Marco Rubio's Plan To Recapture Cuba

And He Might Pull It Off
Thursday, November 13th, 20 14

        This Channel 4/CBS/Miami photo shows Republican U. S. Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona {on the left} and Democratic U. S. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico holding an important news conference in Havana Tuesday {November 11th}. Of the 100 members of the U. S. Senate, Mr. Flake and Mr. Udall are easily the two bravest and most sensible when it comes to a Cuban policy that they believe has harmed the image of the U. S. and democracy for far too long. Senators Flake and Udall had just met with Alan Gross, the American who has served four years of a 15-year prison sentence in Cuba. Mr. Gross is now 65-years-old and unwell. Senators Flake and Udall want him home with his family in Maryland; so does Cuba, which will never back off its conviction of Mr. Gross for secretly bringing spy equipment to the island. However, Cuba has repeatedly let it be known that the island wants to "negotiate" Mr. Gross's release. Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs, believes the Obama administration wants to cooperate in those negotiations but has been unable to do so because the hard-line Cuban-Americans who dominate America's Cuban policy prefer that Mr. Gross remains incarcerated in Cuba so the issue can repeatedly be used to assail Cuba. Senators Flake and Udall seem to agree with Ms. Vidal. So do all other informed, unbiased sources. For example, the current Cuba Central posting on the Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas website quotes a prime anti-Castro zealot as saying, "let him rot," meaning Mr. Gross. In fact, Mr. Gross's family and lawyer have blamed the U. S. government for not doing more to accept Cuba's offers to "negotiate" and Mr. Gross's family and lawyer have blamed the U. S. for sending him on a "dangerous, covert mission" that the U. S. knew broke Cuban laws. The Associated Press article written by Michael Weissenstein about Senators Flake and Udal being in Havana included this paragraph: "USAID {the program that sent Mr. Gross on his missions to Cuba} is preparing to end risky under-cover work in hostile countries. The new policy follows an AP investigation this year into work by the development agency which set up a Twitter-like social network in Cuba and secretly sought to recruit a new generation of dissidents on the island while hiding ties to the U. S. government. The AP found USAID and its contractor concealed their involvement in the program by setting up a front company, routing money through Cayman Islands bank transactions, and fashioning cover stories." In other words, the Nov. 11-2014 Associated Press article about Senators Flake and Udall being in Cuba reflects and parallels how the Gross saga aligns with most other Cuban exile-inspired efforts to undermine Cuba with piles of unending tax dollars funding "risky under-cover work" that is "concealed" from the American people by "routing" the money through foreign banks, etc. And then, of course, when such things are revealed the American people are repeatedly misinformed -- whether it be the "Bay of Pigs" attack, "Brothers to the Rescue" airplanes dropping leaflets over Havana, recruiting non-Cuban Latinos on "Twitter-like" missions to Cuba to stir up dissidents, sending Mr. Gross on what his wife and lawyer called "dangerous" missions to Cuba, etc. All the while, Americans are supposed to get the Cuban narrative only from two generations of Cubans booted off the island 55 years ago and, even more remarkably, kept off the island for all these decades. The fair-minded Associated Press article about the fair-minded Senators Flake and Udall being in Cuba on Mr. Gross's behalf will surely be swamped by unfair and unbalanced anti-Cuban extremists.

       The petite doctor's daughter, Celia Sanchez, was the incomparable guerrilla fighter and revolutionary leader most responsible for defeating the Batista-Mafia dictatorship, only to see it resurrect itself on nearby U. S. soil. She once told famed journalist Carlos Franqui: "You scribes give us rebels far too much credit. Most of it should go to the stupidity and cowardice of the rich criminals we chased to Florida."

      Today the Cuban who keeps the sharpest eye on covert action from the U. S. designed to overthrow Revolutionary Cuba is Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs. She is the one who would like to "negotiate" Mr. Gross's release "if we can only find someone with the courage and decency to discuss it." Ms. Vidal also has stated that her prime duty is "To always be alert, watchful, to detect provocations against us designed to create a reaction that can then be twisted and used against us." She cites the Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue planes as a provocation, as well as the ongoing Alan Gross saga.

     Cristina Fernandez is the democratically elected President of Argentina, which is still a sovereign country. She belongs to the rather large contingent of Latin American presidents who are Cuba's friends and also admirers of Fidel Castro. For that reason, she is tired of "Miami and Union City Cubans in the U. S. Congress forever punishing any country that treats Cuba decently." A couple of weeks ago, President Fernandez called in a U. S. diplomat and angrily pounded her fist down at a newspaper article about "U. S. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican from Miami, calling for strong U. S. sanctions against Venezuela and Argentina." Then President Fernandez flashed the head-line to the embarrassed American, saying sarcastically, "Do you people still have a democracy over there or do you just let a few Cubans dictate everything?" And so, From Celia Sanchez to Josefina Vidal to Cristina Fernandez, the beat goes on!!  

       This Carlos Barria/REUTERS photo was used to illustrate the changing demographics in South Florida. The caption read: "A Puerto Rican flag is held by Miami residents at the Calle Ocho Festival in Miami." Calle Ocho {8th Street} is renowned for being the epicenter of Little Havana in the heart of Miami, and the heartbeat of anti-Castro fervor since 1959. The article pointed out that Puerto Ricans "have been migrating by the thousands to Miami...the largest exodus from that island U. S. territory since World War II." There are now 1.0 million Puerto Ricans in Florida compared to 1.3 million Cubans. Only Brooklyn and the Bronx in New York have larger Puerto Rican communities than Florida. Puerto Ricans are not viscerally anti-Cuban. In fact, all recent polls reveal that the majority of Cuban-Americans in Miami now favor normalizing relations with Cuba, putting them on the same page with the region and the rest of the entire world.

Yet, the three most hard-line and most entrenched members of the U. S. Congress from Miami -- Marco Rubio, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mario Diaz-Balart -- continue to mostly dictate America's Cuban policy, which remains two-fold: {1} To overthrow Cuba's Revolutionary government; and {2} to punish any and all sovereign nations that even remotely show favoritism or sympathy toward the besieged island. At long last, it appears time to alter America's hedonistic, self-indulgent treatment of Cuba that shames the U. S., especially throughout Latin America. The Summit of the Americas in April in Panama may be a starting point.

      Although I am a lifelong conservative Republican, I strongly supported liberal Democrat Barack Obama in both of his successful bids to become President of the United States. For one thing, I was/am appalled that the Republican Party has been hijacked by Fox-Koch-Tea Party-Cuban right-wingers. For another thing, I was misled by candidate Obama regarding some of his prime promises -- such as correcting at least some of the disasters created by the two-term, right-wing George W. Bush presidency. Cuba, for example, is a foreign country and the U. S. policy regarding Cuba since the 1950s has mocked and shamed the U. S. democracy as much or more than any long-term cancer has ever afflicted the U. S. government. Mr. Obama, as a campaigner, promised sanity in regards to a Cuban policy that has been dictated for six decades by two generations of self-serving and self-indulgent Cuban exiles from the vile U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia dictatorship that got overthrown in 1959 only to resurface on U. S. soil -- namely Miami and Union City and then Washington. In 2014 I and others believe President Obama has failed democracy by not doing more to resurrect the U. S. by extracting as much as possible from the clutches of right-wingers like the Bushes and Cuban-Americans such as the Diaz-Balarts, Ros-Lehtinen, Menendez, Rubio, Cruz, etc. And now, six years into his two-term presidency, it appears President Obama will actually try to use his executive authority to combat some of the evils of the bought-and-paid-for U. S. Congress, which actually has a much lower approval rating than the president's dismal 40%. Now that the congressional elections are over and the right-wing Republicans have control of both houses of Congress, President Obama will use the last two lame-duck years of his presidency to try to enhance his legacy by bringing a bit of decency and sanity to the right-wing disasters he was saddled with. He has, for example, promised two very decent members of the U. S. Congress -- Kathy Castor of Florida and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts -- that, between now and the Summit of the Americas next April in Panama, he will diligently use executive authority to sanitize, as best he can, America's Cuban policy. He is  aware that the rest of the world more and more demands that action. Removing Cuba from the State Department's Sponsor of Terrorism list? Yes, he has the executive power to do that although the vast majority of the 535-member U. S. Congress is either bought-off or scared-off by extremists when it comes to Cuba. Trading 3 Cuban U. S. prisoners for one American in a Cuban prison? Yes, he will attempt that. Of course, the vast cottage industry of visceral Cuban-American extremists will go ballistic if and when he tries to bring even a pittance of sanity to U.S.-Cuban relations, but President Obama in the coming months will risk it. His low approval rating and the total right-wing dominance of the U. S. Congress will restrict but not totally restrain his efforts to improve relations with Cuba. He will not be able to normalize those relations in the next two years but, at long last, he will try to smooth away some of the cruelty and insanity while caressing some principles of democracy when it comes to the neighboring, still sovereign island that should be allowed to set its own course and not have it dictated from abroad by a few self-serving extremists from the Miami-Union City-Washington triangle.

