Cuban and Venezuelan solidarity in the midst of crisis: A brief and incomplete summary

"To save freedom in Venezuela is do it in Cuba. Everyone to participate in this historic event. Neither Maduro nor Castro, we want freedom!" -  Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez, announcing from Cuba solidarity protests in support of Venezuelan Democratic Resistance on February 20, 2014 

Activists in Cuba protesting in support of Leopoldo López and Venezuela

Cubans have suffered under the grip of a totalitarian communist dictatorship imposed by the Castro brothers since 1959. They understand better than most what the stakes are for the democratic resistance in Venezuela. On August 25, 2013, Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo of the Christian Liberation Movement in an address to the Christian Democrats of the Americas placed the Venezuelan situation in a regional context:

"The Cuban government is not legitimate, as the Venezuelan government is not and will not be because presidents of the world shake hands with the impostors in power, it will be much less because they spearhead regional organizations like the CELAC, as is the case of the Cuban dictator, to the shame of Latin America. Legitimacy is delivered by the people at the polls, in free elections, in an atmosphere of respect and safety. We all know that's not what happened in April in Venezuela and we all know that has not occurred in Cuba for more than 60 years."

Christian Liberation Movement's logo in Venezuelan colors

 Both on the island and in exile there have been actions in solidarity with people of Venezuela struggling to be free. These are but a small sample there are many more examples:

On February 16, 2014 the Christian Liberation Movement tweeted: "Castro tyranny sends thugs to Venezuela, we send them the L of Liberation" and posted the above logo with Venezuelan colors.

On February 20, 2014 members of the internal Venezuelan resistance and their Cuban counterparts released a joint declaration of coordinated actions in their respective countries at a press conference held in Miami. 

On February 24, 2014 members of the Cuban exile and FIU communities gathered to hold a silent vigil for four victims of the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown and the students murdered since February 12, 2014 in Venezuela.

On February 28, 2014 the Christian Liberation Movement held a teach-in on "Cuba and Venezuela: Challenges for Democracy" with a prominent member of the Venezuela opposition in attendance on what should have been Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas's 62nd birthday.  

On March 14, 2014 Cuban exiles held a mass at the Our Lady of Charity (La Ermita) praying for liberty and justice in Venezuela.

On April 2, 2014 over twitter Oscar Elías Bicet posted photos of a march by Project Emilia activists in Cuba in support of imprisoned Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López Mendoza, congresswoman Maria Corina Machado, and Venezuela.

On April 8, 2014 activists from Cuba, Ukraine and Venezuela signed a joint document for freedom and democracy at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami.

 Over social networks, Cubans have been retweeting the posts of Venezuelan activists engaged in nonviolent resistance in their homeland. Furthermore, Cuban exiles have joined in solidarity with protest marches in South Florida. Below Aramis Perez, of the Cuban Democratic Directorate on February 22, 2014 at a massive rally in Doral, Florida took part in the protest to demonstrate his solidarity.

The Castro and Maduro regime's want to impose totalitarianism on the people of Venezuela and maintain it on the Cuban people and are using all the means at their disposal. At the same time the free peoples of Cuba and Venezuela are joining together in a struggle to free themselves of these two tyrants using nonviolent means. 

They need your solidarity.

Human Rights Watch: Unarmed Protestors Beaten, Shot: Rights Violations in Venezuela

"Prosecutors, Judges Complicit in Rights Violations" - Human Rights Watch

NBP detain a demonstrator at protests in Caracas, Venezuela, 3/22/14 AP

May 5, 2014

 

This 103-page report documents 45 cases from Caracas and three states, involving more than 150 victims, in which security forces have abused the rights of protesters and other people in the vicinity of demonstrations. Security forces have also allowed armed pro-government gangs to attack unarmed civilians, and in some cases openly collaborated with the gangs.

Excerpt from the report summary:

The accounts of the victims in these 45 cases—together with corroborating evidence assembled from a diverse range of sources—provided credible evidence that more than 150 people were victims of serious abuses in related incidents. (For more on how we conducted our research and documented cases, see the “Methodology”section in this report.)

In most of the cases we documented, security forces employed unlawful force, including shooting and severely beating unarmed individuals. Nearly all of the victims were also arrested and, while in detention, subjected to physical and psychological abuse. In at least 10 cases, the abuses clearly constituted torture. 

In all three states, as well as in Caracas, security forces allowed armed pro-government gangs to assault unarmed civilians, and in some cases openly collaborated with them in the attacks, our research found. 

