Via Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter:

Orlando Zapata Tamayo born 45 years ago today martyred on February 23, 2010

Orlando Zapata Tamayo Human Rights Defender May 15, 1967 - February 23, 2010

Orlando Zapata Tamayo was born 45 years ago today in Cuba on May 15, 1967. A bricklayer and carpenter with a heightened sense of dignity he became a human rights defender. He gathered signatures for Project Varela, a citizen initiative to reform the Cuban system and bring it into line with international human rights standards. Orlando was arrested with Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and other activists in December of 2002 for gathering to discuss how to empower Cubans with knowledge about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and nonviolent resistance. Released in March of 2003, he would be rearrested for engaging in a fast demanding the release of Dr. Biscet and his other imprisoned colleagues that same month. Amnesty International recognized Orlando Zapata Tamayo as a prisoner of conscience.

He would spend the last seven years of his life in Cuban prisons suffering beatings tortures, and constant assaults on his human dignity. Orlando Zapata was defiant until the end demanding his right to be treated like a human being. His struggle ended after a prolonged hunger strike on February 23, 2010. Cuban officials, in an effort to break his spirit, had denied him water for days to force him off the water only hunger strike. They contributed to his death.

Continue reading HERE.

La Sonora Matancera has some pictures of the Havana Malecon replica recently built at the Ermita de la Caridad in Coconut Grove:

Yesterday, the George W. Bush Freedom Institute located in Dallas, Texas celebrated its grand opening in Washington D.C.:

George W. Bush Returns to Washington to Celebrate Freedom

President George W. Bush was back in Washington today, to mark the opening at his Bush Institute in Dallas of the “Freedom Collection.”

It was of course a gathering of many officials of his administration, but was far more: a reminder of how far support for what Bush used to call the “Freedom Agenda” had slipped in today’s Washington. The Bush event included a speech by the former president, but also remarks by dissidents from Syria, China, and Cuba and a live interview via Skype of Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. Present also was Viktor Yushchenko, former president of the Ukraine and leader of its “Orange Revolution.” During his eight years Bush met personally with 180 key dissidents from 35 countries, the people whom the Bush Institute’s director James Glassman today called “the non-violent shock troops of democracy.” The support that Bush and his wife Laura, who spoke as well and who took a special interest in ending the dictatorship in Burma, gave to such dissident leaders is notably absent today.

Bush’s own speech recalled the themes of his Second Inaugural Address but updated it for the “Arab Spring.” He had three key messages. The first was that a regime can be brought down in a day, but building “durable accountable civic structures” takes years and may see many reverses. “The day when a dictator falls or yields to a democratic movement is glorious,” Bush noted, but “the years of transition that follow can be difficult.” Nevertheless, he argued, the alternative of ignoring the desire for freedom in the name of stability is a grave error: “[T]his foreign policy approach is not realistic…. Nor is it within the power of America to indefinitely preserve the old order, which is inherently unstable.”

Continue reading HERE.

The humor of Garrincha in El Nuevo Herald:

Translation:

"You are traveling to Cuba to do doctoral research in... ?"

"Nightlife and sexual habits in the Caribbean."

Capitol Hill Cubans shows us the difference between a "Think Tank" event on Cuba and an "In the Tank" event on Cuba:

Think Tank vs. Being "In the Tank"

Leading up to Cuban Independence Day (May 20th), two Washington, D.C. think tanks are hosting Cuba-related events.

On May 18th, The Heritage Foundation will host "An Act of Solidarity with the People of Cuba: The Struggle for Freedom Continues," which will feature testimonies from pro-democracy leaders on-and-off the island and comparative perspectives with Eastern Europe.

Meanwhile, that same day, the Brookings Institution will host, "Balancing Preservation and Transformation in Cuba: A Conversation with Eusebio Leal" -- a tourism promotion gathering with the Castro regime's official historian.

According to Brooking's description of the event:

"Cuba is undergoing a gradual economic and social transformation that potentially carries great importance for the island nation, as well as for its relationships with the United States and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean."

That's right, Brookings only likes to discuss so-called intra-regime "social and economic transformation" because the concepts of democracy, civil and political rights -- you know, the bedrocks of human freedom -- are apparently too risqué for them.

Or because the Castro regime might deny their next visiting "delegation" visas and the red carpet treatment upon arrival.

A postcard from our friends at Guamá:

Translation:

"The little China girl [Raul Castro] supports gay marriage"

The American Enterprise Institute is holding a panel discussion today in Washington D.C. on the future of Cuba after the eventual demise of the brutal Castro dictatorship. The event will begin at 10:00 am and you can watch it live on streaming video below.

Post-Castro Cuba: What future will Raúl leave behind?

About This Event

Since assuming leadership of Cuba, Raúl Castro's half-measures to jump-start Cuba's bankrupt economy have generated much debate. Are his reforms promising moves toward a so-called "mixed" economy, à la China or Vietnam? Are his “reforms” even reforms? Many conclude that Raúl was miscast as a transitional figure and that real change must wait for day when the Castro brothers exit the stage.

