An Evil Genius

I would like to share a perspective worth reading, which must remain anonymous for now:

“We Cubans used to call Fidel Castro “un genio del mal“, someone that used his extraordinary intelligence to rise to power and cement his absolute authority over millions of his compatriots, causing pain, death and misery for over more than fifty years. An evil genius.

His death just confirms it, an evil genius. If you look at history, dictators, tyrants, die in power and when they die chaos follows, putting their legacy in peril. Eight years ago, in 2008, Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother Raul. Fidel Castro had to surrender his enormous ego to guarantee the continuity of his regime, but like a genius he is, was, he made the right move. He was in poor health but he knew he had a few more years to control everything behind the scenes, while his brother was able to build a web of loyalists that will serve him unconditionally. For eight years the transition occurred in meticulous order with Fidel ceding power little by little, nothing major would escape his control, but by the moment he died, his brother is in complete control. Raul Castro has put his army generals in charge of almost everything in Cuba, his son-in-law, a general, controls some of the most important branches of the Cuban economy, his son, Alejandro, a colonel soon to become a general, has a vast influence over the army and his grandson Raul is one of his own bodyguards.

One more Castro to die to celebrate…..”

Fidel Castro Has Died

Raul Castro has publically stated that his brother is dead; updates to follow.

He died on November 25, 2016, 10:29 PM, according to his wishes; he will be cremated on the 26^th, announced by his brother.

History Will Not Absolve You

I had just drifted off to sleep when I heard my phone “ding” me; I was expecting to hear that my niece had gone into labor, she was due to deliver her first child on the 24^th, and we are still waiting.  Instead, it was Glenda with the simple text: “Fidel died”.  The time was 12:43.  I went into a state a shock with tears streaming uncontrollably, down my cheeks.

Quickly, I looked for the remote and started frantically searching the television for more information; at that moment, the only station covering this tyrants death was CNN. Briefly, ABC spoke of Fidel’s death, but then went back to “regularly scheduled programing”.

Initially, I was frustrated by the lack coverage, but then thought that is all he deserves.

Do not tell me I should feel bad that my community is “celebrating” his death, we are not celebrating we are breathing our first collective sigh of relief, and dare for the first time in over fifty years to hope for a Cuba libre.

Live coverage: http://www.local10.com/live/watch-the-local-10-news

The Miami Herald Responds to Raúl Castro

“‘Give me the list now of political prisoners to release,’ a rattled Raúl Castro replied to a questioner from CNN at a rare news conference that he was obliged to attend because it’s the custom for American presidents on foreign visits: ‘If there are political prisoners, they’ll be free before nightfall.’”

As Mr. Obama engages in what will most assuredly be recorded, by historians, as one of the most shameful deeds, committed by any American president, his counterpart in this grotesque activity, Mr. Castro, has been forced to face a press he does not manipulate.

The Miami Herald has generously provided Mr. Castro with the requested list, read their complete story and see two lists of political prisoners, at the links below.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article67384427.html

http://observacuba.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/2015/ListaPresos.pdf

http://canf.org/list-of-the-current-cuba-political-prisoners/

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion-es/opin-col-blogs/opinion-sobre-cuba/article67412147.html

~M~

A Pilgrimage to Cuba by Obama

I have tried to respect the office, even if I do not respect the man currently sitting in the office, thus during this current presidential administration, I have tried to restrict my comments to his policy, and not his person; but this proposed deed is beyond anything I could ever have imagined and is most definitely personal.

It has been obvious, for years, that Mr. Obama has absolutely no interest in representing those who do not adhere to his views, but for him to also show complete disdain to the party that elected him, has truly left me in a state of anguish and shock. If he does not support the Republicans or the Democrats, on whose behalf is he governing?

By Mr. Obamas’ past actions, I have been forced to accept that he does not care about the thousands of Cubans who have been and are being murdered by the Castro Brothers, nor does he care about the thousands of Cubans who have lost their lives, trying to escape the communist regime, nor does he care about the millions of Cuban families destroyed by the evil unleashed, on our community, by the Castro’s, but now he is even turning his back on the memory of President John F. Kennedy. I do not understand.  What can Mr. Obama possible have against President Kennedy?

