Correcting some of Chuck Offenburger's errors about the Cuban revolution and the dictatorship in Havana

 Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” - Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan

 

Reverend Raul Suarez with Fidel Castro

Chuck Offenburger has written a blog entry "Banning Christmas in Cuba was an ‘error’ that Fidel Castro fixed: It’s time for the U.S. to correct our own errors there" that regurgitates Cuban communist propaganda. I do not believe that was his intent.

Totalitarian regimes have a track record of effectively using tourism, athletic events, and academic exchanges to present their regimes in a manner that legitimizes them and covers up their hostile objectives. 

An excellent accounting of these practices and their impacts on national and international politics is found in Paul Hollander's book Political Pilgrims that should be required reading for anyone traveling to Cuba, China, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela, or Vietnam.

There is much to address, and it will be broken up into a series of blog entries. 

These blog entries will review a number of the claims Mr. Offenburger makes in chronological order, and provide documented sources to test them.

They will also highlight some of the errors made by the United States in dealing with the Cuban revolution (1953 - 1959) and the Communist dictatorship (1959 - present).

 Mr. Offenburger begins his blog entry with the claim that "religious and church life in Cuba is thriving, and has been since the 1990s." He then goes on to cite as a source for this claim Reverend Raúl Suárez.

This blog entry will explore who is Reverend Raúl Suárez and his claims about Fidel Castro "fixing" the error of banning religion.

Reverend Raúl Suárez was expelled in 1986 from the Baptist Convention in Cuba for "apostasy and heresy" for his unconditional support for the regime.  He had created within the Baptist Church an Association of Churches with that political purpose. Suárez, far from complying, robbed the Baptist Convention of the Temple, the house and its bank account of 25,000 pesos, and with the support of the Government - which did not pursue the accusation of theft presented by the Baptist Convention - he registered the new convention."

Reverend Suárez in 2022 was described by Cuban independent journalist Yoe Suárez (no relation) as being an example of one of the pastors who emerged from historic churches, "who support the regime."

Human Rights Watch in their 1999 report Cuba's Repressive Machinery: Human Rights Forty Years After the Revolution provided more context, and the leverage placed by Havana in advancing a policy for sanctions to be lifted, and democracy promotion ended.

Cuba grants the Department of Attention to Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Departamento de Atención a los Asuntos Religiosos del Comité Central del Partido Comunista) a prominent role in overseeing religious institutions. Not surprisingly, religious leaders who support the government face fewer impediments to their activities than do believers who find themselves at odds with the ruling party. 

At the 1991 Communist Party Fourth Congress, the party decided that religious belief would no longer pose an obstacleto membership.84 In the wake of this decision, some religious figures are now members of the Communist Party or even political leaders themselves, such as Pablo Odén Marichal, the president of the Cuban Council of Churches (Consejo Cubano de Iglesias), who is a deputy in Cuba's National Assembly. Baptist Minister Raúl Suárez Ramos, with the Cuban Council of Churches, also is a deputy in Cuba's National Assembly, and heads the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, a nongovernmental group with close ties to the government.85 Suárez Ramos earned government acclaim in 1990 when he lauded the revolution as "a blessing for our poor people" and criticized U.S. policy toward Cuba as an "economic, political, radio, and television aggression."86 

Both deputies often travel internationally and participate in conferences on religion in Cuba. But the party treats distinctly those who do not share its political views. The current head of the party's religious affairs office, Caridad Diego, criticized an American Catholic priest who had worked in the Villa Clara area for supporting "counterrevolutionary groups."87 The priest, Patrick Sullivan, had posted copies of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in his church and had urged his parishioners to defend those rights. In April 1998, facing increasing government pressure, Sullivan chose to leave Cuba. Although Cuba and the Vatican had agreed that the pope would visit Cuba in 1989, the Catholic church's failure to condemn the U.S. embargo at that time apparently contributed to the several-year delay in finalizing the visit.88 When the pope did travel to Cuba in early 1998, the Cuban government trumpeted his criticisms of the U.S. embargo.

Let us briefly review the steps taken by the Castro regime to crush religion in Cuba, and those measures that remain in place.

