Cuba's Hypocritical Government

[Capitalist]

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2002; Page B04

A Cuban defector who launched a one-woman campaign to have her daughter and husband join her in the Washington area said yesterday that Cuba has finally granted them permission to leave the island.

Sixto, a computer scientist, sought political asylum in late 2000. She got U.S. visas for her 3-year-old daughter and husband in September, but her family was initially told by Cuban authorities that it would take years to obtain exit permits, Sixto said.

"I am happy. I can see my little girl again. I have such strong desires to see my little girl," gushed Sixto, who has not seen her daughter, Elizabeth, or husband for 15 months.

Sixto, a resident of Northwest Washington, said she was not sure when they would arrive in this country because flights from Cuba are booked for weeks.

U.S. diplomats say about 200 Cuban immigrant families are divided like Sixto's, waiting for exit permits so they can be reunited in the United States. Often, U.S. officials say, the Cuban government punishes defectors by not providing the documents. U.S. diplomats asked Cuba about Sixto's case in December but said they got no response.

Sixto had compared her family's situation to the Elian Gonzalez case, in which the Cuban government successfully argued that the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba after his mother died at sea in an attempt to flee the island nation and he was rescued.

Luis Fernandez, press officer at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, denied that Sixto's case was comparable.

It "has nothing to do with Elian. The actions were taken according to the procedure that exists for these cases," he said, adding he didn't know why the exit permits were delayed.

U.S. officials said the Sixto decision didn't appear to mark a change in Cuban policy on divided families. But Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said the communist government had resolved several such cases since Elian returned to Cuba in June 2000.

"Since Elian, the international pressure is greater for the Cubans to try to really put their money where their mouth is, in terms of supporting family reunification. It's much harder to deny someone exit papers in the post-Elian era," she said.

[Guest]

My father came to the U$A from cuba in the 70's.. up to this day the U$!!! will not give his permits for his daughter to come, my sister. As goes with so many other families. Cuba gives visas pretty easily, the u$ is the one who fines and *****es if anyone wants a visa to go to cuba from the U$. get your facts str8...

[Supermodel]

When will Bush act like a grown up and le Cuba be? For pepe's sake they aren't the axis of evil or anything. Poor latinos only wanted to run their own country, geez.

Problem with Washington is they still have their noses up JFK's legacy's ass. You would think with all the crap going on in the world we'd give Cuba its due and call it evens.

[peaccenicked]

capitalist is obsessed with the wrongs of cuba
He also says america supports right wing dictators.
if so why does he only post anti cuban articles.
Does he think we are so unaware of the problems in cuba. Why does he seem totally unaware of the problems inside america?

[poncho]

Any country includeing the USA has procedures and forms to fill out when you plan on leaving and never returning. This takes time and than factor in obtaining the proper visa's work permits from the U.S. government before the person arrives, again more time. Anything involving Cuba gets turned into a onesided political propaganda football when in the hands of the criminal x-Cubans in Miami.

[MindCrime]

Cuba has one of the worst images in American culture, due to its location and the Cuban Americans in Florida. Exiles of a defeated regime will naturally speak out against the new one. Why not, they were comfortable under the dictatorship (which, by the way, represses freedoms AND was US financed, wrap your mind around that one).

Cuba is also in the western Hemisphere, which clearly defies the Monroe Doctrine (The US owns all of the Americas). Naturally, they are going to smear the islands name and try to cut them of financially. How many embargos are against China, the biggest communist nation in the world today? None, theyre our most favored trading partner.

The Cubans havent overthrown Castro because he treats them like humans and provides much better than the past system. The United States wants Castro out so they can give back Cuba to the international corporations. Thats why most South American dictatorships were set up, for american industry. Ex Cubans and US rulers hate communist Cuba because they could be making a profit at the expense of the people and resourses there. Well, I say NO to US Imperialsim! Viva Fidel!

[poncho]

"Cuba is also in the western Hemisphere, which clearly defies the Monroe Doctrine (The US owns all of the Americas). Naturally, they are going to smear the islands name and try to cut them of financially. How many embargos are against China, the biggest communist nation in the world today? None, theyre our most favored trading partner. " --Mindcrime

Consider this one: America cut off diplomatic ties and has a embargo/sanctions against Burma. But Americans business and citizens that had established deals before the Embargo and trade sanctions wich NATO unamiously supports (unlike Cuba) can continue to do business and trade with Burma. Also consultants can bring in new companies because that was their business before sanctions.....

[Moskitto]

If you have sanctions on Cuba you must have sanctions on China, Burma, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, North Korea.... Otherwise you're just being a hypocrit.

[El Commandante]

Moskitto, you're not thinking like a Capi, you have to be nice to the Chinese, just look at the geography of the country, untapped wealth, a huge and cheap work force and more consumers then products so huge profits can be made. Also why do they care about Saudi, they provide oil and air bases for America's "foreign policy" which is often projected into the surrounding areas.

