embassy and told reporters she is nearing agreements with the U. S. on...flights, environment protection, direct postal service, and the fight against drug trafficking.

Vidal's news conference in Washington, D. C.

  Yesterday -- November 10th -- Vacation Express launched its CUBA.VACATIONEXPRESS.COM website. It provides full booking capabilites for people who would like to travel to Cuba legally. It offers hotel line-ups in six vacation spots: Havana, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa Maria, Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba.

       Three imposing Chinese warships arrived in Cuba yesterday -- November 10th. China is now Cuba's #2 trade partner behind Venezuela but China is striving to be #1. Also, China desires closer ties with Cuba as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing in the South China Sea. China is truly refocusing on Cuba.

This photo shows Chinese warships docking in Havana yesterday.

         Rob Manfred is the Commissioner of Major League Baseball in the U. S. Yesterday -- November 10th -- Mr. Manfred said he is working hard so Major League teams can play exhibition games in Cuba beginning next year during spring training. He said, "It will be a good thing for baseball." Baseball scouts in the U. S., along with profiteering human traffickers, realize that Cuba is a gold-mine for baseball talent and fans. 

        This photo shows President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico hosting President Raul Castro of Cuba this past weekend at the Yucatan State Government Palace in Merida, Mexico. Both men wore Cuban-style white guayabera shirts. A few years ago Mexican President Vicente Fox mimicked the George W. Bush administration's antagonistic policy towards Cuba. But now Barack Obama is the U. S. President and Mexico's President Pena Nieto is replicating Obama's friendship regarding Cuba. Raul Castro and Pena Nieto released this statement: "We have set about creating conditions for more Mexican companies to invest in Cuba." Pena Nieto said that he wants Mexico, with its historic pre-Fox ties and proximity to Cuba directly across the Yucatan Peninsula, to jump past Spanish and Brazilian companies in investing in Cuba.

       It is known that Mexico's ultra-rich businessman Carlos Slim is a great admirer of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. In 2010 Mr. Slim read that the ailing Fidel loved to watch television news and documentary shows. So, Mr. Slim sent Fidel a nice television. Mr. Slim's flagship company, American Movil, already has a roaming deal with Cuba. It will be interesting to see if Carlos Slim invests more in Cuba.

       Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, is worth about $80 billion, up in the Bill Gates stratosphere and well ahead of Warren Buffett. He turned 75 last January 28th and many are wondering if, encouraged by his President Pena Nieto, he will invest more heavily in Cuba. Two Mexican companies have recently signed investment deals with Cuba's refurbished Mariel Port Economic Zone and it is known that other Mexican firms -- such as bottling company Femsa and cement maker Cemer -- have very exciting plans in Cuba.

         The United States {Estados Unidos} was represented at Cuba's International Trade Fair by companies such as Pepsi and Gatorade as well as American Airlines, Boeing, Cargil, Caterpillar, etc. Alabama-based Cleber LLC wants to build a tractor factory in Cuba. As things now stand, Cuba prefers doing business with more trusted friends -- such as Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, Canada, China, Russia, Brazil and Vietnam.

       The worst relations between Mexico and Cuba came when two rich cowboys were Presidents of Mexico and the United States. The two countries are contiguous and these two vaqueros were also contiguous. Vicente Fox was Mexico's President from 2000 till 2006; George W. Bush was American President from 2001 till 2009. Cubans on the island still dread just thinking about the Bush-Fox tandem. 

Fox looked to Bush for Mexico's Cuban policy.

Cuba thinks Bush-Fox tried to recapture the island.

Obama-Pena Nieto are treating Cuba decently.

          The demise of Revolutionary Cuba has been predicted on a daily basis since January of 1959 when the Batista-Mafia dictatorship hastily decided it would be safer to relocate in nearby Miami. As the Castro brothers have aged to 89 {Fidel} and 84 {Raul}, some eager would-be Batistianos savor a golden post-Castro opportunity. However, that might again be misjudging and underestimating the tenaciousness and resilience of the Caribbean's biggest island. It seems, at the moment at least, that the growing impetus for the post-Castro era in Cuba will be domestic {Cuban} and not foreign {American}, but that could change. In January of 2017 the colossus to the north gets a new Commander-in-Chief. Cuba is preparing for that.

And by the way:

       I love old movies on the Encore channels and my all-time favorite actress was/is Hedy Lamarr. She was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1914 and died in the USA in 2000. In Hollywood's heyday, she was often called the most beautiful woman on the planet. She was also very smart and discernible, as indicated by the above quote. Of course, Ms. Lamarr died before Viagra and Cialis emerged to allegedly elevate wimps to men.

     And did I say the uncommonly beautiful Hedy Lamar was smart? In 2014 she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Born in Vienna, Austria, Hedy hated Hitler's Nazis so much during World War II that she invented a technology -- described above -- that was designed to block the spread of Nazi propaganda. To this day her invention is a key component of modern technology.

Beauty, brains, talent...and a great lady!!  

Eres bienvenido regreso manana.

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