In May 1961, the Cuban dictatorship confiscated private schools ( both religous and secular) and most seminaries in an effort to eliminate religion.  Private religious schools remain illegal in Cuba in 2023, and some Cubans in the island are demanding their return due to the low quality of the public schools. There are private schools for the children of foreign diplomats, and foreign business people.

In September 1961, the Castro regime at gunpoint collected 131 priests, brothers and a bishop, placing them on board the Spanish ship Covadonga and deported them from Cuba. Many of the remaining priests were sent to forced labor camps. Over 300 priests, brothers, and nuns were expelled from Cuba in 1961 alone.

The communist dictatorship declared itself an atheist state in 1962, and openly hostile to religion. Christmas ended as a holiday in Cuba in 1969.  

The collapse of the Eastern European communist block in 1989, and the Soviet Union in 1992 led Havana to seek bankrolling from the West, and necessitated a limited opening on the religous front in 1992. The restoration of Christmas in 1997 was a concession granted to the Vatican to obtain a state visit by Pope John Paul II, in which he called for the World to open to Cuha, and for Cuba to open to the World..

Today, the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA), an arm of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, still oversees religious affairs in Cuba, and exists to monitor, hinder and restrict religious activities. They also continue to demolish churches with bulldozers and organize mobs to harass Christians in acts of repudiation coordinated with the Ministry of the Interior. 

On April 9, 2015 on the eve of the Summit of the Americas in Panama, agents of the Castro regime carried out various acts of repudiation against Cuban and Venezuelan members of civil society that they deemed unacceptable due to their dissent or opposition with either Havana or Caracas.

Physical violence ensued, and people were hurt.

Reverend Raúl Suárez in an interview published in a pro-regime blog on April 28, 2015 celebrated his own participation in these actions, saying "he had never been closer to God," and gave it a pro-regime spin. Below is a translation excerpted from that interview.

In a meeting that recently took place at the Ministry of Culture, where the attitude of the Cuban delegation in Panama was recognized, you said that you had never been closer to God in those days. Why?

I said it for two reasons. Because when I am among people who do not have religious beliefs, I like to place the topic of faith in an attractive way, so that there is the highest level of understanding and empathy among everyone. On the other hand, in churches there is sometimes the opinion that a Christian's participation in politics is a mistake, some even say that it is a sin. That is not right. I am not interested in politics that has to do with political campaigns, fundraising, fights between politicians... The politics that interests me is that which starts from the etymology of the term, referring to the people, the polis, which is the organization of the people for the common good, in this case, the quality of life of the Cuban people. That is why I felt that presence of God in Panama, when I opposed in a fair fight against those who wanted to turn the “house of prayers into a den of thieves”, against those who want to bias the right of Cubans to choose their own system. 

In 2015 the dictatorship ordered that five churches in the Abel Santa Maria neighbourhood of the city of Santiago de Cuba be demolished. According to Christianity Today the order was issued on November 27, 2015 and pastors and their families, living on Church grounds, were evicted.

Homeschooling, to avoid anti-Christian indoctrination taught in the schools, is prohibited in Cuba. Two Christian pastors were jailed for homeschooling their children, and an independent journalist was beaten and jailed for covering their trial in April 2019. Pastor Ayda Expósito was released from prison nearly a year later on April 3, 2020, and her husband Pastor Ramón Rigal was released three months later on July 1, 2020.  Independent journalist Roberto Quiñones Haces was released on September 4, 2020 in an emaciated state, compared to when he entered prison on September 11, 2019.  

Unable to destroy religion, the Castro dictatorship now manipulates it, similar to Communist China. There is an official Church, and the underground Church that continues to be persecuted. Reverend Raúl Suárez is part of the official church, that uses the name of Martin Luther King Jr. while celebrating violence against pro-democracy activists, remaining silent before the demolition of Churches on the island,.and denying ongoing religious persecution.

Mr. Offenburger should reach out to other religious figures on the island who bear witness for the persecuted Church.