The Venezuelan government has characterized the protests taking place throughout the country as violent. There is no doubt that some protesters have used violence, including throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces. More than 200 security force members and government officials have been injured in the context of the protests, and at least nine have died, according to the government. All crimes—including those committed against security forces, protesters, and bystanders—require rigorous investigation, and those responsible should be brought to justice. Moreover, security forces have a responsibility to detain people caught in the act of committing crimes.

However, in the 45 cases of human rights violations we documented, the evidence indicated that the victims of unlawful force and other abuses were not engaging in acts of violence or other criminal activity at the time they were targeted by Venezuelan security forces. On the contrary, eyewitness testimony, video footage, photographs and other evidence suggest victims were unarmed and nonviolent. Indeed, some of the worst abuses we documented were committed against people who were not even participating in demonstrations, or were already in detention and fully under the control of security forces.

The nature and timing of many of these abuses—as well as the frequent use of political epithets by the perpetrators—suggests that their aim was not to enforce the law or disperse protests, but rather to punish people for their political views or perceived views. 

In many instances, the aim of the abuse appears to have been to prevent individuals from documenting the tactics being employed by security forces, or to punish those attempting to do so. In 13 of the cases we investigated, security forces targeted individuals who had been taking photographs or filming security force confrontations with protesters.

Roughly half of these individuals were professional journalists, while the other half were protesters or bystanders using cell phones to document use of force by security forces.
In addition to the unlawful use of force and arbitrary arrests, nearly all of the 45 cases involved violations of due process guarantees. These included holding detainees incommunicado, denying them access to lawyers until minutes before they were presented to judges, and in several cases planting evidence on them before charging them with crimes. Judges often confirmed charges against detainees based on dubious evidence presented by prosecutors, without subjecting the evidence to rigorous review or inquiring into how suspects presented before them had sustained visible injuries.

Prosecutors and judges routinely turned a blind eye to evidence suggesting that detainees had been subject to abuses while in detention, such as ignoring obvious signs of physical abuse, or interrogating detainees in military installations, where it was clear they did not have access to lawyers.

Cuban Youth Address Oswaldo Payá Teach-In at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity

"Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." - Vaclav Havel

Sayli, Henry and Rosa discuss the state of Cuba today

Young Cubans addressed the question earlier tonight: "Is Cuba Changing or does Totalitarianism Continue?" at the Oswaldo Payá Teach-In at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Coconut Grove located on the Bay. Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo, Sayli Navarro and Henry Constantin each gave their vision of the current situation on the island and prospects for real change in short presentations. The consensus from the three is that the government of Cuba is not changing and that the much publicized measures are more for international consumption, but repression and the desire to stay in power remains undiminished. However, at the same time the Cuban people are changing, losing their fear, little by little, and demonstrating greater solidarity with the democratic opposition.




Meanwhile in Cuba

At mid-day the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) tweeted that Dr. Eduardo Cardet and other MCL members received a death threat  for wanting to attend the trial against MCL member Werlando Leyva.  At 4:18pm Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo tweeted that  Dr. Eduardo Cardet and Lisban Mariño had been detained in the morning for for hours to prevent them attending Werlando's trial.Werlando had been the victim of a machete attack by a government agent on June of 2013 and today was placed on trial and faced with a false and incoherent witness and the government wanted to fine him. Following the attack Werlando spoke out and denounced the crime.

Among the MCL members who had tried to attend the trial of Werlando Leyva was Damaso Fernandez who has physical-motor disabilities and he too was detained and mistreated to stop him from attending the sham trial.


However, despite all the above, Cubans are slowly losing their fear and demonstrating greater solidarity with democratic opposition. This is due in part precisely to the above abuses that generate a boomerang effect with the repression that raises the outrage of Cubans witnessing such attacks on human dignity and rights.


There is hope for the people of Cuba.

Message from imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo López to Venezuelan workers on their day

"Today Venezuelan workers nationwide march with the students! We all want the same thing! Freedom!"  - Gabriel Lugo, student leader over twitter on May 1, 2014

Democratic resistance protest march in Venezuela on May 1, 2014

Workers and students joined together in a common front to march for their rights today on May 1, 2014 and in protest against the Maduro regime. On April 28, 2014 Leopoldo López  from prison backed the May Day march: "This May 1st lets all go out to protest. Never have there been so many reasons for our workers to manifest themselves." Leopoldo's wife Lillian took part in the march and called for continued action. On April 30, 2014 students, labor unions and guilds gathered together and mobilized tens of thousands for the May Day march with the hashtag: #thestreetwillnotbesilenced. During today's protests dozens of demonstrators were detained by Maduro's security forces. In addition and ominously two human rights organizations had their offices raided today. Today, jailed opposition leader Leopoldo López made public the following letter outlining the situation and calling for a common resistance front. 

