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NEWS
Letter to
The Honorable Norm Coleman, United States Senator
November 4, 2003
The Honorable Norm Coleman
United States Senator
Dear Senator Coleman:
I am writing with regard to the Cuban trade embargo and Castro’s
infamous totalitarian regime of 44 years. I believe that any measure
such as the lifting of the embargo that would reward the forces of evil
Castro represents, without respect of human rights and the freedom of
political prisoners, would be nothing short but a treason of the West’s
most cherished democratic traditions.
Fidel Castro and his brother Raul have been guided by two objectives: a
commitment to violence and a virulent anti-Americanism. Their struggles
since and their forty-four years rule in Cuba have been characterized
primarily by these goals. (Castro and Terrorism: A Chronology).
Forty four years later Castro’s anti-Americanism and commitment to
violence continues strong. During his tour of Iran, Syria and Libya,
(Agency France Press. May 10, 2001) Fidel Castro said: "Iran and Cuba,
in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The U.S.
regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up."
There cannot be a relief to his totalitarian regime. Castro’s
megalomania and obduracy in following a failed system has led the Cuban
people to total ruin. Whether every Cuban starves and every building
crumbles, doesn’t concern him. He is totally out of touch with the Cuban
reality.
Castro’s terrorism in Cuba is fearsome and brutal. There is no concept
of individual rights or due process. He has built a privileged ruling
class based on top government officials, the security apparatus and the
military. Let’s go to some of the wrongs inflicted on the Cuban people
by the Castro regime that cannot be remotely linked to the current
economic relations of Cuba with the rest of the world.
In a book unpublished as of this letter, entitled "Cuba: The Human Cost
of Social Revolution," Armando M. Lago (Ph.D. in Economics, Harvard
University) lists a partial list of deaths caused by the Castro regime
for political and military reasons.
Firing squad executions: 5,150; Extra-judicial assassinations: 1,215;
Missing and disappeared: 205; Deaths in prison of prisoners of
conscience or dissidents due to brutality, lack of medical attention,
suicides, and natural causes: 967; Anti-Castro guerrillas killed in
combat (including Escambray uprising): 1,082; Bay of Pigs combatants
(invading force): 107; Cuban soldiers killed in international missions,
mostly Africa: est. 12,992; Perished or disappeared in illegal exit
attempts, mostly rafters ("balseros"): est. 85,800; Total: 107,518. Dr.
Lago points out that just alone in the exodus of 1994 by sea, more than
4,000 Cubans drowned while trying to cross the Florida straits in search
of freedom.
Castro’s failed experiments have devastated the economy. Frank Calzon
(Miami Herald, March 14, 2002) has pointed out that one of the best kept
secrets is that the trade embargo has saved U.S. taxpayers millions of
dollars. Because of the trade embargo, he goes on to say, American banks
aren’t among the consortium of European and Canadian creditors (known as
the Paris Club) which lent $11,200 millions to Castro and have been
waiting for years to be paid. According to the Miami Herald (April 8,
2002) Cuba suspended payment of its debt to the Paris Club in 1986.
According to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Cuba’s foreign
debt stands at $19.9 billion, not including the $24 billion owed to the
defunct Soviet Union, a debt that Castro has said he will not service
because the Soviet Union no longer exists. Fidel Castro has stashed more
than $1.4 billion in offshore accounts (Letter to the Editor, Wall
Street Journal, 5/17/02, p. A11).
Professor Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami has summarized below
the consequences if the embargo is lifted:
Guarantee the continuation of the current totalitarian structures.
Strengthen state enterprises, since money will flow into businesses
owned by the Cuban regime.
Lead to greater repression and control since Castro and the leadership
will fear that United States influence will subvert the revolution.
Delay instead of accelerate a transition to democracy on the island.
Allow Castro to borrow from international organizations such as the
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank. Since Cuba owes billions of
dollars and has refused in the past to acknowledge or pay these debts,
new loans will be wasted by Castro’s inefficient system and will be
uncollectable.
Perpetuate the control that the military holds over the economy and
foster the further development of mafia-type groups.
Negate the basic tenets of U.S. policy in Latin America, which emphasize
democracy, human rights and market economies.
Send the wrong message to the enemies of the United States that a
foreign leader can seize U.S. properties without compensation, allow the
use of his territory for the introduction of nuclear missiles aimed at
the U.S., espouse terrorism and anti-US causes throughout the world; and
eventually the U.S. will "forget and forgive," and reward him with
tourism, investments and economic aid.
Cuba is the perfect laboratory to observe the destruction of lives and
wealth, as well as a nation, simply because people lack the freedom to
think, speak, and create for themselves. Cuba suffers under the rule of
an aging tyrant, oblivious to an almost half a century of suffering and
agony of the Cuban people. Castro will lie, betray, torture and murder
to remain in power. He and his accomplices are pervasive and gross
violators of human rights.
Senator Coleman, I ask that you seriously consider supporting any U.S.
legislation that would prevent lifting the existing economic sanctions
against the Cuban government. Please bear in mind the message sent from
a Cuban prison by the blind lawyer and human rights activist, Juan
Carlos Gonzalez Leiva on September 15, 2002. "I ask the embargo not be
lifted, as it would mean oxygen for a criminal tyranny and the
continuation of the misery of the people."
Respectfully yours,
Francisco Navarro
Cubainfolinks@aol.com
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