        The Washington-based, democracy-loving Center for Democracy in the Americas is the best place to visit Online to learn about the incredible hedonism, ineptitude, and cruelty of America's Cuban policy. Each Friday the CDA Website features its "Cuba Central" blog that is authored by the CDA's Executive Director Sarah Stephens, one of America's greatest and most respected democracy lovers. The headline for her November 7th "Cuba Central" segment was: "After the Deluge: Is There Hope President Obama Will Act On Cuba?" {The word "Deluge" referenced the November 4th congressional elections}. Each Friday the Center for Democracy in the Americas updates the world on the un-democratic manner in which the United States, since 1959, has permitted a handful of anti-Castro Cuban-American zealots to dictate America's Cuban policy, which the rest of the Americas, in unanimity, openly and fervently oppose.

      The November 7th "Cuba Central" segment on the "Center for Democracy in the Americas" Website referenced the above photo to illustrate why a few self-serving Cuban dissidents should not be able to hide behind the unchecked might of the U. S. government to dictate a Cuban policy that serves a few and harms the many. The photo above shows Senator Robert Menendez from Union City sitting directly across from famed Cuban dissident Yoani Sanchez, who now can travel around the world lambasting Cuba before returning to the island. Sitting directly across from Senator Marco Rubio from Miami is extreme Cuban dissident Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo. The fact that Senators Menendez and Rubio never seem interested in discussing the topic of Cuba with less biased, democracy loving experts -- such as Sarah Stephens at the Center for Democracy in the Americas -- is not lost on observers who view America's Cuban policy as the reason America's influence and image in the Caribbean and Latin America has plummeted to startling depths. But do Senators Menendez and Rubio really care? And will they even address that question?

       Senator Marco Rubio from Miami and Senator Robert Menendez from Union City are now the two most powerful Cuban-American zealots in the U. S. Congress. With Cuba being a foreign country, both Rubio and Menendez, quite naturally, are key members of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. In fact, Menendez is the Chairman. The Torricelli Bill and the Helms-Burton Act -- both rammed through the U. S. Congress by ultra-powerful Cuban-Americans and their sycophants -- currently dictate that the U. S. government provides ultra-punishment not only to Cuba but to foreign nations and companies that show or display even a hint of sovereign sanity regarding Cuba. For example, the blistering letters on U. S. Senate stationery that berated the President of Panama for having the audacity to invite Cuba to the Summit of the Americas in Panama in April typically shamed the U. S. democracy and reflected why America's Cuban policy is hated by every Caribbean and Latin American nation. But Mr. Rubio and Mr. Menendez don't seem to care about that, nor do they seem to mind how much of their time and energy is devoted to insanely assaulting Cuba and its friends, time and energy that perhaps U. S. senators should be devoting to real American problems, especially Miami and Union City where crime, corruption, and an obscene disparity between the rich and poor are especially prevalent. But after reading those blistering letters bullying the sovereign President of Panama and taking note of recent efforts by Cuban-Americans in the U. S. Congress to punish-threaten-sanction Cuba's friends, especially Venezuela and Argentina, it appears Senators Rubio and Menendez believe their entrenched positions in the U. S. Senate are primarily vehicles whereby punishing and maybe recapturing Cuba are top priorities. Rubio, eagerly campaigning for the 2016 presidency, is totally convinced that his extremely harmful Cuban tactics -- harmful to millions of innocent Cubans and to the sacred U. S. democracy -- will not cost him many votes on his path to capturing the White House in 2016. And sadly, he's probably right in this money-crazed democracy.

      This photo of U. S. Senator Marco Rubio is courtesy of AP Foto/The Telegraph Herald/Jessica Reilly. It was used to highlight a major AP article that flashed around the world, especially via Fox News Latino, within hours after the Republicans had annihilated the Democrats and captured both branches -- the Senate and House of Representatives -- in the U. S. Congress. The AP article had a dateline from, of all places, Bogota, Colombia because, for whatever reason, that's where Senator Rubio was apparently campaigning for the 2016 U. S. presidency while the 2014 congressional elections were playing out. The article was entitled: "Marco Rubio Says Republican Gains In Senate Will Breathe New Life Into Venezuela Sanctions." Mr. Rubio seems convinced that the Republican -- meaning right-wing -- control of Congress will give him and a handful of other visceral anti-Castro Cuban-Americans from Miami and Union City an excellent chance for the ultra-rich and ultra-powerful Batistianos to, regain control of Cuba, something that, amazingly, has eluded them since the leaders of the Batista-Mafia dictatorship were booted off the island by the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959. Within hours of the Republican triumphs in the November elections, Senator Rubio anxiously revealed his focus in the long-standing bid to re-capture Cuba. Americans, two-thirds of whom didn't bother to vote and three-thirds of whom don't care about Cuba, much less the U. S. democracy, will not decipher the meaning of that Rubio headline. But the majority of Latin Americans do and, to them, the hidden meaning of the headline could have been more accurately entitled: "Marco Rubio Says Republicans' Election Victory Could Hasten the Re-Capture of Cuba." Now why is that so? I'm glad you asked. Since 1959, many efforts to re-capture Cuba have failed...such as the attack at the Bay of Pigs; hundreds of documented assassination attempts against the now 88-year-old Fidel Castro; history's longest and cruelest economic embargo by a powerful country against a weak country; murderous and unchallenged terrorist attacks against innocent Cubans such as the bombing of Cubana Flight 455; terrorist attacks against Cuban-Americans like the car-bombed Miami newsman Emilio Milian who spoke out against unchecked hard-line Cuban exiles; etc. Even hiding behind the skirts of the world's economic and military superpower, the Batistianos, for going on six decades, have still been unable to re-capture Cuba. However, the actual AP headline above reflects the latest scheme to re-capture Cuba and that is by sanctioning, assailing, and punishing Cuba's primary friends in the region -- such as Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Boliva, etc. Earlier this year, for example, Senator Rubio sponsored in the U. S. Senate legislation targeting Venezuela that didn't quite succeed even in a bought-and-paid-for U. S. Congress. But, as indicated by the aforementioned AP article, Rubio now is confident, after the mid-term election, his punishment of Venezuela will be supported by both houses of  the right-wing Congress. In recent months there have been countless other moves by the Miami and Union City Cuban-Americans in Congress to assail as many of Cuba's friends as possible. That includes official harangues against the President of Panama for inviting Cuba to the Summit of the Americas that will be held in Panama in April; calls from anti-Castro zealots in the U. S. Congress to punish Argentina apparently because President Cristina Fernandez is a great admirer of Fidel Castro and, like most other Latin American leaders, not too fond of the Miami Cubans; the Castro-loving female Presidents of Brazil and Chile, prior to their recent re-elections, complained about the fervent support their opponents got from Miami; the Castro-loving male Presidents of Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador have all recently been quoted in Latin America media as having their personal security enhanced because of perceived threats from anti-Cubans in the U. S. In that milieu, the AP article revealing Senator Rubio's first major thoughts after the Republican triumph in the November congressional elections will not be taken lightly in Latin America because Rubio confirmed what was already known, which is: The current strategy of the Miami-Union City anti-Castro elements to regain control of Cuba is to siphon off the island's remaining supply lines -- that is, the primary support it receives from other nations in the region, nations that, beginning in the 1980s, were hopeful that democracy and respect for sovereignty had replaced, once and for all, the plethora of U.S.-backed dictatorships in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, etc. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 inspired hope for the region, but even the tight embrace of democratic elections has again been lessened by the sheer fact that the overthrown Batista dictatorship in Cuba merely fled to nearby Miami and soon refurbished itself on U. S. soil, namely Miami, Union City, and Washington. That refurbishment elevated Cuban millionaires to Cuban-American billionaires in an America where democracy has increasingly become vulnerable to rich special interests. And so, when it comes to U.S.-Cuban relations in November of 2014, that is where we are. The AP headline on November 5th revealed the latest Batistiano strategy to regain control of Cuba: Cut off the remaining supply lines to Cuba from countries friendly to the besieged island so the people on the island will be vulnerable to being recaptured. 