Leopoldo López in Ramo Verde prison

LETTER TO VENEZUELAN WORKERS ON THEIR DAY

From the military prison in Ramo Verde, where I am unjustly imprisoned by a dictatorship that seeks to silence legitimate protest by workers through blackmail, judicial persecution and labor militias I want to extend my message of firmness and support in the struggle for their claims that is also our struggle.

On May 1, 1886 , in the city of Chicago, a front of workers began a day of  nonviolent protests in favor of a maximum 8-hour workday under the slogan "eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep and 8 hours for the family. " This peaceful protest was brutally repressed and its leaders executed. But the force of reason ended by imposing itself over the logic of force and a few years later workers won a resounding victory when most of the laws in the world consecrated the 8-hour work day and May 1 went on record as the day of the workers. 

One hundred and twenty eight years later the government of Nicolás Maduro persecutes, fires and jails workers who refuse to give up their freedoms of association, collective bargaining and protest as mechanisms to improve their living conditions amidst the resounding failure of the socialist economic model and its legacy of inflation, shortages, destruction of national employment and criminalization of public protest including those of the workers.

The minimum wage, even after the insufficient increase announced by Maduro, is the lowest in the region. 85 dollars compared to 487 in Panama , 300 in Colombia, 338 in Ecuador, 265 in Peru and 171 dollars in Bolivia. Only in Cuba , where workers are unfortunately a sort of slave labor exploited by the Cuban government , the minimum wage is lower than in Venezuela (10 dollars) . 

The shortage exceeds 30 percent and workers and their families are denigrated and make long lines to buy commodities. Inflation in food reaches the inhuman figure of 80 percent. In recent months, it has paralyzed much of the national productive apparatus as a result of the lack of foreign currency that for years were devoted to an unsustainable expansion of imported consumer goods at the expense of domestic production. Today, the dictatorship mocks employers and employees in the national economy with promises of a currency that never arrives while there are plants stopped and workers in their homes. 

It is the consequence of an economic production model at odds with production and national employment and addicted to imports that has served to buy the loyalty of governments who, in exchange for getting markets for their products, are willing to tolerate in Venezuela an autocratic regime they would never accept in their countries. I do not hesitate to say that the big losers of the disaster of Maduro have been Venezuelan producers and workers.

But its not only the dismal performance of the dictatorship, which should unite in this fight. It is above all the systematic violations of freedom of Venezuelan workers , especially our public workers union. The right to bargain collectively in the State is in practice suspended and who raise their voices for the enforcement of contracts or the precarious state of public companies are dismissed, prosecuted and jailed . Representatives of the workers are marginalized from the social dialogue. 

The vast majority of workers rejected the application of a socioeconomic model that keeps basic political and trade union freedoms confiscated. They are trying to impose in Venezuela the Chinese - Cuban model: cheap labor and without rights in service to the State and international capital. 

Trade union freedom can only exist in the context of a democratic and pluralistic model of labor relations in the framework of the Rule of Law that guarantees the full exercise of all civil liberties and rights of all. Trade union freedom is an illusion when one is before a government that in addition to employer is labor inspector, judge, police and electoral rector and uses all its power to destroy the autonomy of trade unions and place them in service of the failed project .

 I am convinced that economic and social progress of all Venezuelans is only possible to achieve in a climate of civil liberties and that necessarily involves the articulation of all political and social forces in a common front that would achieve a substitution of the dictatorship led by Nicolás Maduro, through peaceful and constitutional means . Workers and students must be at the forefront of the front along with the political parties.

Today those of us who believe and are ready to defend freedom must unite in the same struggle . Freedom is indivisible and only fighting for it together can we conquer it. Freedom when it starts to disappear when it is most needed, and in Venezuela the lack of freedoms is a reality that affects millions of Venezuelans every day. Let us unite in one front in the same struggle and in the same purpose: that all rights be for all the people , without exceptions and without privileges. 

Leopoldo López 

Ramo Verde military prison 

May 1, 2014


Texto original en castellano.