Would recommend speaking to, and reading about Reverend Mario Felix Lleonart, a Cuban pastor who obtained political asylum in the United States in 2016, but maintains connections with the island.  If you had followed his social media you'd know that religious figures in Cuba were visted on Christmas day, and told to report to state security the following day.

Would also recommend reading the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report on the murders of Catholic laymen, and human rights defenders Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero Escalante that was published in June 2023 that holds the Cuban government responsible for their killings.

Cuba is a totalitarian communist dictatorship that also successfully oversaw the dismantlement of democracies in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and continues to sponsor and support international terrorism through alliances with Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

This is the first in a series. Stay tuned.

Vigil at Cuban Embassy Feb 20th for OZT & BTTR, others plan events for 2/23 for OZT & 2/24 for BTTR

#WeRemember

Last night on February 20, 2020 human rights activists gathered outside of the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC in a silent vigil for justice to remember Orlando Zapata Tamayo killed by the Castro regime on February 23, 2010 while on hunger strike, and the four members of Brothers to the Rescue shot down by the Castro regime MiGs on February 24, 1996, while Armando Alejandre Jr. (45 years old), Carlos Alberto Costa (29), Mario Manuel de la Peña (24), and Pablo Morales (29) were in two planes engaged in a search and rescue flight for rafters.

Others carried photos of Laura Pollán and Oswaldo Payá martyred by the Castro regime in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

The Center for a Free Cuba obtained a permit from the Washington DC Metro Police to hold the vigil, and the Free Cuba Foundation publicized the event.

The silent vigil began at 7:00pm and concluded with a prayer by Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso for Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, Pablo Morales, and other martyrs of the regime, and for the freedom of the Cuban people.

On Sunday, February 23 at 3:00pm, the time Orlando Zapata Tamayo died, there will be a vigil at the Bay of Pigs Monument (Torch) on Cuban Memorial Boulevard located at 806 SW 13th Ave, Miami, FL 33135. Details on the vigil were announced on WWFE 830 AM. by Mercedes Perdigón of Exilio Unido in an interview with Carlos Santana.

On Monday, February 24, at 3:00pm friends and families of Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, and members of the FIU community will gather and hold a vigil to remember them and silently demand justice 24 years after the shoot down.

The vigil will take place at Florida International University ( University Park campus) located at 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33199 at the main fountain next to the Main Library and Student Union. The silent vigil take place start at 3:21pm and end at 3:27pm, the times the two Brothers to the Rescue planes were destroyed by missiles launched from Castro's MiGs killing Armando, Carlos, Mario, and Pablo. This vigil has been taking place at FIU annually since 1996.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released a report on the February 24, 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown in 1999 and a press release on the February 23, 2010 killing of Orlando Zapata Tamayo.

Remembering some of the victims of Cuban communism: Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia

The hope of impunity is the greatest inducement to do wrong. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia died three days after beating by political police

 Some psychologists argue that as the number of victims increase into the hundreds, and thousands that compassion collapses out of the human fear of being overwhelmed. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin put it more succinctly: "When one man dies it's a tragedy. When thousands die it's statistics." In the case of Cuba the communist regime has killed tens of thousands, and many have become numb in the face of this horror. Therefore on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first communist regime in Russia, that caused so much harm around the world, will focus on the small corner of Cuba and on an infinitesimal sampling of some of the victims of Cuban communism.

In this fifth entry will focus on the death of Cuban dissident and former political prisoner, Juan Wilfredo Soto (age 46) beaten and arrested by the Castro regime's police on Thursday, May 5, 2011 while protesting the dictatorship and died early on Sunday May 8, 2011. The beating had been so bad that he required hospitalization.