The policies governing the United States interaction with the mass murders, in Havana, were initiated by the Kennedy Administration, in response to the Castro’s illegal behavior to both Cuban and American citizen’s – none of which has changed. I suppose Mr. Obama has made clear who he is supporting, to fill his position – another socialist.

How can a sitting American President, pay homage to these dictators who have all but destroyed their people? How can an American President so vehemently hate democracy and justice?  How can an American President desecrate everything, which American blood has been shed for, on our own soil and around the world? Does Mr. Obama really excuse the torture, destruction, and executions committed by the Castro’s just because they are communist?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/02/18/obama-expected-to-visit-cuba-in-march.html?intcmp=hpbt2

~ M ~

President Obama has Normalized Relations with President Castro

“From our point of view, we have no human-rights problem – there have been no ‘disappeareds’ here, there have been no tortures here, there have been no murders here.  In twenty-five years of revolution, in spite of the difficulties and dangers we have passed through, torture has never been committed, a crime has never been committed.”

 ~ Statements made by Fidel Castro to French and Americna journalists in the Palacio de la Revolución in Havana on July 28, 1983, and published in Granma on August 10 of the same year.~

(From the Epilogue of Against all Hope, by Armando Valladares)

I never expected the United States to normalize relations with a Castro, any Castro.  As long as any Castro controlled Cuba, I believed that in the name of the countless dead, the broken families, and the destroyed dreams of millions, the embargo would stand – I was wrong.

Undoubtedly, today’s news has caught the majority of the Cuban, Cuban-American, and political community by surprise; but this is not a day which will quickly be forgotten by any of us, nor dare I say, speaking only for myself, has the impact of today’s actions, been fully processed.

One of the things, which we already know, is that today’s developments are polarizing; and more questions have been raised than answered.  I feel certain that I am not the only person wondering if the normalization of relations, between Cuba and the United States, was simply a desperate act by a lame duck president, whose party lost the last election, and a pair of despot brothers, who are coming to the end of their life, and all hoping to establish a less tarnished legacy.

To me it appears that the Castro brothers have achieved a major victory today, gaining both “respectability” and the promise of a financial partnership, with what is now the second largest economy, after China.  As already stated, I am pleased with the release of the political prisoners,  but what guarantee was established for those still left in Cuba, who carry on the fight for Democracy and Freedom of Speech, the Press, and Religion?

For the immediate future, I plan to update this article with information which I believe will enlighten our understanding.

As in any totalitarian regime, accurate statistics, for Cuba, are not easy to acquire, and all information made public, must be sifted through countless filters; however, the information below is worth reading.

Los Muertos de Castro.

Archive search on “genocide”

The “Truth Recovery Archive on Cuba” published the following updated data:

December 27, 2005 – Update

Table:

Non-combat Victims of the Castro Regime January 1, 1959 to Date (Documented to March 25, 2005)

Note: This table excludes documented deaths of civilians -both Cuban and otherwise- resulting from international military incursions, sabotage, or support for international subversion sponsored by Cuba.

http://www.cubaarchive.org/downloads/CA03.pdf

November 1, 2006 – Update on Findings This work documents loss of life and disappearances of a political or military nature attributed to the Cuban Revolution. Each documented case is substantiated by bibliographic/historic data and reports from direct sources. Due to the ongoing nature of the work and the difficulty of obtaining and verifying data from Cuba, the following totals change as research progresses and are considered far from exhaustive. The table below is primarily derived from Armando M. Lago, Ph.D.’s “Cuba: The Human Cost of Social Revolution,” manuscript for publication. Cuba Archive is currently examining dozens of additional cases –most are expected to be added to this table. Experience has shown that as additional outreach efforts are undertaken, many more cases are likely to be uncovered.