     Senator Marco Rubio is campaigning hard to be President of the United States beginning in 2016. He might make it. He was born 43 years ago in Miami and has been in the U. S. Congress only since 2011. He made it all the way to the U. S. Senate with his bio making the obligatory claim that his parents escaped the tyranny of Castro for the freedom of Miami. Then it was revealed that his parents actually escaped the tyranny of Batista well before Castro chased the Batistianos off the island. But in an era in which ad agencies easily obliterate facts, who's counting? If Rubio gets the Republican bid for the presidency, he might well beat the presumed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton...for these reasons: The minuscule approval rating of Democratic President Obama's two terms; and monumental Hillary Clinton flaws such as her age and the many Clinton dynasty scandals that stretch from Arkansas to the White House to Wall Street. Also, if Jeb Bush decides not to compete for the 2016 presidency, billions of Bush dynasty dollars could flow to Rubio...in a presidential election that will be predicated by billions of freely cascading, very dark dollars. Also, refurbished and very rich right-wing propaganda machines such as Fox News, the Tea Party, and the multi-billionaire Koch Brothers stand ready and eager to promote Marco Rubio for President in 2016, blinding the helpless U. S. citizenry with a tsunami of noxious television ads. 

       So, yes, Marco Rubio -- whose parents, uh, escaped the tyranny of the BATISTA DICTATORSHIP FOR THE AWESOME FREEDOM OF MIAMI -- may well be President of the United States on January 20th, 2016. All of Cuba's best friends in Latin America are already cognizant of the unchecked power of a few anti-Castro zealots in the U. S. Congress. Those Latin American nations believe that, if Mr. Rubio captures the White House in 2016, it will be equivalent to the Batistianos CAPTURING the United States before they RE-CAPTURE Cuba. Those Latin America countries, of course, are presuming that Mr. Rubio's concerted efforts as a Senator to cut off Cuba's supply lines in the next two years will not bring the pugnacious little island to its knees. Yet, a right-wing Cuban-American like Rubio {or Ted Cruz} as President aligned with a right-wing Republican Congress likely would, many Latin American nations believe, overwhelm Cuba, militarily and economically. "President Marco Rubio!" Are you ready for that, America? Cuba and Latin America are afraid it will happen...as early as 2016. And you know what? They have a right to be afraid.

The President in 2016 should be from Tampa, not Miami!!

     Kathy Castor was born in Miami but she represents the much saner city of Tampa in the U. S. Congress. There are 535 members of the U. S. Congress and Ms. Castor has more guts than the other 534 combined, as reflected by her extremely brave efforts to normalize relations between the U. S. and Cuba. Recently she said, "I agree with the abysmally low approval rating of our Congress." She is an anomaly in that she actually represents the best interests of her constituents, not special interests and not a handful of rich and powerful anti-Castro Cuban-American zealots in Miami and Washington. She is, to put it mildly, quite unique in the modern pantheon of American politics because she is a member of the U. S. Congress who is neither bought-and-paid for nor easily intimidated. That means she is a unique human being.

              On October 26, 2014, the Tampa Bay Tribune -- the major newspaper in Congresswoman Kathy Castor's district -- featured a major article that acutely illustrated why she is unique in the U. S. Congress when it comes to courage, common sense, and democracy-loving patriotism. The article was written by the Tampa Bay Tribune's Paul Guzzo and entitled "UN Vote on Cuba Embargo Again Pits U. S. Against World." Mr. Guzzo pointed out that "key U. S. leaders pay the numbers no heed." He was, of course, referencing the bought-and-paid-for or intimidated "leaders." Kathy Castor is not a member of those clubs. Therefore, she paid heed to the yearly UN vote {188-to-2} that reveals how drastically the rest of the world -- with the lone exception of bought-and-paid-for U.S.-dependent Israel -- opposes the U. S. embargo of Cuba. Congresswoman Castor told Guzzo, "If you look at the UN vote, you realize that the U. S. is the outlier on the issue. It is time we recognize this and do more to bring the two nations together. America and Cuba have so much to gain by turning the page on these Cold War policies. And all of our friends in the hemisphere are in favor of that happening." Congresswoman Castor realizes that only Congress can lift the embargo, something that was predicated when some very high-priced right-wing lawyers made that a feature of the infamous Helms-Burton Bill. "But," she told Mr. Guzzo, "the President does have the power to make decisions that can chip away at the embargo's goal of separation, such as taking Cuba off the U. S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism." Cuba is on the very short list {along with Syria, Iran, and Sudan} of Sponsors of Terrorism because the inclusion of Cuba sates the always prevalent revenge and financial motives of a few self-serving Cuban-Americans and their sycophants. For example, keeping Cuba on the list enables unrepresented Cuba to be sued in Miami courts for huge sums of money even on far-fetched claims, and much of the money is easily collected from the U. S. Treasury or from frozen Cuban assets, such as perpetual money due Cuba from telephone communications between the two countries. Democracy lovers like Congresswoman Castor are rightfully ashamed about Cuba being unfairly listed as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but I bet that your representative in the U. S. Congress -- if it is not Kathy Castor -- has neither the integrity nor the courage to even comment on the issue.

      Although she was born in Miami and represents Tampa in the U. S. Congress, Kathy Castor is brave enough and patriotic enough to stand up and proclaim that America's Cuban policy has been crafted by and for a handful of two generations of visceral Cuban-American politicians and businessmen, in conjunction with a handful of their easily procured American sycophants, while vastly punishing the majority of Cubans and Americans. As she was again quoted in the aforementioned Tampa Tribune article, Congresswoman Castor points out that the entire Western Hemisphere, in unanimity, opposes the U. S. policy regarding Cuba. Her passion regarding Cuba is two-fold: her love of democracy and her desire to benefit her constituents in the Tampa area. Because of her, direct flights from Tampa to Cuba have drastically increased. The Tampa Tribune article also pointed out that Tampa has "the closest U. S. deep-water port to Cuba"  and therefore tens of thousands of Tampa residents would see "trade benefits if the embargo is lifted." Because of Congresswoman Castor, Tampa's Florida Aquarium is concluding a partnership in coral reef research with Cuba's National Aquarium of Havana; a delegation from the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce traveled to Cuba in 2013; this year Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez, Chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, attended a Tampa Chamber event as a special guest of Ms. Castor; etc., etc. And because of her, many other prominent citizens of Tampa also are eager to voice their acute objections to America's Cuban policy that is designed to sate the revenge, financial, and political motives of a few at the expense of the many. Cuba long ago tired of being an imperialist piggy-bank.

