Capitol Hill Cubans

In My Humble Opinion, Pt. 45

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:57:00 +0000

From The Miami Herald:

There have been signs on two fronts this week that the Obama administration is willing to work toward warmer relations with Cuba that have been all but frozen since Havana jailed a U.S. government subcontractor in 2009.

Two days of talks between U.S. and Cuban officials on resuming direct mail to Cuba — a service that has been cut off for five decades — began Tuesday in Washington, and, perhaps more significantly, sources said that U.S. and Cuban officials plan to resume migration talks in July [...]

Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the mail talks aren’t in the interest of the United States. She also predicted the migration talks would go nowhere.

“There is no reason to have this talk because the ones not complying with the mail accords from years ago are the Castro thugs," she said in a statement. “The regime is once again manipulating the U.S. administration in this game because it wants us to lift the embargo and make further concessions. Meanwhile, a U.S. citizen languishes unjustly in a Cuban prison and brave freedom Cuban activists are risking their lives while on hunger strikes to protest the island tyranny.”

Mauricio Claver-Carone, director of the pro-embargo U.S. Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee, concurred. “We look forward to the day the Obama administration stops rewarding the Castro regime for taking an American hostage and for its dramatic increase in repression.”

Castro Knocks Off Assad's "Reform" Website

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:45:00 +0000

Dictators have no originality.

According to Cuba Standard:

The Cuban government approved the creation of a Website that publishes political outlines, laws and regulations of its economic reforms, Vice President Marino Murillo announced at a conference of accountants and economists in Havana, according to Prensa Latina.

This website is a knock-off of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's online compilation, "Comprehensive Reform Decision and Decrees."

Let's not forget that for years Assad was praised by the Western media as a great "reformer."

Saddest part is that Assad's "reforms" make Raul's look like child's play.

With "reformers" like these...

From the U.S. State Department

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:12:00 +0000

An interesting exchange during today's State Department Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Jen Psaki:

QUESTION: All right. And then if there’s nothing else on North Korea, I just want to nail down the postal talks with Cuba.

MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Do you expect anything out of this round or is this really not – is this just – in other words, if these two days of talks are a success, there won’t be direct mail service immediately, I presume, but maybe I’m wrong, so could you --

MS. PSAKI: That’s a good question on the timeline. Just to give you a little bit of history here, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 states that, quote, “The United States Postal Service shall take such actions as are necessary to provide direct mail service to and from Cuba.” So this is – as you mentioned, on June 18th and 19th – well, you didn’t mention the dates, but so everybody knows, representatives from the Department of State and the United States Postal Service will meet with representatives from the Government of Cuba for a technical discussion on reestablishing direct transportation of mail. The reason we’re doing this is because it’s, of course, good for the Cuban people. This is something we feel is good for us. But it’s not meant to be a signal of anything or indicate a change in policy.

QUESTION: Are those talks here or in --

MS. PSAKI: In terms of the exact location, I’m not sure if they’re at the Department of State or if they’re just somewhere else in the --

QUESTION: Are those talks exclusively on the mail service?

MS. PSAKI: That is with the United States Postal Service. That’s their purview.

QUESTION: But I’m saying is it mainly about the – is there anything going to come up about Mr. Gross?

MS. PSAKI: I don’t want to predict. There are issues that are, of course, raised on both sides. As you know, this is an issue that has been raised at the highest levels from the United States, but given these are talks with the Postal Service, I would expect that will be the focus.

QUESTION: Just one more. I mean, is the U.S. Postal Service in any kind of position to make any kind of deals or agreements with Cuba? I mean, this is an organization that is essentially going broke, and I’m just curious. Is --

MS. PSAKI: Well, I think that’s combining two different things, in my opinion. This has been – we have had – I read off the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992.

QUESTION: Right.

MS. PSAKI: So they’re simply allowing mail to travel, which is – I would assume provides them with more revenue, with more stamps used.

