Below is an example of the establishment delusion that chooses to ignore that the
dictatorship in Cuba is an outlaw regime with a track record of international terrorism, nefarious alliances with pariah states such as North Korea, and its successful penetration of the highest levels of the U.S. intelligence establishment that contributed to the deaths of Americans. Not to mention holding a U.S. citizen, Alan Gross, hostage since December 2009. At the bottom of the post is a July 2010 appearance on the PBS NewsHour with Vanessa Lopez of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami.
A CNN GPS intern Kevin O’Donnell interviewed Jorge Dominguez, professor of
Mexico studies at Harvard University, faculty associate of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the author of numerous
books on Cuba, about relations with the United States. Towards the end of the interview the Harvard professor reveals some dirty little secrets in U.S. - Cuba Relations:
Cuban and U.S. militaries collaborate in Guantanamo
The other thing to bear in mind is that the U.S. has no particular incentive to do anything differently because, on the things the U.S. cares the most about, relations with Cuba are excellent. On the only land boundary between the U.S. and Cuba, which is around the U.S. base in Guantanamo, the two armies collaborate because the U.S. doesn’t want prisoners to get out and Cuba doesn’t want the prisoners to get in. So the two commanding officers meet at the border, salute each other, coordinate, and that’s fine.
Castro regime guards the Florida Straits preventing Cubans from fleeing the country
Similarly, on the Straits of Florida, the two coast guards collaborate because Cuba doesn’t want the kind of massive undocumented immigration of the sort that brought down the East German communist government, and the U.S. doesn’t want massive undocumented entry from Cuba. If you think about that idea, it means the U.S. has a stake in the continuation of an authoritarian regime in Cuba, because no future Cuban political regime will have the will and the capacity to cooperate with the United States to prevent Cuban people from leaving.* The Mexican government certainly doesn’t do it, and nobody else does it.
Agricultural trade loophole
So the U.S. gets what it wants, the Cuban government gets what it wants. Even with regard to trade there’s a gigantic loophole that allows western states to export agricultural products to Cuba – and Cuba pays cash. No other country does that. So as long as you don’t believe the words about regime change, U.S.-Cuban relations are just great.
*Some examples of how the Cuban government treats "undocumented immigrants" have been documented and reported on such as the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre and the use of grenades on swimmers trying to reach the Guantanamo Naval base.
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| Dr. Jorge Dominguez: U.S.-Cuban relations are just great. |
Cuban and U.S. militaries collaborate in Guantanamo
The other thing to bear in mind is that the U.S. has no particular incentive to do anything differently because, on the things the U.S. cares the most about, relations with Cuba are excellent. On the only land boundary between the U.S. and Cuba, which is around the U.S. base in Guantanamo, the two armies collaborate because the U.S. doesn’t want prisoners to get out and Cuba doesn’t want the prisoners to get in. So the two commanding officers meet at the border, salute each other, coordinate, and that’s fine.
Castro regime guards the Florida Straits preventing Cubans from fleeing the country
Similarly, on the Straits of Florida, the two coast guards collaborate because Cuba doesn’t want the kind of massive undocumented immigration of the sort that brought down the East German communist government, and the U.S. doesn’t want massive undocumented entry from Cuba. If you think about that idea, it means the U.S. has a stake in the continuation of an authoritarian regime in Cuba, because no future Cuban political regime will have the will and the capacity to cooperate with the United States to prevent Cuban people from leaving.* The Mexican government certainly doesn’t do it, and nobody else does it.
Agricultural trade loophole
So the U.S. gets what it wants, the Cuban government gets what it wants. Even with regard to trade there’s a gigantic loophole that allows western states to export agricultural products to Cuba – and Cuba pays cash. No other country does that. So as long as you don’t believe the words about regime change, U.S.-Cuban relations are just great.
*Some examples of how the Cuban government treats "undocumented immigrants" have been documented and reported on such as the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre and the use of grenades on swimmers trying to reach the Guantanamo Naval base.
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