What sort of economic model will Raúl leave behind? And what strategies can restore genuine economic opportunity and freedom to the Cuban people? Please join us for a discussion of these topics and more, keynoted by Castro scholar, author and former U.S. intelligence analyst Brian Latell.

Agenda

9:45 AM
Registration

10:00 AM
Remarks: Brian Latell, University of Miami and former National Intelligence Officer for Latin America

10:20 AM
Question & Answer
Moderator: Roger F. Noriega, AEI

10:40 AM
Panelists:
Teo Babun, Babun Group Consulting
Javier Garcia, Cuban Property Rights Initiative
Francis Skrobiszewski, Poland's National Capital Fund
Marc Wachtenheim, W International

Moderator: Roger F. Noriega, AEI

11:45 AM
Adjournment

It is hard to believe that the U.S. State Department would grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espin, a high-ranking Cuban government official who happens to be the daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro and a staunch and vocal defender of the repressive Cuban regime. Then again, when you look back at the past three and a half years of the Obama administration's policy of appeasement towards the Castro regime, it is really not all that hard to believe. Nevertheless, in spite of the Obama administration's failed policy towards the tyranny in Cuba, the U.S. has laws against granting visas to Cuban state officials. In order for Mariela Castro to receive a visa to enter the U.S., the State Department has to issue a waiver in order to circumvent the law.

It is interesting to note that when the State Department was questioned about granting a waiver to the Castro dictatorship official, their spokesperson claimed there was no specific law prohibiting visas being granted to Cuban officials. Of course, this is entirely and categorically incorrect, which leads us to wonder if this egregious error was based on sheer ignorance or blatant dishonesty. When it comes to the Obama administration, both explanations are equally possible.

Via The Foundry:

State Department to Grant Visa to Cuban Dictator Raul Castro’s Daughter

The U.S. State Department has decided to grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of Raul Castro, the country’s President and Premier, neice of notorious Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, despite laws precluding such visas from officials of the Cuban dictatorship.

Castro Espin, who is the director of Cuba’s state-funded National Center for Sex Education, is scheduled to speak at a San Francisco conference held by the Latin American Studies Association starting May 23. A LASA spokesman confirmed that she is scheduled to attend in person.

Castro Espin’s organization is part of Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health, making her a member of the Cuban government. Speculation abounds that she is next in line to rule the communist nation after her uncle and father.

Her entry into the United States will therefore require that State waive prohibitions against visas for individuals associated with the Cuban government. In other words, State would have to proactively allow Castro Espin’s entry into the country.

Presidential Proclamation 5377, issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, bars “officers or employees of the Government of Cuba or the Communist Party of Cuba” from entry into the United States.

But the proclamation also carves out exceptions to that prohibition, including official United Nations missions, and gives the Secretary of State the authority to grant waivers where she sees fit.

While State Department spokeswoman Laura Seal refused to comment on the matter, noting that discussion of individual visa applications is prohibited under U.S. law, a visa must be granted for Castro Espin to enter the country, which LASA confirmed she will do.

President Obama has also looked to restrict dictatorial regimes’ access to American visas. With Presidential Proclamation 8697, Obama banned foreign individuals who have taken part in or enabled human rights abuses from obtaining U.S. visas.

While Castro Espin herself is not guilty of such abuses, she is viciously hostile to Cuba’s dissident population, calling them parásitos despreciables – despicable parasites – and insisting that those who have been imprisoned for speaking out against the Castro regime are “mercenaries paid by Washington.”

Castro Espin’s protestations notwithstanding, the Cuban government is a systematic and egregious human rights violator, according to State’s most recent Human Rights Report on the country. The department also classifies the Caribbean regime as a state sponsor of terrorism.

As part of its continued efforts to document and push back against the Castro regime’s dictatorial rule, the Heritage Foundation will mark the 110th anniversary of Cuban independence with an event focusing on the continued violations of political and individual liberties there.

Heritage will co-host an event on May 18 with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to mark the fifth annual Solidarity Day with Cuba, an occasion to demand the full release of Cuban prisoners of conscience.

After all, she's just a dolt, right?

[...] Dustin Hawkins of About.com makes the case that despite the fond hopes of many in the media and GOP elites, Sarah Palin is proving a potent force.

Many naysayers have dismissed Palin's influence, instead suggesting that her endorsements had little effect as the candidates were rising in the polls anyway. But the coincidences are far too many and the number of out-of-nowhere candidates to win (or come darn close to winning) are simply too plentiful to ignore. In 2010, it was Governor Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Joe Miller in Alaska, and Karen Handel in Georgia (among many others) who were given big boosts in their eventual underdog primary bids.