QUESTION: Considering that – well, all right, exactly. So in other words, this could actually help the Postal Union’s budget if they are able to --

MS. PSAKI: I don’t want to go too far on it, but – I don’t want to go too far, Matt, but it’s more people using their services.

QUESTION: Jen, a clarification on that too. What is the genesis of this? I mean, how did these talks actually come about? Who asked for them?

MS. PSAKI: Well, this is something that the U.S. has felt would be a positive step for the Cuban people. We felt it was in our interests. In terms of who specifically asked for it, I don’t have that level of detail, but it’s just something that we felt it was – it would be positive moving forward.

QUESTION: But basically, the U.S. asked for it?

MS. PSAKI: I would have to check on that for you, but it’s something, again, that we are very supportive of and we are, of course, helping direct here.

QUESTION: Isn’t it a continuation of the talks from 2009 that were on the same subject?

MS. PSAKI: Well, I don’t know if I’d call it a continuation because it’s been a number of years, but yes, it’s on the same subject, and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to move things forward.

Raul's Sugar Flop (Scam)

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:43:00 +0000

Remember this Reuters story from 2011?

"Cuba is closing its once powerful Sugar Ministry in favor of a state holding company charged with pulling the sector out of a long decline, official media announced on Thursday.

President Raul Castro was quoted as stating the ministry would be replaced by holding company."

What they didn't tell you is that Cuba's Sugar Ministry was already under the control of Castro's military and headed up by General Ulises Rosales del Toro.

The Ministry became a military-owned company named Grupo Empresarial de la Agroindustria Azucarera (Azcuba).

This "reform" was simply a name change.

So it shouldn't have come as a surprise this week, when the Castro regime announced that Azcuba's sugar production fell 11% short of its forecast.

"Organization" and "efficiency" problems were cited as the main reasons.

Can't imagine why.

On U.S.-Cuba Direct Mail Talks

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:12:00 +0000

This morning, a State Department official leaked to the Associated Press that the U.S. will be holding bilateral talks with the Cuban dictatorship on direct mail between both nations.

The fact that these talks were leaked to the media prior to appropriately briefing Congress raises questions regarding the good faith and intention of these talks.

Direct mail to Cuba was authorized by Congress under the 1992 Cuba Democracy Act. Since that time, there have been multiple direct talks with the Castro regime on this issue, to no avail.

The Castro regime has repeatedly sought to coerce the U.S. into bilateral talks, but has yet to allow direct mail from the U.S. to enter Cuba. If they were serious about this issue, they would have permitted direct U.S. mail to enter Cuba long ago.

As history has proven, this latest ruse remains an unmerited attempt by the Castro regime to bring the U.S. to the negotiating table, in order to extract unilateral concessions.

This has also proven to be the case regarding the arbitrary imprisonment of American development worker Alan Gross, which the Castro regime has admitted is being held hostage in an attempt to coerce the U.S. to free four Cuban spies convicted by federal courts.

The timing is also curious as two Cuban political prisoners and a democracy activist are currently in a critical state pursuant to hunger strikes protesting their unjust imprisonment and conditions.

The State Department should remain weary of such manipulations and distractions by the Castro regime.

Two U.S. Reps. Host Reception in Support of Cuban Spies

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:57:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, a group of (literally) pro-Castro activists (mostly foreigners) held a forum and march in Washington, D.C. in support of five (now four) Cuban spies imprisoned in the U.S.

It's always fascinating to watch pro-Castro activists use democracy to support a dictatorship.

Donning their Che berets and "Viva la Revolucion!" signs, they marched in front of The White House and held various speaking engagements, including one (of course) at the Cuban Interests Section, where they held a teleconference with Rene Gonzalez, one the five spies who completed his prison term and was returned to Cuba (thus, now four remaining).

An item that was curiously on their agenda was a "Reception at Capitol Hill hosted by a U.S. Congressman."

However, no details were included.

Why?