 

Questions About the State Department's State Sponsor of Terrorism Report on Cuba

There is no merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend." - Mohandas Gandhi

Cuba remains on the list of sponsors of terrorism and based on its past and present behavior it should remain there. Additionally, North Korea that was taken off the list in October 2008 should be returned to the list. However the Bureau of Counterterrorism's country report on Cuba  released on April 30, 2014 is a bit slim. Reading it gave me a flashback of another report prepared in 1998 by the Pentagon that purported to be a Cuban threat assessment to U.S. National Security prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency in coordination with the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the National Security Agency, and the United States Southern Command Joint Intelligence Center. Three years after the report was made public its main author, Ana Belen Montes, a high ranking Defense Intelligence Analyst was arrested as a spy for the Cuban government. She had spied for the Castro regime since 1984 until her arrest in September of 2001.

Reading the Defense Intelligence report in 1998 I noted that a number of facts available in the mainstream press coverage contradicted what was in the report, and Secretary of Defense William Cohen felt that he had to point out concerns not included in the report in the text of the transmittal letter for the report:

While the assessment notes that the direct conventional threat by the Cuban military has decreased, I remain concerned about the use of Cuba as a base for intelligence activities directed against the United States, the potential threat that Cuba may pose to neighboring islands, Castro's continued dictatorship that represses the Cuban people's desire for political and economic freedom, and the potential instability that could accompany the end of his regime depending on the circumstances under which Castro departs. Although the report assesses as unlikely the near-term risk of attacks on United States citizens or residents engaged in peaceful protests in international waters or airspace, Cuban authorities have miscalculated in the past and have not expressed remorse at their killing of four peaceful protesters in February 1996. Finally, I remain concerned about Cuba's potential to develop and produce biological agents, given its biotechnology infrastructure, as well as the environmental health risks posed to the United States by potential accidents at the Juragua nuclear power facility.

In hindsight Secretary Cohen's letter offered a better analysis than the DIA report considering that the Castro regime had infitrated several layers of the U.S. government with well placed spies: Ana Belen Montes at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Rita Velazquez at the Agency for International Development, Kendall Myers at the State Department and had CIA defector Philip Agee also working for the Castros in Havana untl he died in Cuba of old age in 2008. 

Considering the importance of setting the record straight and questioning the non-reporting by the Bureau of Counter-terrorism on items that have appeared recently in the news or other public sources regarding the Castro regime that should be in the report are listed below:

1) The report states that "The Cuban government continued to harbor fugitives wanted in the United States.  The Cuban government also provided support such as housing, food ration books, and medical care for these individuals." But fails to mention that one of these fugitives Assata Shakur on her official website continues to have a copy of the book "Mini Manual of the Urban Guerrilla by Carlos Marighella" that was published into hard copy form and translated into several languages by the Castro regime with a chapter explicitly promoting terrorism. 

2) Frank Terpil, a CIA renegade, who supplied weapons and ran an international murder for hire ring for Moammar Gadhafi was first detected in Cuba in 1995 and is still there living comfortably in 2014 in his Havana home with a young girlfriend. The Libyan tyrant since the early 1980s spoke of sending out hit squads to hunt down and kill dissidents leaving abroad and continued the practice as recently as 2004.Terpil who fled to Cuba, after being sentenced to 53 years in prison for illegal arms sales, had assisted Gadhafi with these murders. According to CIA analyst Brian Latell Terpil went to work for the Cuban intelligence service.  After seeing what he did for Gadhafi what do you think he has been doing for Fidel and Raul Castro?

3) Shipment of arms smuggled from Cuba and on its way to North Korea and detected in Panama on July 15, 2013 led to a United Nations investigation that found the Castro regime violating international sanctions. According to the report in a side note "some of the ... parts could also meet the criteria defined in the list of ... technology related to ballistic missile programmes." Also reported the refusal of the Cuban government to cooperate with the investigation.

4)  The Cuban presence in Venezuela as described in wikileaks and its impact on government policies in that country including assisting FARC narcotics trafficking, providing FARC heavy weapons, and encouraging close working relationships including sharing intelligence with Middle Eastern terror sponsors: Syria and Iran that are ongoing not to mention coordinating and advising on how to terrorize nonviolent Venezuelan protesters.

5) In 2012 there were reports in the media of Cuban, Iranian and Venezuelan officials meeting in Mexico to discuss cyber attacks on U.S. soil allegedly also seeking information about nuclear power plants in the United States. Supposedly the FBI had opened an investigation into the matter, but there is no mention of this in the State Department's 2013 or the current report.

Sadly in the case of both Libya and North Korea, politics trumped truth and they were removed from the list of state sponsors. History has demonstrated that in the first case it was a decision based in blood for oil and in the second case to encourage North Korea's nuclear disarmament failed. Let us hope that while the Castro regime continues to sponsor terrorism that the facts on the ground are ignored for some perceived political expediency or economic interest.