JimmyJazz
25th November 2008, 02:46
Bosch and other Bacardi family members initially supported the Cuban revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro and the broader M-26-7 movement: Bosch personally donated tens of thousands of dollars to the movement, and acted as an intermediary between the revolutionaries and the CIA to assuage the latter's concerns.[5] Family members, employees and facilities were put to use by the movement, and the company supported the revolution publicly with advertisements and parties.[5] But their support turned to opposition as the pro-Soviet Che Guevara wing of the movement began to dominate, and as Castro turned dictatorial.[5]
The Bacardi family (and hence, the company) maintained a fierce opposition to Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba in the 1960s. The Bacardi family and company left Cuba after it became clear that Castro was serious about his pledges for change; in particular, in nationalizing and banning all private property on the island as well as all bank accounts. However, the company had started foreign branches a few years prior to the revolution; the company moved the all important Bacardi international trademarks out of the country to the Bahamas prior to the revolution as a well as constructing a plant in Puerto Rico after the prohibition era to save in import taxes for rum being imported to the US. This helped the company survive after the communist government nationalized all Bacardi assets in the country.[6]
Bacardi family members had close ties to the US political elite, as well as organizations of state such as the CIA. The family funded various Cuban exile organizations such as CANF.
Embittered Bacardi helmsman Jose Pepin Bosch bought a surplus B-26 bomber with the hopes of bombing Cuban oil refineries (the bold plan was foiled when a picture of the bomber appeared on the front page of The New York Times). He was also allegedly involved in the CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro; documents uncovered during Congressional investigations into John F. Kennedy's death bring to light a message outlining how he had plans to assassinate Castro, his brother (Raúl Castro) and Che Guevara. The RECE (Cuban Representation in Exile) also receives funding from Bacardi family members.
More recently, Bacardi lawyers were influential in the drafting of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act which sought to extend the scope of the United States embargo against Cuba.[7] In 1999 Otto Reich, a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of Bacardi Rum, drafted section 211 of the 1999 Omnibus appropriations act, a bill that became known as the Bacardi Act. Section 211 denied trademark protection to Cuban businesses products expropriated after the Cuban revolution, a provision keenly sought by the Bacardi family. The act was aimed primarily at Havana Club brand in America, which had been registered by the Cuban government.[8] Section 211 has been challenged un-successfully by the Cuban government and the European Union in US courts; however, the act has been ruled illegal by the WTO (August 2001). The U.S. Congress has yet to re-examine the matter.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi#Castro
Next time you are at a party or a bar, refuse to drink rum if Bacardi is all that's available. Not only does it keep you from feeding Bacardi's profits, but it can, if you do it right, provide an opportunity to show your political principles in a way that isn't obnoxious. I've already had this happen to me once. The person commented that I must have had a bad experience with Bacardi, and I just matter-of-factly said that, no, they work with the CIA to assassinate Castro and to maintain the embargo on Cuba. They were surprised and I think impressed with my answer.
Maybe your friends won't go for it. But at the very least, cut into the fuckers' profits. :p
The Bacardi family (and hence, the company) maintained a fierce opposition to Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba in the 1960s. The Bacardi family and company left Cuba after it became clear that Castro was serious about his pledges for change; in particular, in nationalizing and banning all private property on the island as well as all bank accounts. However, the company had started foreign branches a few years prior to the revolution; the company moved the all important Bacardi international trademarks out of the country to the Bahamas prior to the revolution as a well as constructing a plant in Puerto Rico after the prohibition era to save in import taxes for rum being imported to the US. This helped the company survive after the communist government nationalized all Bacardi assets in the country.[6]
Bacardi family members had close ties to the US political elite, as well as organizations of state such as the CIA. The family funded various Cuban exile organizations such as CANF.
Embittered Bacardi helmsman Jose Pepin Bosch bought a surplus B-26 bomber with the hopes of bombing Cuban oil refineries (the bold plan was foiled when a picture of the bomber appeared on the front page of The New York Times). He was also allegedly involved in the CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro; documents uncovered during Congressional investigations into John F. Kennedy's death bring to light a message outlining how he had plans to assassinate Castro, his brother (Raúl Castro) and Che Guevara. The RECE (Cuban Representation in Exile) also receives funding from Bacardi family members.
More recently, Bacardi lawyers were influential in the drafting of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act which sought to extend the scope of the United States embargo against Cuba.[7] In 1999 Otto Reich, a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of Bacardi Rum, drafted section 211 of the 1999 Omnibus appropriations act, a bill that became known as the Bacardi Act. Section 211 denied trademark protection to Cuban businesses products expropriated after the Cuban revolution, a provision keenly sought by the Bacardi family. The act was aimed primarily at Havana Club brand in America, which had been registered by the Cuban government.[8] Section 211 has been challenged un-successfully by the Cuban government and the European Union in US courts; however, the act has been ruled illegal by the WTO (August 2001). The U.S. Congress has yet to re-examine the matter.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi#Castro
Next time you are at a party or a bar, refuse to drink rum if Bacardi is all that's available. Not only does it keep you from feeding Bacardi's profits, but it can, if you do it right, provide an opportunity to show your political principles in a way that isn't obnoxious. I've already had this happen to me once. The person commented that I must have had a bad experience with Bacardi, and I just matter-of-factly said that, no, they work with the CIA to assassinate Castro and to maintain the embargo on Cuba. They were surprised and I think impressed with my answer.
Maybe your friends won't go for it. But at the very least, cut into the fuckers' profits. :p