Was this U.S. Congressman too embarrassed to be hosting an event in favor of Cuban spies convicted in U.S. federal court for, among other things, conspiracy to commit murder and infiltrating U.S. military facilities?

Never missing a propaganda opportunity, the Castro regime's state media revealed that the Congressional hosts were U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) -- below is a picture of them at the event.

Apparently, there was even a video of the entire event also, but it has since been removed.

How come?

Are U.S. Reps. Rush and Clarke too embarrassed to be seen and heard praising the Cuban dictatorship and its spies?

Maybe not -- but they should be.

Great Point on Child-Sex Predators in Cuba

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:18:00 +0000

By renowned Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez:

Recently the Canadian James McTurk was convicted in Toronto for several sexual offenses against children in Cuba, including some as young as three. The story has not been published in the national media, but the predator was in our country 31 times between 2009 and 2012. It’s not credible that immigration authorities so skilled in detecting whether Cubans can enter their own country, and customs officials trained to find a laptop or a mobile phone in luggage, didn’t realize that something was wrong with that man. It is also sad that, given this is one of the evils that afflict our society, a group of alarmed parents is not even allowed to form a group of citizens to denounce pedophiles and to support solidarity for the victims of these criminals.

Meet Political Prisoner(s) Osvaldo Rodriguez Acosta & His Son

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:28:00 +0000

Cuban democracy activist Osvaldo Rodriguez Acosta is the head of the Patriotic Alliance Movement ("Movimiento Alianza Patriótica").

In September 2012, the Castro regime's secret police stormed into his home and arrested him, along with his wife and son.

In April 2013, Rodriguez Acosta was handed a 9-year prison sentence.

Meanwhile, his son, Osvaldo Rodriguez Castillo, was handed a 7-year prison sentence and his wife, Juana Castillo, a 5-year sentence of non-confined correctional work.

Rodriguez Acosta is on the 37th day of a hunger strike, which he began on May 10th, at the notorious prison facility of Combinado del Este.

He is currently confined at a prison hospital in poor physical condition.

Below are pictures of Osvaldo Rodriguez, father and son, pursuant to attacks by the Cuban authorities.

Cuba Tourism Continues Decline

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:28:00 +0000

From Cuba Standard:

Continuing a slide that began early this year, visitor numbers in April were 3.9 percent below those of April 2012, mainly due to weakness in European source markets, and a drop of visitors from the United States.

Close to 274,000 visitors arrived at the island in April, down from 288,000 in 2012, according to statistics released by the Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE).

The total for the year through the end of April was 1.222 million, down 1.4 percent.

Visitors from Canada, Cuba’s main tourism source market, rose 1.3 percent in April, and visitors from the United Kingdom (+8.1%), Germany (+11.8%), and Chile (+38.6%) increased considerably. However, the number of visitors from “other” countries, the second largest category which includes the United States, was down a hefty 13.4 percent in April. The number of visitors from France (-6.8%), Spain (-39.5%) and Italy (-7.2%) continued to decline.

NEW TIME: "From Washington al Mundo" Moves to 6 PM

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:15:00 +0000

Today #FWAM, Sean McMeekin's new book 'July 1914', @theIWP's Dr. Chodakiewicz on totalitarianism, @BenWeinthal on Germany @SIRIUSXM #153 6PM
— Cristina Radio (@radiocristina) June 17, 2013

NEW TIME: Starting this Monday, listen to #FromWashingtonAlMundo with Mauricio Claver-Carone at 6 PM EST. On your drive home @SIRIUSXM #153
— Cristina Radio (@radiocristina) June 16, 2013

Must-Watch: Life of an Independent Journalist in Cuba

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Please watch below the amazing remarks (with English captions) of Roberto de Jesus Guerra at the 2013 Oslo Freedom Forum.

Guerra is the founder of the Cuban independent news agency, Hablemos Press.

