Another slapdown of the Congressional Black Caucus for its junket to castro’s Cuba
This time in the New York Daily News.
...you can rationally question U.S. Cuba policy without cozying up to Castro. The CBC did the latter - failing to meet with a single dissident on an island with a record of making dissidents disappear and handing El Jefe his best press in years...
The human rights record in Castro's Cuba is not open to legitimate political debate. In its 2008 world report, the left-leaning human rights group Human Rights Watch said, "Cuba remains the one country in Latin American that represses nearly all forms of political dissent. . . . The repressive machinery built over almost five decades of Fidel Castro's rule remains intact and continues to systematically deny people their basic rights." That verdict is echoed by right-leaning Freedom House.
So has the president officially chastised these miserable assholes? Enough said.
Henry, I think the link is not working.
I fixed it, thanks.
Past U. S. presidents have use "journalists" and members of Congress to communicate back and forth between Habana and the White House. The Cuban-American community has known for many years that there's been negotiations carried out "behind our backs" sort of speak.
If there's anyone out there that truly believes that for the past 50 years there haven't been talks (and I don't include immigration or drugs) then you're very naive.
It's not coincidental that a few days before the 5th Summit of the Americas, members of the Congressional Black Caucus visited Cuba and were received by both fifo and raul. I'm certain that President -and former member of the Congressional Black Caucus- Obama used his buddies to carry a message to the infamous castro bros. I believe Obama wanted to test the waters and perhaps come to "some form of an agreement" before his speech tonight.
Think! Why would raul say that Cuba was ready to discuss with Obama issues such as: Political prisoners, and human rights? Why now? What did Obama promise the castros? What was in the message the CBC took to Cuba? More to the point... What was the castro bros. answer.