Via Capitol Hill Cubans:

The EU's Immoral Ambassador to Cuba

In an interview with Publico magazine, the European Union's Ambassador to Cuba, Herman Portocarero, reveals the real motivations behind the new push to end the EU's Common Position towards Cuba, which currently (and morally) conditions normalized relations to improvements in human rights.

Portocarero, a Belgian diplomat, says the first steps are being taken to end the Common Position because "they hope it will help foment more European investment" with the Castro regime.

And what about human rights?

After all, the Castro regime has intensified its repressive campaign against peaceful opponents, with a 60% increase in documented political arrests this year alone.

Portocarero's answer:

"In the field of human rights there are differences, but we have to focus on the issues where there are common interests."

That is -- profiting from repression, of course.

Portocarero makes another important public revelation:

"The EU is a universal partner and Cuba wants to have normal relations to gain international respect and a recognition it currently does not have."

How could this be?

Haven't Cuba "experts" assured us that it doesn't matter whether sanctions are lifted unilaterally (by the EU or the US) for the Castro regime enjoys overwhelming international recognition?

Like all rogue regimes, the Castro brothers are always seeking international recognition to justify their ruthless behavior and obsession with power. For them, it's a constant measure of how much they can get away with.

And some, like Portocarero, are willing to let them get away with murder.

(As an aside, it's not a coincidence that this is taking place just as the Spanish government negotiated the repatriation of its wrongfully imprisoned youth activist Angel Carromero. This was blackmail 101).