Here's his opening statement:

"When I was 14 years old, I participated in a meeting in my neighborhood, organized by the Cuban Communist Party. The Party delegate said that 'we should be grateful to the Revolution for the food they sell us through the ration card.' I responded telling him that 'with 5 pounds of rice and 10 ounces of beans we can't live.' A few days later, I was arrested and imprisoned for pre-criminal social dangerousness, together with 196 other teenagers from my region. I was sentenced to one year-and-six months of forced labor at a center for minors where I was forced to cut sugar cane. My story was never published in the media. My name is Roberto de Jesus Guerra Perez and I am an independent journalist."

The Cowardice of Havana's News Bureaus

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:22:00 +0000

It's fascinating to watch the courage with which the AP and other news agencies have (rightfully) challenged the intimidation and attack on speech by the Obama Administration's Justice Department.

Yet, simultaneously, the cowardice with which the AP and some of the same news bureaus act in Havana towards the Castro dictatorship.

This week, Havana's foreign correspondents have spent most their time and resources focused on an Australian swimmer that unsuccessfully tried to cross the Florida Straits.

Then, the AP switched to a story about Cuban scientists expressing concern about climate change damage to Cuba's coastal towns.

(Of course, no mention of the ecological disaster being reaped on Cuba's coastline by Castro's military, in conjunction with Brazil's Odebrecht. Kudos to The Miami Herald.)

Yet not one word about the multiple human tragedies currently taking place in Cuba.

First and foremost among these, the imminent death of a Cuban democracy activist, Luis Enrique Santos, who is on a hunger strike protesting being evicted from his home for his political activities.

Sadly, this isn't new.

These same foreign correspondents wouldn't report one word on deceased political prisoners Orlando Zapata Tamayo or Wilman Villar Mendoza, who also died from hunger strikes, until it was too late.

Sure, maybe the Castro regime will get upset at the AP and the other news bureaus for reporting on these courageous democracy activists.

But at least they'd be standing for free speech and against intimidation, as they so courageously do here.

Canadian Convicted of Sex Crimes Against Cuban Children

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:42:00 +0000

From The Toronto Star:

Toronto man, 78, guilty of sex crimes against children in Cuba

On Friday, James McTurk of Toronto became the first Canadian convicted of sex crimes committed against children in Cuba.

After a Crown lawyer finished reciting the list of grotesque sexual offences James McTurk committed against Cuban girls as young as 3, the 78-year-old man was handcuffed and taken back to jail where he could spend the rest of his life.

McTurk, with close cropped hair and wearing a Canadian Legion jacket, had moments earlier uttered the word that Toronto police investigators have been waiting to hear since they arrested him last summer: “Guilty.”

On Friday, McTurk became the first Canadian convicted of sex crimes committed against children in Cuba, admitting to one count of making child pornography, another of importing child pornography, three counts of sexual interference involving touching young girls with his mouth, hands and penis, and a final count of invitation to sexual touching [...]

In an interview with detectives after his arrest, McTurk said he knew one of the grandmothers of the girls in the images, who he met two decades ago in Cuba.

“She was on the beach and was hungry, so he fed her,” Stanford told the court. “He maintained contact with her and stayed with her and her family regularly when he visited Cuba. He gave her a couple hundred pesos — approximately $240 — each time he visited.”

Which Stings Worse?

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:19:00 +0000

The news cycle is inundated with stories about Australian swimmer, Chloe McCardel, who ended her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida due to a jellyfish sting.

Yet, not a word on Sonia Garro, a member of the Ladies in White, who has been in a punishment cell for the last 10 days (and imprisoned for a over one-year and four-months without trial or charges).

Not a word on Luis Enrique Santos, a Central Opposition Coalition activist, who is about to die from a hunger strike pursuant to being unjustly and inexplicably expelled from his home.

Not a word on Werlando Leyva, a Christian Liberation Movement activist, who was the victim of a machete attack by a Castro regime operative this week.

