BY CLAUDIA MEIJIDES – On December 17, 2014, the White House released a statement by President Obama discussing future Cuba policy changes. President Obama affirmed that the “outdated approach”[1] the United States of America has with Cuba would cease to exist. Relations between both countries will begin to normalize. These changes will not only create more opportunities for the Cuban people, but it will also open doors for Americans in Cuba. To this day, an ideological and economical barrier separates the two countries.[2] Just 90 miles separate the Cuban people from the United States of America.
History denotes that the Cuban exile community in the United States has contributed enormously to American society. Cuban exiles have emerged in politics, business, and sports. Exiles have managed effectively to merge the two cultures together. Yet, tensions exist between Cuba and America. The Presidential Address discussed what the United States’ role has been as supporters of democracy and human rights in Cuba by establishing policies. Policies established prevent travel and commerce to the island. Today, the Castros still govern the island through the Communist Party.
The President of the United States of America instructed Secretary John Kerry to discuss with Cuba about reestablishing relations.[3] The President intends the United States to reestablish an embassy in Havana. The next step President Obama ordered Secretary Kerry to do is to review Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.[4] The review will be “guided by the facts and the law.”[5] Terrorism, President Obama said, is not the same today as it was years ago. He seemed adamant that a nation that renounces terrorism and “meets our condition”[6] should have its designation in the State Sponsor of Terrorism list removed. Lastly, the President expects the embargo removed from Cuba. More than 50 years have passed since the United States of America announced and affirmed the embargo or “el bloqueo,” the “blockade.” “El bloqueo” economically sanctioned Cuba and created restrictions on travel and commerce for all who desired to visit the island or those that wished to create business in Cuba.[7]
To this day, I have been quiet about Cuba. Maybe it was to avoid “political” discussions in such a sensitive issue around certain individuals I felt had really strong, sometimes hostile opinions about Cuba? Or maybe it was because I felt like my opinion did not matter. Today, I invoke my First Amendment right.[8]
I struggle to accept President Obama’s political change with Cuba. As much as I love both of my countries, I stop and wonder what true benefit will come to the Cuban people, if as Raul Castro very eloquently stated, “nuestra disposición a sostener con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos un diálogo respetuoso, basado en la igualdad soberana, para tratar los más diversos temas de forma recíproca, sin menoscabo a la independencia nacional y la autodeterminación de nuestro pueblo.”[9] It seems to me like Castro intends to continue to run “his” country the way “he” thinks is “right.” Which means that human rights and democracy in Cuba might never occur. Yet, who will benefit if the United States lifts the embargo? For many years now the Cuban people have known only famine, sadness, loneliness and desperation. Will this “new” change truly help the island full of people who find themselves deprived of what the world has to offer? Or, is it better to demand that Castro give back the power to the people. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to allow Cubans to vote and to travel anywhere they wish? Should Castro change Cuba’s dual monetary system, the National Cuban Peso and the Chavito and just offer one? All Cubans are paid for their work with Pesos. Pesos are not enough to sustain a person in an island that sells its products food, clothing, toothpaste, and soap among other things with Chavitos. Because wages are low Castro gives “his” people “La Libreta,” a little notebook that tells you how much rations you get monthly. The Cuban government also controls everyday essentials, like electricity and water. The government allocates a certain amount of time each day where its citizens have available water and electricity to use. But, after the time is up you have to wait until the next day. Unless you live near a hospital, the odds will never be in your favor.
Additionally, removing Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism might not necessarily be the best idea yet. On July 15, 2013, a North Korean ship was seized with Cuban weapons.[10] Panama Canal Authority seized the ship. Hidden under sacks of sugar cane were Soviet-era weapons, military hardware including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.[11] The North Korean official statement was that these “ageing weapons were simply being transferred…to be repaired before returning them.”[12] The questions in my mind is, why the secrecy? Why go through the trouble of hiding the weapons in the first place?
I am a Cuban-American. I came to this country when I was four-years old on a raft. We were at sea for four nights and three days, in search of a future. Regardless of my humble opinion in this blog or any other opinion for that matter, the United States of America must be mindful of one thing. At the end, whether plans pan out or not the only people who truly suffer will be the Cuban people, independent from the Communist government governed by the Castros.
[1] The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes, (Dec. 17, 2014, 12:01 PM), http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/statement-president-cuba-policy-changes.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] U.S. Dep’t of State, State Sponsors of Terrorism, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Cuba Embargo, Should the U.S. Maintain its Embargo with Cuba?, http://cuba-embargo.procon.org.
[8] U.S. CONST. amend. 1.
[9] Texto Completo del discurso de Raul Castro sobre el acercamiento con Estados Unidos, (Dec, 17, 20014), http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2014/12/17/texto-completo-del-discurso-de-raul-castro-sobre-el-acercamiento-con-estados-unidos/. Raul Castro: “[u]n dialago respetuoso, basado en la Iigualdad soberana… sin menoscabo la independencia nacional y la autodeterminacion de nuestro pueblo.” (Raul Castro: [A] respectful dialogue, based on sovereign equality… Without impairing the national independence and the self-determination of our country….)
[10] Latin America & Caribbean, N Korean ship seized with Cuban weapons returns to Cuba, (Feb 5, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26210187.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
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Claudia Meijides is a 2016 Staff Editor of the Race and Social Justice Law Review.
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