      Albert A. Fox Jr. is another brave and patriotic resident of Tampa, Florida. He is the founder of the Tampa-based Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation. The aforementioned Tampa Tribune article included a pertinent quotation from Mr. Fox. He said: "The rest of the world mocks us for calling Cuba a terrorist state. It diminishes the importance of the terrorist list. We are losing respect in the eyes of the world because of it." Of course, since the 1950s, benefactors of a soiled and brutal Cuban policy have cared very little about the U. S. being mocked or diminished or un-respected because of a Cuban policy that benefits only a few extremists. The Tampa Bay Tribune article quoted Marco Rubio, the U. S. Senator from Miami, and Mauricio Claver-Carone, the richly funded Washington-based anti-Castro lobbyist and blogger, expressing their extremists but usually uncontested views on Cuba. However, the Tampa Bay Tribune and the nearby St. Petersburg Times are two newspapers in Florida that actually tell both sides of the U.S.-Cuban conundrum. Thus, not only did the Tampa Bay Tribune article by Paul Guzzo feature the sane and sensible pro-democracy views of Congresswoman Kathy Castor but also quoted other brave, informed souls such as Albert A. Fox Jr. Wow! Tampa, Florida is a courageous American city!

        Carlos Mendoza is Costa Rica's representative to the United Nations. Costa Rica is the democracy-loving Central American nation of 4.6 million hearty and well-cared-for souls. Mr. Mendoza, reflecting the views of every Latin American and Caribbean nation, made one of the most riveting speeches at the UN on Oct. 28-2014. That was when the entire world fulfilled its yearly condemnation of the Batistiano-fueled U. S. embargo of Cuba. Mr. Mendoza called it a "genocidal economic blockade" designed to "infringe upon the lives of masses of innocent people to exact revenge or financial or political gain for a deposed minority." At the UN Mr. Mendoza, like many other Latin American leaders, referenced the infamously de-classified U. S. document known as "Foreign Relations of the United States; Volume VI, Cuba." That de-classified U. S. State Department document spelled out the original purpose of the economic blockade of Cuba in the early 1960s in these exact, haunting words: "To weaken the economic life of Cuba to bring about hunger and desperation" for the purpose of inflicting "serious bodily or mental harm" on the Cuban people for the purpose of causing them to overthrow their Cuban government, suggesting that after they did so that the wealthy U. S. government would then make sure they did not starve or lack for essential needs. Yes, since the early 1960s the embargo has seriously attempted to starve and deprive the Cuban people on the island to appease a few rich and powerful Cuban exiles in the United States. Cuba's survival for almost six decades, considering the unmatched power of the U. S., has amazed Latin America even more than the amazing triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Of course, Senator Rubio and his colleagues get away with dismissing that UN vote and the words of direly concerned democracy-loving people such as Carlos Mendoza. All the while propagandized Americans are not supposed to have any knowledge of or opinions about such things as the de-classified "Foreign Relations of the United States, Volume VI, Cuba" document. For that and other equally shameful reasons, Mr. Rubio may become President of the United States in 2016, which would greatly enhance his goal of slicing the remaining supply lines to Cuba from decent, democracy-loving nations like Carlos Mendoza's beautiful little Costa Rica.

       As a guerrilla fighter and leader, Celia Sanchez is easily the all-time most important Cuban revolutionary figure. {Fidel Castro, I think, would rank #2 on that pantheon and Jose Marti, who died on Cuban soil fighting against imperialist Spanish soldiers, would be #3}. But Celia Sanchez is clearly #1.

        The speech at the UN by Costa Rica's Carlos Mendoza in October of 2014 reminded me of the proclamation Celia Sanchez laid down, both verbally and in writing, shortly after she became the prime decision-maker in Revolutionary Cuba on January 1, 1959. Her stern, prescient edict resonates today even more profoundly than it did in 1959: "The Batistianos will never regain control of Cuba as long as I live or as long as Fidel lives." Celia Sanchez died of cancer at age 59 on January 11, 1980. Fidel Castro is 88-years-old and unwell but still alive. He likely will not be alive on January 20, 2016, when the next U. S. president will be inaugurated. But the Revolutionary Cuba that Celia Sanchez forged will neither starve nor crumble during Fidel Castro's lifetime. Thus, even if Marco Rubio and his ilk eventually cut off all the life-saving supply lines to Cuba, that proclamation will, amazingly, have to be historically judged as having survived the test of time. And that is why Cuba, not a U. S. Cuban policy propped up by the likes of Marco Rubio, has the support today of every nation in the Caribbean and Latin America as well as every nation in the world except U.S.-dependent Israel. Yes, the 99-pound doctor's daughter from Media Luna, Cuba, is an historical giant in a world mostly constructed by and for greedy, power-hungry males. Capturing Miami and Washington was easy for the Batistianos. Re-capturing Havana has proven to be something else altogether even as the 55-year effort has so drastically harmed the image of America in the eyes of much of the world. Celia Sanchez would understand and be proud of the unanimity in the UN. Marco Rubio gets to dismiss it only because the American people have not and do not hold two generations of American Batistianos responsible for what Carlos Mendoza and the other UN representatives so emphatically did once again on October 28, 2014. To say that the U. S. is isolated regarding Cuba is an understatement.

        This photo combo is courtesy of REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Mary F. Calvert. It is typical of the montages flashing around the nation because media outlets such as the New York Times, NBC News, etc., are busy predicting and heralding this duo as the American presidential candidates in the fast approaching 2016 campaign. Although it is politically incorrect to say so {because it bespeaks of billions of capitalistic dollars overflowing the already flooded ad tsunami}, Democrat Hillary Clinton vs. Republican Jeb Bush would enhance the downward spiral of the U. S. democracy, making a mockery of what the Founding Fathers prescribed and crafted for it. For one thing, both Clinton and Bush are bought-and-paid-for by special interests; that is precisely why they have the billions of dollars necessary to attack the American public with a vast array of noxious television ads. For a second thing, the Founding Fathers, in their infinite wisdom, never intended for their democracy to be usurped by familial dynasties or monarchies. Clinton's claim to fame revolves around her husband's, former two-term Arkansas governor and two-term U. S. President Bill Clinton. The vast sums of money from their Arkansas and White House days can easily purchase the best P. R. promoters to overcome a myriad of Clinton scadals -- from the Rose Law Firm and Whitewater scandals in Arkansas to the Vince Foster suicide and Monica Lewinsky scandals in the Clinton White House. To demonstrate how easily purchased political dynasties such as the Clintons are, when the married Bill Clinton was actually having sex with the intern Monica Lewinsky, he actually received and answered a phone call from the Fanjul sugar monopoly in Miami {which, of course, began as a sugar mononoply in Cuba prior to the Cuban Revolution}. It turned out that the Fanjul brothers were interested in President Clinton making sure the vast and controversial sugar subsidy was continued to further enrich the already incredibly rich and extended Fanjul family of Miami/Fort Lauderdale. But the Clintons being purchased politically by such campaign contributors as the Fanjuls is minuscule compared to the economic and political ties that bind the Bush political dynasty to the richest counter-revolutionary Cuban exiles that fled the Cuban Revolution two generations ago, way back in 1959. Thus, as the ad-fueled, money-crazed presidential election now gets underway, it is a fact that a Clinton, a Bush, and a Rubio are considered serious candidates while far more decent and talented public servants like Kathy Castor are not.