Not a word on political prisoners Osvaldo Rodriguez and Wilber Parada, who have been on hunger strike for over 30 days protesting their unjust imprisonment.

Not a word on rapper Angel Yunier Remon "El Critico," arbitrarily imprisoned in a notorious facility for over a month without trial or charges.

Which stings worse?

The ‘Cubanization’ of Venezuela

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:14:00 +0000

By Jose Cardenas in The Washington Times:

The ‘Cubanization’ of Venezuela

Domination by the Castros has accelerated since Chavez’s death

One of the greatest ironies of the late strongman Hugo Chavez’s rule was that even as he attempted to personify Venezuelan nationalism, he was quietly outsourcing more and more of the country’s sovereignty to the Castro brothers in Cuba. Today, with conditions in the country spiraling after April’s tainted election to guarantee the continuation of Chavismo, Cuba’s flagrant interference in Venezuelan affairs has become downright obscene.

As Venezuela’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Diego Arria, put it recently: “Venezuela is an occupied country. The Venezuelan regime is a puppet controlled by the Cubans. It is no longer Cuban tutelage; it is control.”

His comments come after a series of events that began less than two weeks after the election in April that saw Chavez’s anointed successor, Nicolas Maduro, win by just 1 percentage point over challenger Henrique Capriles, prompting charges of electoral fraud by the opposition. In the midst of that controversy, Mr. Maduro quickly decamped to Cuba for a five-hour meeting with Fidel Castro, seeking advice on how to thwart the reinvigorated opposition and to promise more Venezuelan handouts for Havana, which already amounted to about 130,000 barrels of oil a day.

Since then, a stream of high-ranking Venezuelan officials have been regularly traveling to Cuba. This past weekend, Diosdado Cabello, the head of the National Assembly and widely seen as Mr. Maduro’s chief rival within Chavismo, was summoned to Havana for a meeting with Mr. Castro, who no doubt made him a deal he couldn’t refuse to unite behind Mr. Maduro.

Mr. Cabello’s trip to Cuba followed another egregious example of Cuban interference in Venezuelan affairs. Last month, the opposition released an audiotape of a briefing by a well-known Chavez acolyte to a top Cuban intelligence agent with a direct line to the Castros. In it, vitriolic radio broadcaster Mario Silva aired all manner of dirty laundry within Chavismo, including the bitter political infighting between Mr. Maduro and Mr. Cabello following Chavez’s death and the over-the-top corruption. Mr. Silva also complained to the Cuban agent about Mr. Maduro’s equivocation toward adopting Castro’s advice to “get rid of these bourgeois elections because [voters] make mistakes [and] here, with elections the way they are, we could be struck down. They could knock the revolution down.” Mr. Silva soon fled the country and is now residing in Cuba for “health reasons.”

Particularly sensitive is Cuban infiltration of the Venezuelan military. Earlier this year, retired Gen. Antonio Rivero, also a former Chavez ally, was arrested after he publicly denounced the presence of thousands of Cuban military and security personnel assigned to every level of the bureaucracy, up to and including the office of the minister of defense. When Mr. Maduro recently accused Mr. Capriles of “treason” for touring Latin American capitals protesting the tainted election, Mr. Capriles tweeted to his countrymen, “Treason is allowing the Cuban government to infiltrate our armed forces and their officers give orders to ours,” and “The great traitor is Maduro! Every day he gives away our national resources to his bosses, the Castro brothers.”

Indeed, since the death of Chavez in March, the “Cubanization” of Venezuela has only accelerated. From physical assaulting opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly, which occurred on April 30, to the ongoing militarization of Venezuelan society through the imposition of militant brigades patterned after Cuba’s notorious neighborhood-watch committees, to the recent imposition of Cuban-style rationing on certain products such as toilet paper that have disappeared from stores shelves, the hapless Maduro government is left to push nothing but Cuban-style policies.