Non-Combat Victims of the Castro Regime: January 1, 959 to Date

(Work-in-progress)

(1) Deaths in prison include 153 assassinations, 264 suicides, 200 resulting from medical negligence, the rest in accidents and of alleged natural causes probably precipitated by prison conditions. (2) The estimated number of victims has been derived from data in studies by the Oceanographic Institute of the University of Miami and the University of Havana and reports by the U.S. Coast Guard. The actual number of rafters who have perished at sea is very difficult to corroborate. 16,282 additional deaths can be directly attributed to the Cuban Revolution as part of this work in progress. Documented combat deaths in anti-Castro military operations total 1,289 (86 in Bay of Pigs 1,150 in the internal insurgency, and 53 in infiltration missions).

Losses by the Castro government in military operations are estimated at 14,953 (782 at the Bay of Pigs invasion, 2,400 fighting the insurgents in the rural war inside Cuba, and 11,771 estimated to have died during the military intervention in Angola).

In addition, 40 persons were killed in the accidental explosion of a civilian aviation plane (Cubana de Aviación) in Nicaragua used by the Cuban government to transport arms to the Sandinistas). Thousands of foreign nationals, both military and civilians, have been killed in Africa and Latin America in Cuba’s internationalist wars and its support of subversion.

See: http://www.cubaarchive.org/english_version/articles/86/1/Update-on–Findings%3A-November-1%2C-2006

February 19, 2008 Update on Findings

This work documents loss of life and disappearances of a political or military nature attributed to the Cuban Revolution. Each documented case is available for review at www.CubaArchive.org and substantiated by bibliographic/historic data and reports from direct sources. Due to the ongoing nature of the work and the difficulty of obtaining and verifying data from Cuba, the following totals change as research progresses and are considered far from exhaustive. Cuba Archive is currently examining additional cases –most are expected to be added to this table. Experience has shown that as additional outreach efforts are undertaken, many more cases are likely to be uncovered.

Non-Combat Victims of the Castro Regime:

January 1, 1959 to December 31, 2007

Work-in-progress

(1) Deaths in prison include assassinations, suicides, and deaths resulting from medical negligence or from accidents or alleged natural causes probably precipitated by prison conditions. (2) The estimated number of victims was derived in 2003 by Dr. Armando Lago from data in studies by the Oceanographic Institute of the University of Miami and the University of Havana and reports by the U.S. Coast Guard. The actual number of rafters who have perished at sea is very difficult to corroborate. Deaths from 2003 to the present have not been estimated.  Combat Deaths At least 16,282 additional deaths in combat or missing in action can be directly attributed to the Cuban Revolution, of which Cuba Archive has documented 1,392. 1,289 combat deaths are documented from anti-Castro military operations (Bay of Pigs expedition, the internal insurgency, and infiltration missions). Losses by the Castro government in military operations are estimated at 14,953 at the Bay of Pigs, fighting the insurgents in the rural war inside Cuba, and killed in the military intervention in Angola. In addition, 40 persons were killed in the accidental explosion of a civilian aviation plane (Cubana de Aviación) in Nicaragua used by the Cuban government to transport arms to the Sandinistas).  Other Deaths Thousands of foreign nationals, both military and civilians, have been killed in Africa and Latin America in Cuba’s internationalist wars and its support of

http://www.cubaverdad.net/los_muertos_de_castro.htm

http://www.therealcuba.com/page5.htm  Difficult pictures to look at.

Is the Embargo Over?

“We will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.”

~ President Obama ~

President Obama and President Raul Castro spoke for almost an hour yesterday, the first time the leaders of these two nations have spoken to each other, in over fifty years; both leaders will address their nations today, at noon.

Alan Gross is back on American soil, for which I thank God; and the United States released three Cubans held in American prison.  Both nations will open embassies and trade restrictions will be released.

This is certainly a developing story.  What do you think?

~M~

The President said that the release of Mr. Gross and the other political prisoner has nothing to do with him choosing unilaterally to normalize relations with Cuba.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/17/politics/cuba-alan-gross-deal/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/12/17/american-alan-gross-released-from-cuban-prison-official-says/

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