       Bob Schieffer was born 77-years-old in Austin, Texas. In the last five decades he has carved out a brilliant career as a commentator and anchor for CBS News. He still anchors that network's venerable Face the Nation news program on Sunday mornings. On Sunday, Nov. 2-2014 -- two days prior to the congressional elections -- Mr. Schieffer closed with a sad lament about how special interest money has purchased both the Democratic and Republican parties, the two parties in America's two-party political system. Thus, Americans are targets of relentless, noxious ads leading up to every election. Most Americans don't even bother to vote, choosing not to have to decide between the lesser of two evils. Mr. Schieffer -- with tears in his sad, aged eyes -- closed that commentary by stating, very correctly, that the bought-and-paid-for U. S. political disaster "shames all of us." Of course, Mr. Schieffer knows that it doesn't shame the few who have bought it nor the few who have sold it. But, as Mr. Schieffer so cogently said, it should "shame" the rest of us who love democracy and who, for example, do not believe that a revengeful, self-serving Marco Rubio should be able to use the awesome might of the U. S. government to punish sovereign nations that are friends with Cuba. After so many other vile attempts to regain control of Cuba have failed in the last two generations, Rubio's strategem of cutting off the remaining supply lines to Cuba by assailing other innocent nations should "shame us all," especially those who love democracy the most. When I watched Bob Schieffer's teary lament on Face the Nation, I was reminded anew that the Cuban Revolution says a lot more about the United States than it say about Cuba.

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Unbiased Cuban News Is Available

Even In the United States
Friday, November 7th, 2014

Fidel Castro is 88-years-old, and unwell.

              He spends almost all of his time these days inside his modest home in western Havana. He still loves to read, write, and watch television news and documentaries, including YouTube videos. His very protective wife Dalia allows selective visitors, which recently have included the leaders of China, Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, etc. This past weekend his visitor was not quite that renowned but, from a personal standpoint, one of Mr. Castro's oldest and most loyal friends. They reminisced for about two hours, monitored from the doorway by Dalia and/or their son Alex. The friend gushed over the old revolutionary's remarkable career, labeling it, among other things, "earth-shaking because of the changes you wrought." The fawning eventually evoked a more modest summation by Mr. Castro and, perhaps, it reflects insight concerning how he himself views his life in the twilight of its days: "Mi Pasado es imperfecto, pero es mejor que los criminales que sustituzen."  {"My past is imperfect, but it is better than the criminals I replaced."} Back in 1953, just before he was sentenced to 15 years in Dictator Fulgencio Batista's prison, Mr. Castro had famously said, "History will absolve me." In the six decades between these two quotations, much has happened to Mr. Castro and, as his visitor last weekend opined, much has also happened to the things he "wrought" -- in Cuba, the U. S., and the world.

          Margaret Chan was born in 1947 in Hong Kong. Today she is the highly respected Director-General of the World Health Organization. She is a big fan of Fidel Castro, having praised him for Cuba's having the world's largest medical school, one that awards full scholarships to poor students from many countries, including the USA. She also has praised Operation Miracle, a project whereby Cuban eye doctors restore or improve the eyesight of poor people who otherwise would probably never see even a regular doctor. This week Time Magazine had an article entitled "Why Cuba Is Good At Fighting Ebola." The article quoted Margaret Chan as saying, "Cuba is world-famous for its ability to train outstanding doctors and nurses." The article pointed out that Cuba has 50,000 doctors and nurses serving in 66 needy countries around the world. Ms. Chan pointed out that, presently, 165 Cuban health care workers are fighting Ebola in West Africa and a total of 460 will soon be doing the yeoman's task to combat the dreaded, deadly plague.

       Of course, in stark contrast to Margaret Chan and other international admirers of the Cuban Revolution, there is a vast cottage industry of rich and powerful anti-Castro zealots who, through two generations since 1959, have mostly controlled the Cuban narrative in the United States. Take, for example, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, one of the Miami area's four visceral anti-Castro members of the U. S. Congress. At times, it appears that the Cuban zealotry dominates the congressional energies of the Miami politicos as if neither Miami nor the U. S. as a whole have any problems other than the 88-year-old Fidel Castro. Recently, for example, the U. S. sent a representative to Havana to discuss the Ebola crisis. Of course, that provoked a vicious attack on the Obama administration from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who had just assailed the United Nations for allowing Venezuela, Cuba's dear friend, to be seated on the UN's Security Council. The Miami contingent in the U. S. Congress has recently sent scathing letters to the President of Panama, which is still a sovereign nation, because Panama invited, actually begged, Cuba to attend the Summit of the Americas that will be hosted by Panama next April. Miami members of Congress have urged U. S. sanctions against Argentina, whose President, Cristina Fernandez, is a huge admirer of Fidel Castro. Michelle Bachelet, recently re-elected President of Chile, complained about Miami and Washington supporting her opponent; Dilma Rousseff, recently re-elected President of Brazil, complained about Miami and Washington supporting her opponent. Both Ms. Bachelet and Ms. Rousseff are also huge admirers of Fidel Castro. In their anti-Castro zealotry that warps U. S. influence in the Americas, the Diaz-Balart family for two generations now has been among the handful of Cuban-Americans who have dictated America's Cuban policy. Rafael Diaz-Balart was a key member of the Batista dictatorship that was overthrown by Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959. Then Rafael Diaz-Balart became one of the richest and most powerful Cuban exiles influencing U. S. policy towards Cuba. His oldest son Lincoln, born in Havana, was in the U. S. Congress from 1993 till 2011 when he resigned to pursue other Cuban-related projects. In addition to the U. S. congressmen Lincoln and Mario, Rafael Diaz-Balart had two other sons -- Jose, a powerful news anchor at Telemundo and NBC, and Rafael Jr., a very rich banker. Because of the unique wealth and political connections of Cuban exiles such as Rafael Diaz-Balart and his four sons, the U. S. today has laws that pertain only to Cuba and Cubans, no one else. One might say they are self-serving laws. That's why this week the Director-General of the World Health Organization lavishly praises Cuba for its help in fighting Ebola while Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart lambastes President Obama and the U. S. government for sending a representative to Havana to discuss the Ebola crisis. This beat has been going on since 1959. When Fidel Castro dies, many in Miami and Washington will be losing a lush cash cow as well as a sturdy political platform. But with Fidel Castro now 88-years-old and unwell, it is for sure that plans have already been formulated in Miami and Washington to find another Cuban cash cow and also to revise that Cuban political formula based on the tired old refrain -- "You know, the revolution chased all the good Cubans to Miami but we were lucky enough to take over Miami and then advance to Washington. We came to America pennyless but, uh, we've done alright."

        By the way, Fidel Castro's first wife, Mirta Diaz-Balart, is the sister of the late Rafael Diaz-Balart, the ardent Batistiano famed for his wealth and power in the U. S. Therefore, Mirta is the aunt of the four rich and powerful Diaz-Balart sons. It should also be noted, perhaps, that Mirta today is on friendlier terms with Fidel and their son Fidelito than she is with her nephews in Miami. Cuba, you see, is both fascinating and paradoxical. Love, hate, money, and politics. A volatile and toxic mix. That's why, with the Mafia and a world-famed revolution adding to the intrigue, Cuba is and will forever remain utterly irresistible.

And now, some sad news from Cuba..........