For the mendicant Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul, they have no choice but to increase their control to shore up Mr. Maduro’s faltering government. The spiraling political and socio-economic crises in Venezuela are rightly perceived by them as an existential threat, with opposition leader Mr. Capriles promising to end the billions in Venezuelan handouts to their bankrupt regime and expelling some 60,000 Cubans operating in the country.

Yet the biggest challenge that remains for the Castros and the dwindling numbers of hard-core Chavistas are those millions of Venezuelan voters who expect to have their own choice in the matter. Even under Chavez, the brazenness of Cuban intervention never achieved this degree. That is going to offend a great number of Venezuelans who consider themselves nationalists first and political adherents second. To sacrifice their sovereignty to become merely a Cuban satrapy may just be the bridge too far for Chavismo, and may just be the spark that ignites a real Venezuelan revolution.

Quote of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:57:00 +0000

That person was prepared. He knew who I was, how I think and how to identify me. His goal was to end my life. Deprive me of my life. Why? Simply because I have demonstrated to the people that I know, and where I live, that Cuba needs freedom. It is the time for people to be free.

-- Werlando Leyva Batista, Cuban democracy activist with the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), who was the victim of a machete attack by a Castro regime operative, 6/13/13

Must Watch: New Hip-Hop Song Refers to #FreeTheCuban11Million

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:40:00 +0000

Cuban dissident rappers El Primario and Julito have just released a great new song protesting the repression of the Castro regime.

Julito is the son of renowned Cuba pro-democracy leader Sara Marta Fonseca.

Click below to see the video (in Spanish).

Favorite verse: #FreeTheCuban11Million at the 00:35 second mark.

WaPo: State Throws Maduro a Lifeline

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:05:00 +0000

From The Washington Post's Editorial Board:

Venezuela gets a lifeline from the United States

NICOLÁS MADURO, the former bus driver chosen by Hugo Chávez to lead Venezuela after his death, has been struggling to consolidate his position since being declared the victor in a questionable presidential election in April. With the economy stalling, inflation spiking and shortages spreading, the new president appears at a loss about how to respond, other than to blame domestic and foreign enemies. Nor has he been able to overcome a serious split in the Chavista movement between his own, Cuba-backed clique and another based in the military.

Perhaps most alarming for Mr. Maduro, an energized opposition has refused to accept the election outcome; its capable leader, Henrique Capriles, has been gaining sympathy around the region. The president of neighboring Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, met with Mr. Capriles on May 29, prompting paroxysms of rage from Mr. Maduro and his aides. Other Latin American governments, while avoiding a confrontation with Caracas, have made it clear they regard the new leader’s legitimacy as questionable; the regional group Unasur called for an audit of the election results.

One government, however, has chosen to toss Mr. Maduro a lifeline: the United States. Last week Secretary of State John F. Kerry took time to meet Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua on the sidelines of an Organization of American States meeting, then announced that the Obama administration would like to “find a new way forward” with the Maduro administration and “quickly move to the appointment of ambassadors.” Mr. Kerry even thanked Mr. Maduro for “taking steps toward this encounter” — words that the state-run media trumpeted.

What did Mr. Maduro do to earn this assistance from Mr. Kerry? Since Mr. Chávez’s death in March, the Venezuelan leader has repeatedly used the United States as a foil. He expelled two U.S. military attaches posted at the embassy in Caracas, claiming that they were trying to destabilize the country; he claimed the CIA was provoking violence in order to justify an invasion; and he called President Obama “the big boss of the devils.” A U.S. filmmaker, Timothy Tracy, was arrested and charged with plotting against the government — a ludicrous allegation that was backed with no evidence. Though Mr. Tracy was put on a plane to Miami on the day of the Kerry-Jaua encounter, Mr. Kerry agreed to the meeting before that gesture.