Previous entries in this series where about Cubans trying to change the system nonviolently. The first entry concerned Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a humble bricklayer turned courageous human rights defender who paid the ultimate price in 2010 for speaking truth to power. The second entry focused on Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, a Catholic lay activist, nonviolence icon, husband, father of three and the founder of a Cuban opposition movement that shook up the Castro regime with a petition drive demanding that human rights be respected and recognized in Cuba. This action and speaking truth to power led to his extrajudicial killing in 2012. The third entry focused on one of the great crimes of the Castro regime that has been well documented by international human rights organizations and reported on ABC News Nightline that claimed the lives of 37 men, women, and children. They were trying to flee the despotism in Cuba to live in freedom and were extrajudicially executed. The fourth entry focused on four men. members of the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, killed when the two planes they were flying in were shot down on a Saturday afternoon at 3:21 and 3:27 on February 24, 1996 over international airspace while engaged in a search and rescue flight for Cuban rafters. Their planes were destroyed by air-to-air missiles fired by a Cuban MiG-29 aircraft on the orders of Raul and Fidel Castro. 

Six years ago the headlines circled the world in English and in Spanish covered by Reuters, the BBC, CNN, AFP, AP, EFE that a Cuban dissident and former political prisoner, Juan Wilfredo Soto (age 46) had been beaten and arrested by Cuban regime police on Thursday, May 5, 2011 while protesting the dictatorship and died early on Sunday May 8, 2011. The beating had been so bad that he required hospitalization. He was buried Sunday, on Mother's Day.

There are others but the regime has been often successful in intimidating family members and destroying the evidence of their crimes. "This act of police violence is not an isolated case. Each day in Cuba those in uniform respect less the citizens," said Yoani Sanchez over Twitter on the day of the burial. 


 
According to dissidents who attended and media accounts more than 80 attended Juan Wilfredo Soto's funeral despite a heavy police presence and state security operation that blocked some activists from attending. The government agents responsible for this man's extra-judicial death must be held accountable if not by national laws then by international law.  At the funeral a Cuban pastor spoke about the life of the Cuban activist and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Children of Juan Wilfredo Soto mourn their dad

Juan Wilfredo Soto left behind two children and their mom. He was a member of the Opposition Central Coalition and was known as "The Student." He was a former political prisoner who had served 12 years in prison. His mother, who suffers from a bad hip, buried her son on Mother's Day. Pictures of Juan Wilfredo Soto's family members provided by Yoani Sanchez through twitter.

Six years have passed and justice has not been done in this case. Nevertheless we must remember, and with this exercise of memory continue to demand justice for Juan Wilfredo and his loved ones.

Religious repression worsens in Cuba

More churches are being destroyed in Cuba and pastors harassed and beaten in 2016

 
 On August 16, 2016 Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the pace of church demolitions in Cuba was increasing. According to CSW in their latest report on freedom of belief or religion there were 1,606 separate violations between January and July 2016.  This worsening situation compound the explosive growth of repression last year. In 2015 there was a tenfold increase in religious repression compared to 2014 with 2,300 separate violations recorded in 2015 compared to 220 in 2014.

Rev Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso arrested and taken away March 20, 2016

 Carey Lodge, a journalist for Christian Today reported on March 21, 2016 that a day earlier:

"Rev Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso's home and church were surrounded by police and state security agents early in the morning on March 20, he told Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) ahead of his arrest.  The pastor was then arrested and taken away by officials, while his wife, Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez, was placed under house arrest. She and the couple's two young daughters have been locked inside their home, in Taguayabon, Villa Clara Province, and their phone connection has been cut.

Before being cut off, Marcheco Suarez was able to speak to CSW over the phone. Though the family and church have not been allowed to speak to Barroso directly, she said she'd been told that her husband had been taken to the city of Santa Clara, and was being refused food or drink.

She added that the pastor had already been ill over the weekend, after a stranger pricked him with a pin while he was on public transport last week."

 The March 20th arrest just hours before the start of President Obama's official visit to Cuba speaks volumes of the nature of the so-called normalized relations between the Obama administration and the Castro regime as does the exponential increase in religious repression since the December 17, 2014 announcement that relations would be normalized.

Rev Mario Felix with wife Yoaxis and two kids

Three days before President Obama arrived in Cuba, a Chilean former Minister of Culture and former Ambassador to Mexico Roberto Ampuero tweeted in Spanish the following: "Paradox: After decades backing Right wing dictatorships in Latin America, now the United States could end up backing a Left wing dictatorship." 

Below is video of the March 20, 2016 arrest of the Cuban pastor.