.............Franklin Reyes is dead. He was the greatest photo-journalist in Cuba and a superstar with the Associated Press since 2009. Anyone familiar with Cubaninsider is aware that most of the topical photos I have used on this blog were fully credited to AP/Franklin Reyes. Mr. Reyes was born 39 years ago in Havana. This week he drove to the port of Mariel 28 miles southwest of Havana to report on the Cuban economy. On his drive back to Havana, his car hit another car. Mr. Reyes died at the scene and the two occupants of the other car died later. He is survived by his wife Gricell, his parents, and a brother. Gary Pruitt, the President and CEO of the AP, said, "Franklin Reyes was a vibrant and enthusiastic member of our team in Cuba, and he was proud to be working for the AP." I am an unapologetic admirer of great photographers and great journalists. Franklin Reyes was a great photo-journalist. I will miss him.

This recent photo of Mariela Castro was taken by Franklin Reyes for the AP.

       Bob Schieffer represents an endangered species in the United States of America. For over a half-century, he has been a great journalist, reminiscent of former CBS-TV giants such as Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. But Mr. Cronkite and Mr. Murrow died years ago. Bob Schieffer, the last of his breed, was born 77 years ago in Austin, Texas. As anchor of the long-running Face the Nation program on Sundays and the best of the post-Cronkite Evening News anchors on CBS-TV, Bob Schieffer still reigns supreme when it comes to America's electronic journalism. Sure, because easily propagandized Americans are quite vulnerable to hype, Fox News, an unabashed right-wing propaganda machine, today dominates the "news" ratings with would-be journalists such as Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Megan Kelly. Fox News personifies the downward spiral of American journalism in an era when television and the digital age reign supreme. That, most unfortunate of all, corresponds to the downward spiral of the American democracy in which the archaic two-party system comprises Republican and Democratic parties that are both bought-and-paid for by a handful of rich and power special interests. Bob Schieffer understands that. Sunday he closed "Face the Nation" very appropriately leading up to the Congressional election on Tuesday, November 4th, 2014. Almost with tears in his aged eyes -- tears for the U. S. democracy that he once knew -- Bob Schieffer said: "Congress hasn't done anything in years, yet these midterm elections will be the most extensive in history, just like the last one. $4 billion this time around. That's billion with a B. The right to vote is our proudest possession, but the way it has become debased by money shames us all."

      This gorgeous Wikipedia photo shows the west front of the U. S. Capital Building in Washington. It is the home of the once hallowed U. S. Congress. Today Congress has an approval rating in the single digits. One recent poll put it at 7%, presumably the 7% that have purchased it, leaving the other 93% essentially without a democracy, as Bob Schieffer expressed Sunday when he echoed the sentiments of most Americans.

      This Wikipedia image of the U. S. Congress evokes the pride democracy lovers once had in their government. But now the word that Bob Schieffer used Sunday -- "shame" -- is the prevailing depiction. Totally enmeshed in money, congressional incumbents are almost permanent fixtures but their war-chests -- PACs -- bulge with special interest money. Recent reports reveal that the prime motivation to be a member of the U. S. Congress is certainly not to serve democracy or their constituents but, instead, to get rich. While serving, members of Congress serve the special interests that have filled their PACs. In Washington the U. S. Congress revolves around K Street, which is where tens of thousands of lobbyists do the business of special interests, both domestic and foreign. Time and again members of Congress have family members who are lobbyists that take advantage of their kin's sold-out congressional votes. Time and again members of Congress resign from their lucrative positions to take more lucrative spots as lobbyists, often for the very companies they represented while in office! All that is why great newsmen like Bob Schieffer are a dying breed. Having the insight and guts to report this "shame" is actually over-shadowed by self-serving "news" operations that are a significant part of the problem. For example, during Congressional, Presidential, or State elections, special interest money purchases billions of dollars -- billion with a B -- of noxious, puerile television ads that insult the intelligence of Americans who cannot escape such deluges. That insult to democracy will not cease because of the vast amounts of money involved for ad agencies, television stations, and such -- all of whom have enough ad money to easily purchase lobbyists on K Street who, in turn, have the power to purchase the American government.

       This is a beautiful Wikipedia image of the U. S. Supreme Court, once the most respected component of the U. S. democracy. But recently the 9-member John Roberts Supreme Court has, in the view of many democracy lovers, pounded the final nail into what was once the cherished American democracy. That's because, in the last few years, the Roberts Court has sanctioned virtually unlimited amounts of often undisclosed special interest money to purchase that democracy, putting it securely in the hands of a rich, greedy minority. In that milieu it now costs billions of dollars to campaign for the U. S. presidency. In that milieu a mere Senatorial race in North Carolina spent over $100 million in noxious ads to determine which Republican or Democrat landed the lucrative spot in the U. S. Senate. As helpless democracy lovers looked on in shame, the vast majority of that $100 million that defamed the North Carolina senatorial race came from unknown usurpers from out of state, not from North Carolina residents. And with both the Republican and Democratic parties bought-and-paid-for, special interests have plenty of money to make sure no decent Third Party ever becomes a factor in American politics. ON THE EVE OF THIS WEEK'S CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS, DID BOB SCHIEFFER USE THE WORD "SHAME" TO LAMENT THE DEMISE OF THE U. S. DEMOCRACY THAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS CRAFTED AS THE GREATEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT EVER KNOWN TO MANKIND? Yes, he did. And he was 100% correct in that assessment. Twice in recent years the John Roberts Supreme Court had chances to put a finger in the dike and at least postpone the "For Sale" sign that now fronts the U. S. democracy. But twice the Supreme Court refused to do so. Thus, today the U. S. democracy is what it is -- "shameful," as Bob Shieffer aptly stated.

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      Glen Ford {right} is an international journalist and blogger who writes for such global giants as The Guardian in London. On November 2, 2014, his column was entitled "For Moment, the World Embraces the Cuba Model -- And Slaps the Empire." The sub-title of that article was: "For Cuba, Service to Oppressed and Exploited Peoples Is A Revolutionary Act of the Highest Moral Caliber." Even more explicit plaudits followed in the long article, such as this in reaction to the 188-to-2 UN vote against the U. S. embargo of Cuba: "Although the list of American allies on the Cuban embargo issue could not possibly get any smaller -- Israel, after all, can only exist if joined at the U. S. hip -- this year's political environment was even less deferential to the reigning military colossus. In recognition to its singular commitment to the fight against Ebola in Africa, Cuba soared again -- the hero nation! The island nation of 11 million people has made itself a medical superpower that shares its life-saving resources with the world."

         This World Health Organization/S. Gborie photo was used to illustrate that gushing article by Glen Ford. It shows 165 Cuban doctors and nurses arriving in Sierra Leone to battle the Ebola crisis. I use it not to jump aboard the fawning pro-Cuban bandwagon but to point out how a U. S. Cuban policy, dictated by revengeful exiles from the ousted U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia dictatorship in Cuba in the 1950s, has severely hurt the image of the U. S. and democracy for six decades now. For example, at any point in the past six decades when control of the Cuban narrative appeared to be slipping from the grasp of the Batistiano exiles, furious campaigns waged from powerful podiums are unleashed to refurbish the self-serving anti-Cuban agenda with verbal or physical attacks on Revolutionary Cuba. U. S. Senator Marco Rubio from Miami, for example, just unleashed a stinging letter, on U. S. Congress stationery, to the President of Panama because, alas, he insisted on inviting Cuba to the Summit of the Americas that Panama will host next April. Havana-born U. S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Miami also blistered the eyes of the President of Panama with a similar letter. United States Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart from Miami {Mario's father Rafael Diaz-Balart was a key minister in the Batista dictatorship} unleashed a barrage of attacks in the last few days on the U. S. government for sending a U. S. representative to Havana to discuss the Ebola crisis. Such things, to the gross detriment of democracy, are regularly produced daily by Miami-based operatives in Washington. And such things always get re-invigorated in Miami and Washington when positives about Cuba, such as its role in the Ebola crisis, make headlines or when all of the best American friends around the world loudly remind the U. S. via their United Nations votes how cruel and undemocratic its Cuban policy really is, exacerbating America's image as a bully. For the most part, the Batistianos control the Cuban narrative in the U. S., aided by a mostly intimidated or incompetent media as well as a rather unpatriotic citizenry. But it's now a global, digital world we live in and therefore Americans, too, have access to fair, unbiased, and unafraid journalism.

