U.S. Actions Toward Cuba Worry Envoy

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Mon, Jan. 19, 2004

U.S. Actions Toward Cuba Worry Envoy
GEORGE GEDDA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Dabogerto Rodriguez, Cuba's top diplomat in Washington, spends his days looking for hints about what the Bush administration has in mind for his country. He doesn't like what he sees.

Is "regime change" in the cards in this election year, he wonders. That possibility can't be ruled out, he says, because the administration "has proved a tendency in the past to solve problems through violent means."

The Bush White House has never outlined such an objective. It has, however, expressed an interest in hastening a transition to democratic rule in communist-run Cuba.

Rodriguez is not sure what that means, and he spelled out his concerns to a reporter in an interview last week at Cuba's stately diplomatic mission a mile or so north of the White House. He said Cuba's suspicions have been heightened by what he sees as several "provocative" U.S. actions in recent days.
(snip/...)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/7744643.htm

[colonel odis]

1. an interesting conundrum

bush would find himself in.

if he overthrows cuba, he'll want to sell it to resort developers and mutli-national corporations. yet lots of cuban families will want to reclaim the property seized by the state when castro came to power.

who's bush willing to piss off. hint: i won't be the guys with bags of money. maybe this will be one of bush's october surprises. the election will be over long before the dust settles and that little matter or property is to be sorted out.

[Mika]

2. Don't worry...

Remember,

No Castro = no anti Castro lobby (and, conversely, no need for a pro trade lobby).

Members of BOTH parties pander to the anti Castro/ anti trade lobby, and, therefore, benefit (campaign $$) from the continued the standoff.

Members of BOTH parties pander to the pro trade/travel lobby, and, therefore, benefit (campaign $$) from the continued the standoff.

The anti Castro posturing by the bush admin is pure pandering rhetoric... this, in turn, requires a pandering response from the pro trade factions (from both parties). All of this adds up to bipartisan pandering and campaign contributions up the yim yang, from and to both sides.

There is more gain to be had (for both parties) for the standoff to continue.

[Osolomia]

3. Guess you forgot that Cuba was owned by foreigners, not Cubans

that's one reason why they had the Revolution! About the most the Cuban "exiles" owned is the house that their relatives are currently living in.

The USA is the only country in the world that refuses to come to the negotiating table to settle its claims of expropriated property. Canada, Mexico, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and all the other countries that had property expropriated amicably settled their claims with Cuba years ago.

It's the Dems who are in a conundrum clinging to their ignorant fantasies to justify their complicity with the Bush Doctrine of pandering to the extremist right wing minority in Florida in defiance of the will of the overwhelming bipartisan majority across the country.

[peacetalksforall]

4. It's a combination....

Cubans in the U.S. will go in and 'take' the land they claim is theirs, then they will sell it to the resort developers with the help of the mafia or become the resort developer themselves, if not the government officials. Oh, there are so many ways for U.S. Cubans to take over.

I feel extreme sorrow for the little people of Cuba.

It only makes sense that the 43 year Democrat-hating U.S. Cubans will believe that this is their last opportunity to become wealthy rascals under their friends the Republicans. All that support they received for 43 years as exiles from communism is fading. Light is shining on the reality of their having held us hostage for decades by bribing U.S. congressmen and women of both parties.

The embargo should have been lifted and relationships jump-started when the Berlin wall came down if not before. Many U.S. Cubans have made plenty in this country by making themselves the recipients of your tax money with the help of Dem and Repub congresspeople, well beyond any immigrant group in our history. Now, it's time to become even richer.

Beware little people of Cuba. You may not be staying on your little plots of land and in your little abodes much longer. I hope it all works out OK for you.

[Vogon_Glory]

5. Don't Be To Sure, Though...

Despite my firm belief that both the right-wing exile leadership as well as Dubya's Anglo right-wing friends think that they can pull off a "regime change" to install a neo-Batista, I'm not so sure that they can get away with it.

Even as we speak, European Union countries have heavy investments in Cuba and as a whole, the EU has enough economic muscle, if not enough military muscle, to make would-be land-grabbers pay dearly for their efforts to turn the Cuban clock back to 1958. Would be grabbers would facing EU lawsuits filed both in European and American courts.

At this point, I think it's almost inevitable that Cuba is going to fall into the European Union's economic orbit. An attempted power grab and the resulting insurgency would accelerate that trend.