There’s nothing wrong, in principle, with diplomatic meetings or even in dispatching an ambassador to a country such as Venezuela. The State Department has also been meeting with senior opposition leaders and has yet to say it recognizes the presidential election results. But Mr. Kerry’s words amounted to a precious endorsement for Mr. Maduro — and the Obama administration appears bent on cultivating him regardless of his actions. Perhaps the increasingly desperate new leader has secretly promised concessions to Washington on matters such as drug trafficking. But with senior government and military officials involved in the transhipment of cocaine to the United States and Europe, he is unlikely to deliver.

In short, this looks like a reset for the sake of reset, launched without regard for good timing or the cause of Venezuelan democracy.

Help Save Luis Enrique Santos

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:01:00 +0000

Cuban democracy activist Luis Enrique Santos is quickly approaching his death.

He has been on a hunger strike since May 24th after being forcefully (and inexplicably) evicted from his humble home by the Castro regime.

The gravity of his health is worsened by the fact that he only has one kidney.

In addition to being expelled from his home, Santos has been kicked out of a Catholic Church in Santa Clara by its priest, had trash thrown on him when he took shelter in a local park and was refused medical treatment in a hospital.

Silence and indifference only hasten his death.

Please take a minute to raise your voice for Santos and his just cause.

Help save his life.

"The revolutionary urban reform will allow each Cuban to have a dignified home."

-- Fidel Castro, Cuban dictator, 1960.

Raul Counting on U.S. and Europe to Save Regime

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:59:00 +0000

This week, Cuban democracy activist Guillermo Fariñas visited the headquarters of the Belorussian opposition movement, Charter 97, in Warsaw, Poland.

According to Charter 97:

For his civic and political activities Guillermo Fariñas spent over 11 years in Cuban prisons. He went on hunger strikes 23 times. During one of the hunger strikes he nearly died and was taken to a resuscitation department. The Cuban regime was compelled to make concessions and fulfill his demands for the release of 52 dissidents from prisons.

In October 2010 Guillermo Fariñas became the winner of Andrei Sakharov prized, founded by the European Parliament. Cuban authorities for long refused to let him out of the country. Only this year, under the pressure of international community, the dissident was allowed to go abroad. The award ceremony will take place in Brussels on 2 June. Before this event Guillermo Fariñas visited Poland.

“You are all heroes for me”, the Cuban dissident said, when the meeting’s participants were introduced to him.

Guillermo Fariñas told about the current situation in his country and how Cuban authorities fight the opposition. It turned out the situation was identical to the Belarusian.

“Special services are constantly trying to separate their opponents. They create artificial competition and play off dissident groups one against another. It is important for Raul Castro for the opposition to remain scattered”, the dissident said.

He noted that the Cuban regime has been lately compelled to somewhat soften the repression against the opposition and make certain concessions in social and economic spheres. According to him, the authorities are preparing for a “transition stage” and counting on Western loans and lifting of the US sanctions. It is exactly for this reason that they are studying the experience of other dictatorial countries in Havana, including Lukashenka’s Belarus. At the same time Guillermo Fariñas is convinced that Raul Castro can take the reformer’s mask off any moment. There are still dozens of political prisoners in Cuba’s prisons. The dissident does not rule out new provocations against him.

Today on "From Washington al Mundo"

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:39:00 +0000

Today #FWAM, @erictrager18 joins us from Cairo, @suzannedimaggio on Burma & @chuckwolfe on USAID's LGBT rights program @siriusxm #153 4 pm
— Cristina Radio (@radiocristina) June 12, 2013

The Man Who Gives Color to Cuban Activism

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:52:00 +0000

From Cuban author Luis Felipe Rojas's blog, Crossing the Barbed Wire:

That poster in support of Orlando Zapata, Antonio Rodiles or Yoani Sánchez, which you are about to “Like” on Facebook and share with your friends, was designed by a man from Cienfuegos who lives in New York.