       One of the world's best journalists, Michael Voss, this week had an 8 minute, 30 second report on CCTV-AMERICA entitled: "Exclusive: Elian Gonzalez Reveals Life Experiences Since Returning to Cuba." It is brilliant and important for two reasons: {1} It updates one of the most searing and famous episodes in U.S.-Cuban relations; and {2} it provides an unbiased and topical insight into the fascinating, ongoing U.S.-Cuban saga. Back in 2000, as the world watched, Elian was forcefully removed by the FBI from anti-Castro zealots in Miami so he could return to Cuba with his father. Well, this week the now 20-year-old Elian discussed in length with Mr. Voss both his memories of that traumatic incident as well as his thoughts today about being a Cuban on the island as opposed to being a Cuban in Miami. Extremely articulate and well educated like most Cubans his age, Elian is now a University student studying industrial engineering. He worships the now 88-year-old Fidel Castro, whom he calls "my grand-father." He told Mr. Voss he is quite aware he would have "many more material things" if he had been kept in Miami but that he would not trade being a Cuban on the island "for millions of dollars." He relishes his future military career because of his passion "to defend the revolution." Elian's updated views on his life and his island is not why Michael Voss's insightful report from Cuba this week is important. If Voss had revealed that Elian hates Fidel Castro and the revolution and longs to be in Miami, that too would have been highly significant. The point I makes is, both Cubans and Americans have the right to get their information about U.S.-Cuban relations from unbiased sources, not from government propaganda and not from either pro-Castro zealots or anti-Castro zealots. As a pro-democracy zealot, and one who recognizes -- as did Thomas Jefferson and Joseph Goebbels -- the power and significance of the media, I am aware that, since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the richest and most powerful remnants of the ousted U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia dictatorship on the island have, on U. S. soil, largely dictated both the the U. S. policy regarding Cuba and the U. S. media's depictions of everything Cuban. If that anti-democratic procedure required silencing fair-minded Miami newsman Emilio Milian with a car-bomb or the Miami Herald's top columnist Jim DeFede with a firing, then such typical and uncontested processes have occurred on a daily basis since 1959. With extraordinary sums of money and enough numbers to predicate Florida's decisive electoral votes, anti-Castro zealots in Miami astutely realized that aligning themselves with self-serving politicians -- the Bush dynasty, Robert Torricelli, Jesse Helms, Dan Burton, etc., etc. -- they could flood the U. S. Congress with enough anti-Castro Cuban-exile zealots to dictate Cuban policy via vehicles such as The Torricelli Bill, The Helms-Burton Act, etc., etc. And, of course, in a political arena dominated by lobbyists, rich and clever anti-Castro lobbyists such as Mauricio Claver-Carone can control the Cuban narrative in the United States all by themselves. Michael Voss's update on the Elian Gonzalez saga is a reminder of all that. The historical and topical aspects of Cuba remain fascinating.

      This epic photo from 2000 showing the U. S. government being forced to rescue 7-year-old Elian Gonzalez in Miami is but one of countless images seared into the U.S.-Cuban saga. In 2014 Americans still deserve the right to get unbiased updates from journalists like Michael Voss on the ramifications of that episode. The forceful removal of Elian Gonzalez in 2000, the terrorist bombing of the civilian Cubana Flight 455 in 1976, the car-bombing that murdered the beautiful American Ronnie Moffitt within sound of the White House in 1976, the car-bombing of Miami journalist Emilio Milian in 1976, the escape/release from Latin American prisons to Miami of the famed Cuban exile/CIA terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the indelible creations of the Torricelli Bill and the Helms-Burton Act, the Brothers to the Rescue Shoot-down, lawsuits against unrepresented Cuba in Miami courtrooms, and all other Cuban-U. S. involvements since the 1950s have sharply sliced into the sanctity of the U. S. democracy, with the assistance of an intimidated or ineffective U. S. media, exacerbated by two post-World War II generations of Americans who are not too interested in standing up for the superb democracy they were bequeathed by their forebears. 

        This photo, courtesy of Cathal McNaughton/London Telegraph, shows British Minister of State Hugo Swire in Havana the last week of October, 2014. Mr. Swire hailed "Cuba's economic changes," "Cuba's leading role in the fight against Ebola," "Cuba's leading role in hosting the peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC," among his myriad critiques of Cuba. While in Havana, Mr. Swire signed British-Cuban agreements related to sports, business, and investments. Such positives involving America's best ally, Britain, were conveniently unreported by the U. S. media. However, other major Cuban positives in the last few weeks filtered out even in the U. S. media -- such as Cuba's role in the Ebola fight, the UN vote that revealed the entire world strongly opposes the U. S. embargo of Cuba, etc. Any Cuban positive, or in this month's case a multitude of Cuban positives, are sure to fire up the vast anti-revolutionary cottage industry in the United States. Mr. Swire's salient trip to Cuba, for example, was widely covered in Britain but, of course, Britain never teamed with the Mafia to support a cruel Cuban dictatorship in the 1950s and thus Britain's Cuban policy and media are not dominated by a visceral Cuban-government-in-exile. That's why Britain and the other nations around the world were free to exercise their sovereignty and use their votes in the United Nations to oppose the U. S. policy regarding Cuba.

      All Caribbean and Latin American nations now strongly condemn the U. S. policy regarding Cuba, but that was not always so. From 1999 till 2004 Mireya Moscoso was President of Panana. She was born in Panana in 1946 but had extremely close ties to all things Miami, including Miami Dade College. During her presidency she worked hand-in-glove with anti-Castro zealots in Miami and in the George W. Bush presidential administration. That's how, as she left office, she shocked all of Latin America when she pardoned Luis Posada Carriles and three other famed anti-Castro terrorists who had been imprisoned in Panama for orchestrating an attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro when he was visiting Panama.

        Jim DeFede was the top columnist for the Miami Herald. He wrote a scathing column excoriating Miami's members in the U. S. Congress -- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers Lincoln and Mario -- for what he alleged and documented as their incredible support of anti-Cuban terrorists such as Luis Posada Carriles who remains to this day a heralded and celebrated citizen of Miami since his release from the Panamanian prison. Jim DeFede was not long with the Miami Herald after that column. He concluded it by saying he had begged, in vain, for Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen to at least reply to his documentations about the Carriles release and what Mr. DeFede's called "terrorism" against innocent Cubans -- such as all those teenage athletes aboard Cubana Flight 455. Very Bravely, Mr. DeFede boldly maintained that there was no difference between "terrorism" against innocent Cubans than against people in London, England or New York, America. Jim DeFede is a brave, judicious, and honorable man.