They don't care that they have dire human rights records, that there is no political freedom and that the country is crumbling. They are just out to exploit them for what they can.

[MindCrime]

It's much easier to threaten a small island nation right next door. I think the United States would have a harder time pushing around Red China and their 1.8 billion soliders. Even school yard bullies know to go after someone smaller than them.

[Moskitto]

not all bullies go after people smaller than them.

These really annoying little kids on the way home try and start fights with me when It would be like.

Little Kid- "You wanna fight"
Me- "Yeah, sure"
Little Kid- "Go on then, punch me"
Me- "You're the one who wanted a fight"
Little Kid- "Coward"
Me- "I'm afaid you're the coward, I offered you to punch me, but you didn't take it, now go home to you're mummy"
Little Kid- "Yeah i'll punch you"
Little Kid punches me
Me- "Don't punch me it's not good"
Little Kid collapses after a pretty massive head injury

[peaccenicked]

Is it not funny people from a rich wasteful polluting country accusing a poor country of hypocrisy.

[queen of diamonds]

not trying to defend the actions of the US, but it's not like castro has nothing to answer for either....
how many people have been assasinated under his regime - not even those from batista's regime - just because they dared to have different ideas? under castro's rule, the right to say anything contrary to his ideas is illegal....
and you can hardly blame the bad blood between the two countries entirely on the US.....after all, castro did little (as did guevara and raul castro, may i add) to hide the fact that he hated the US....
it takes two to tango

[peaccenicked]

Cuba is not communist. Even Castro recognises that, all
he ever said that if you insist on calling him a communist he won't deny it. you can be communist, head of State and still know reality. The comunist party did not know how to take Castro at first but after the popular revolution, they (on the whole bent over backwards for him).One of the misfortunes of history is tha t che died.
Hardly anybody stood up to Castro who was friendly to the idea of socialism.
There is nothing I woud say to to defend castro's suppression of dissent, it serves the propagandists of the west who fetishise abstract freedom of speech
to the point of confiscating capitalist private property.
At the point of conquest they send in the air force, witness chile.
The US supported the fascist dictator Batista. He was an economic partner. If you think the US gov cares about democracy anywhere you live on another planet.
all they care about US economic interests abroad and at home.
If the socialists were a majority in the US and this meant the confiscation of private property was imminent.
They would ban democracy. Your constitutional illusions are sweet and comforting but 10 million light years away from the real world.

[poncho]

Quote: from queen of diamonds on 12:55 pm on Feb. 19, 2002
not trying to defend the actions of the US, but it's not like castro has nothing to answer for either....
how many people have been assasinated under his regime - not even those from batista's regime - just because they dared to have different ideas? under castro's rule, the right to say anything contrary to his ideas is illegal....
and you can hardly blame the bad blood between the two countries entirely on the US.....after all, castro did little (as did guevara and raul castro, may i add) to hide the fact that he hated the US....
it takes two to tango


The only people that have been put to death where murderous thieves, guelty of crimes that warrent the death penalty. No evidance exists that Fidel Castro or any member of the Cuban government has ever committed or supported a political assasination.

The western world imprisons protestors all the time when they instigate acts of violence. The only people arrested in Cuba are not protesting the government they are trying to gather support for a revolution thusly overthroughing the government, rightly so they are placed in jail where the traitors belong. Search the island talk to the people who live on it nobody even former prisoners and there family they will tell you that torture does not exist.

The criminal terrorists Mafia from Miami will one day have to answer for their crimes and history will absolve Fidal Castro...

[MindCrime]

Dimonds,

I too would like to know how many people Castro had assassinated. Would mind to tell me?

You accused Castro of not hiding his hatred of the United States. If that is a crime then, in essence, it is speaking out agains the ruling government in the world.

Castro should let people speak against him. Hes a bad man. He shouldnt speak out against the World authority. Hes a bad man again. Thats a hipocritical argument.

So anyway, how many innocents has Castro shot?

[Moskitto]

Any country includeing the USA has procedures and forms to fill out when you plan on leaving and never returning.]

Crap there goes my chances of going and living in Uraguay.

[MindCrime]

Quote: from peaccenicked on 4:26 pm on Feb. 19, 2002
The US supported the fascist dictator Batista. He was an economic partner. If you think the US gov cares about democracy anywhere you live on another planet.
all they care about US economic interests abroad and at home.



The Fascists have been defeated, WWII is over, what does America do now? US Secretary of State James Byrnes expressed the real aims of American post-war foreign policy most bluntly:

"What we have to do now is not make the world safe for democracy, but to make it safe for the United States."

The United States doesnt care for spreading democratic ideals, they seek to mass power and money.