Rolando Pulido came to the United States twenty years ago and since then has worked as a sign-painter and graphic artist in the Big Apple. Passionate about the cause of freedom and democracy in Cuba, he has created more than 500 posters to promote various causes of Cuban civil society, events and campaigns to gain the release of prisoners. His activism has put color and motif on many Cuban spaces on social networks.

Q. The digital site Capitol Hill Cubans has just implemented a campaign for free access to internet for all Cubans, #FreeTheCuban11Million and you have made the poster. What inspired you this time?

Pulido: This was a campaign that my friend Mauricio Claver, who maintains the blog Capitol Hill Cubans, gave birth to in Washington DC. He gave me the idea and I was immediately fascinated, it seemed a tremendous idea, one we could do a lot with, and I made this graphic immediately. It was released yesterday to a huge response.

It is a campaign that we’re launching more from Twitter. Is to free the 11 million Cubans who do not have Internet. It’s a campaign countering the one for the five spies, in which the Cuban government has spent a fortune, a tone of energy and immense resources. Right now in Washington DC there is a large group of people calling on the U.S. Government to release the “Cuban Five,” they have enthralled all those people. I think it’s time to turn the tables on them. So instead of Free Five Cubans, we have #FreeTheCuban11Million.

Look, what we are doing is advertising, they counter the advertising based on lies, on things that are not true. We have a pretty big media campaign, but in favor of the democratization of Cuba, on behalf of the freedom of our country. This is a tool that works well if you know how to use it, especially if you have the truth and you have so many millions of people who understand that and support you.

Q. In this time of the digital era, graphics and other arts are part of an ever wider river, are you afraid that your art will be lost?

Pulido: Not at all, I do this especially for Facebook, for a community looking for these things. I do it there, because to navigate in that sea, and to travel far, because it’s a message I want to give to you through the graphics. I have no fear, because the vast sea has many Cuban ports, and until then will offer my posters.

Q. You have led several campaigns, which do you think has been the most successful for you?

Pulido: No doubt it was the first, in 2009, with a friend I called for a virtual prayer for Orlando Zapata when he was involved in his hunger strike. We prepared, we launched it and right there I realized the number of Cubans everywhere who want to help, from every corner. Since then I have made over 500 posters because I came to the United States working as a sign painter, but new technological tools have allowed me to do other things.

Q. Facebook has been blamed in a thousand ways. However, we have seen campaigns that have come to fruition, you are on the same path, what do you think?

Pulido: I see everything as a great campaign that we are all conducting for the freedom of Cuba. There are others, I am not alone, many people in the world are doing something, we are creating events together, doing all sorts of things, but we are more united than ever thanks to the new technologies and tools like Facebook and Twitter.

Q. And right now, what is your latest project?

Pulido: In a few hours or maybe tomorrow I will release a poster because Ignacio Estrada Cepero and Wendy Iriepa want to come to the United States to promote the rights of LGBT people in Cuba. They are very active within the island and it is necessary that their voice is heard around the world, they have very interesting things to say and we have to listen. We will release the poster, to see if it can help raise funds for the trip of these two beautiful people who will say and tell us things that happen in Cuba and we must help them.

S.O.S. for Sonia Garro

noreply@blogger.com (Capitol Hill Cubans) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:48:00 +0000

The health of Sonia Garro, an Afro-Cuban member of the pro-democracy group, The Ladies in White, continues to worsen as the Castro regime has confined her to a punishment cell during the last 10 days.

Garro has been in prison for over one-year and three-months without charges filed or a trial.

On the week leading to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba, Castro's secret police burst into her home, shot her in the legs with rubber bullets and took her away.

Her husband, Ramón Alejandro Muñoz, was also imprisoned at the time and is being held at the notorious Combinado del Este prison, where earlier this year he was savagely beaten for conducting a hunger strike demanding the release of his wife.

Their 16-year old daughter has been under the care of an aunt, who is also under constant harassment from the authorities.

Yet sadly, foreign news bureaus in Havana find an over-privileged Australian adventure swimmer to be more newsworthy.