And times have changed concerning Cuba, at least in Latin America

       Juan Carlos Varela, not an anti-Cuban U. S. proxy, is now the President of Panama. He took office on July 1, 2014, and one of the first major statements concerned how "harmful" the U. S. policy regarding Cuba is to Cubans or the island "and everyone else." Panama will host the Summit of the Americas in April of 2015. Cuba, at the behest of the U. S., has never attended those sessions. In the last Summit, in 2012, President Obama attended and was loudly berated for the U. S. policy towards Cuba. President Obama is scheduled to attend the Summit in Panama next April. So is Cuban President Raul Castro. Many countries threatened to not attend if Cuba was excluded. President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama personally begged Raul Castro to attend, assuring him that both he and his island would be treated with the "utmost" respect, a reminder that the U. S. position at the Summit would be "far removed from being the over-riding influence when it comes to how we treat Cuba." Hey! Juan Carlos Varela is not Mireya Moscoso. In fact, neither the Caribbean nor Latin America presently have any U. S. presidential proxies, and that's a good thing.

Alvaro Uribe was President of Colombia from 2002 till 2010.

       President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia worked hand-in-glove with President George W. Bush of the U. S. in their anti-Castro, anti-Cuban zealotry. Both men were regular Miami visitors with anti-Cuban agendas.

But since 2010 Juan Manuel Santos has been President of Colombia.

        President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, shown here warmly embracing Cuban President Raul Castro, is not a U. S. puppet when it comes to Cuba in 2014. Now that both Panama and Colombia no longer have anti-Cuban U.S.-puppets as Presidents, all of the the Caribbean and Latin American nations now possess the freedom and courage to demand that the United States treat Cuba fairly. That message was loudly registered again in unanimity in the UN vote in October, 2014, and will be loudly proclaimed again in April when President Obama attends the Summit of the Americas in Panama, a nation in which Mireya Moscoso is no longer the U.S.-friendly, Cuban-hostile President and Alvaro Uribe is no longer the U.S.-friendly, Cuban-hostile President of Colombia. That means Cuba is now friends with all the Caribbean and Latin American Presidents, and all are sovereign enough to be able to resist and resent being overly influenced regarding Cuba by the omnipotent financial and military power of the United States.

    There is today even a member of the U. S. Congress from Florida that possesses the courage, integrity, and patriotism to fight to bring about a sane and decent American policy regarding Cuba. Her name is Kathy Castor. The 14th District of Florida that she represents in Congress includes Tampa.

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        Kathy Castor was born in Miami although now she represents Tampa in the U. S. Congress, which has 535 members and an aggregate approval rating way down in the single digits. But not because of Kathy. She is not bought-and-paid-for by special interests. She is not intimidated by Cuban-exile zealots in her home state. She actually works in Congress in the best interests of her constituents and democracy. Kathy Castor is a powerful advocate for an American Cuban policy that would benefit all Cubans, all Americans, and all citizens in the region -- not just a handful of profiteering anti-Castro zealots and their self-serving sycophants. She is the reason Catholics in Tampa are funding a new Catholic Church in Cuba; she is the reason Tampa business people went to Cuba in 2013 to judge the vastly improved business climate in Cuba; she is the reason Cuban officials were permitted to visit Tampa in 2014 to participate in business conferences; she is the reason those affiliated with the largest deep-water U. S. port nearest to Cuba, which is the Tampa Bay Port, have dire hopes of engaging in significant trade with Cuba; she is the reason that the Tampa International Airport has sharply increased its flights to Cuba; etc; etc. Kathy Castro has the guts, the integrity, and the patriotism to stand up in Tampa and in the U. S. Congress and demand that the U. S. democracy finally release the "decades-old shackles" of a Cuban policy designed solely to benefit the revenge, financial, and political motives of a few at the expense of everyone else.

       The days when Havana-born politicians in Miami align with self-serving politicos like the Bush dynasty should no longer be allowed to shackle the U. S. democracy that the rest of the world, when it comes to Cuba, emphatically disagrees with. In 2014, polls repeatedly show that even Cuban-Americans in Miami -- which Havana-born anti-Castro zealot Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has represented in the U. S. Congress since 1989 when Jeb Bush was her Campaign Manager -- now favor normal relations with Cuba and an end to such abominations as the U. S. embargo of Cuba. But with Cuba as a powerful barometer, the U. S. democracy continues to appear vulnerable to the dictates of a few rich and powerful extremists in a two-party system in which both parties can easily be purchased with relatively little cash and serious Republican or Democratic presidential bids can be obtained for a mere billion dollars or so.

     Since 1959, even Democratic Presidents have been forced to succumb to a Cuban policy dictated by a handful of right-wing Cuban exiles aligned with a handful of right-wing U. S. politicians. This photo encapsulates that fact. That's President Bill Clinton signing the dreadful Helms-Burton Bill into law only days after he expressed his "sincere" desire to normalize relations with Cuba. Yes, peering over President Clinton's right shoulder are Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Miami. And standing second from the right is Cuban-born U. S. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart from Miami. And, of course, standing at the far left is the right-wing congressman Jesse Helms who was in the U. S. Congress about five decades too long with the Cuban exile-directed Helms-Burton Bill being the most harmful of all his egregious contributions to American politics.

And guess what? Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are sifting out as the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in 2016. That's because both are bought-and-paid-for by special interests and thus have the billion-or-so dollars to craft millions of noxious television ads that will, in the next two years, begin to plague and diminish the lives of 315 million Americans. Both, of course, are from political dynasties that, because of money and celebrity, continue to transform the U. S. democracy into dictator-like monarchies. Hillary Clinton's claim to fame is based on her husband's controversial two-terms as Governor of Arkansas and two-terms as President of the United States, coupled with the tons of money that those elections entail. Jeb Bush's claim to fame was initiated by his great-grandfather Prescott Bush whose political connections helped establish, very controversially, the Bush fortune prior to World War II. That fortune coupled with its political connections spawned a two-term Vice Presidency and one-term Presidency for Prescott's son George H. W. Bush; a two-term Texas governorship and a two-term Presidency for George H. W. Bush's son George W. Bush; and a two-term Florida governorship for George W. Bush's brother Jeb Bush. And now Jeb Bush is busy, if subtly, claiming the Republican presidential candidacy for 2016, pitting him against the equally sainted and dynastic Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

And, uh, guess what? George P. Bush is being groomed as the U. S. President beginning in about 2024. Yes, he is the son of Jeb Bush. And, yes, the P. stands for his great-great grandfather Prescott Bush. {Remember him?} The 38-year-old George P. Bush is currently running for the ultra-powerful position of Land Commissioner in Texas. {Uh, guess who's gonna win?} Then his bulging war-chest will have plenty of Cash left over for his presidential bid. George P. believes the White House is a Bush vacation home.

          The matriarch of the Bush political clan is Barbara Bush, the wife of George H. W. Bush. She thinks the United States of America has "had enough Bushes" in politics. Barbara Bush is one Bush I tend to agree with...wholeheartedly!! May her saintly wisdom prevail and help refurbish the U. S. democracy.

       And as a democracy lover, I wholeheartedly wish the out-dated, bought-and-paid-for two-party system could allow for at least a third presidential candidate in 2016 to oppose the Bush and Clinton dynasties.

     The President of the United States in 2016 should be Kathy Castor. Here are her credentials: She was born in Miami and she represents Tampa in the U. S. Congress; and she has the guts, the integrity, the patriotism, and the intelligence to tell the truth about Cuba and about U.S.-Cuban relations. In 2014 those facts separate her from all other potential candidates. Of course, Kathy Castor will never be elected President of the United States. That's because she is not for sale and she would never sell-off precious components of the U. S. democracy to the highest bidders, domestic or foreign. And she didn't spring from a rich political dynasty that lavishly spawns unworthy politicians generation after generation. But, far above all the Bushes and all the Clintons that mar America's severely wounded political landscape, Kathy Castor should be hailed and supported by those of us who still love and cherish the U. S. democracy.

On a lighter note..............

............................this Getty Images photo shows Jennifer Hernandez Alvarez playing for Cuba in the recent FIVB World Volleyball Championships in Bari, Italy.

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