Most notably, Sarah Palin did not endorse a candidate for President in 2012, though both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum claimed at one point or another they had her support. (Palin stated she voted for Newt in Alaska, but her "keep the race going" strategy was hardly a ringing endorsement.)

Sarah Palin put out this statement:

As recently as a week ago, Deb Fischer was dismissed by the establishment. Why? Because she is not part of the good old boys' permanent political class. The message from the people of Nebraska is simple and powerful: America is looking for real change in Washington, and commonsense conservatives like Deb Fischer represent that change. I applaud Moms like Deb Fischer who are bold enough to step up and run on a conservative platform to restore America and protect our children's future. Congratulations to the people of Nebraska. As the Huskers' fight song goes: "The eyes of the land, upon every hand, are looking at you. Fight on for victory!"

There is a populist storm brewing. The tea party base is aroused, focused, and will turn out in elections. Media fantasies about its demise are based on the shallowest of perceptions. The populist uprising is in its second phase; having rallied and ascertained they are not alone, and effortlessly connected by the internet in real time, government downsizers are organizing and turning out.

RINOs, we're comin' after you. You're species is DOOMED.

Cuban human rights activist and mother, Sara Martha Fonseca, was arrested this past Sunday, Mother's Day, by agents of the Castro regime's political police.

Pedazos de la Isla has the report:

Sara Marta Fonseca: Arrested on Mother’s Day in Cuba

“Once again, our country has suffered under the tyranny which oppresses all those citizens who raise their voices to defend the rights of the entire nation“, said Lady in White Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, referring to this past weekend when Mother’s Day was being celebrated around the world.  The activist- mother of two- was one of the women detained by state police for trying to assist a reunion being held at the headquarters of the group, in the former home of Laura Pollan, located on Neptuno Street in Havana.

The mentioned reunion began on Saturday, May 12th and despite an extensive and aggressive act of repudiation (orchestrated by regime agents), a number of Ladies in White were able to make it and spend that moment together, exchanging gits and praying for the release of political prisoners.  However, Fonseca Quevedo explained that on that same day, the activists Yanerys Cabrera and Silvia Barbara Diaz Vazquez were also arrested during morning hours when they tried to reach the reunion.  Meanwhile, the home of Fonseca was surrounded by regime agents starting during late night hours of Friday, May 11th.

“At around 11 PM on Friday, there was a police operation around my house here in Rio Verde”, said Fonseca, “On Saturday, the 12th, we awoke and saw that we were totally surrounded by repressive agents of State Security, along with their informants, which we Cubans refer to as ‘snitches’ at the service of the dictatorship”.

Fonseca and her family spent all of Saturday in that same manner, surrounded.

On Sunday- Mother’s Day- Sara Marta decided to step out of her home and walk to the headquarters of the Ladies in White to meet up with the rest of the women.  She had intentions of marching along with them to assist Sunday mass.  However, the forces of the Cuban regime had other plans for her.  “I was arrested and taken to the Santiago de las Vegas police unit, where I was kept for various hours“, said the human rights activist, adding that “the political police did not even have the courage to confront any of us Ladies in White they had arrested in such an arbitrary manner.  They did not give us a single explanation in regards to the measures taken against us“.

When Fonseca arrived to the police unit, handcuffed and in custody of various police officers, she began to shout “Long Live Laura Pollan”, “Long Live the Ladies in White”, and “Freedom for Cuba“.

Continue reading HERE.

The international organization that tracks violations of press freedoms throughout the world, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has a report on Cuban independent journalist Calixto Ramon Martinez Arias, who is currently being held by Cuban State Security in Havana. Martinez Arias is awaiting deportation out of the capital city back to his hometown of Camaguey. This latest illegal deportation would be the tenth for Martinez Arias in the past two years.

Hablemos Press journalist awaits 10th deportation to home town

Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias, a reporter for the independent news agency Hablemos Press, was arrested on 10 May and is being held in a police detention centre in Havana awaiting deportation in three days’ time to his home town of Camagüey for the 10th time in two years.

His sister-in-law, Niurka Caridad Ortega, visited the journalist yesterday and told Hablemos Press she had “seen him and taken him some clean laundry, although he said he had stopped eating since Thursday and was spitting blood. It appears that the stomach ulcer from which he suffers has worsened.”

Reporters Without Borders said: “Calixto Ramón Martínez lives and works in Havana, where he also has relatives. On this basis, his expulsion to Camagüey contravenes the relaxation, passed at the end of last year, of the law on internal migration, which restricted the movement of people to the capital.

“The free movement of individuals is a basic right which the Cuban government must acknowledge, particularly if it decides to ratify the two United Nations pacts on civil and political rights that it signed in 2008.

“Why do the authorities insist in uprooting this man from his everyday surroundings? Is it because he recently reported, via Hablemos Press, that Havana was experiencing problems with its water supply? The subject deserves more than senseless reprisals against the journalist who raised it.

“This deportation – his 10th — would be laughable were it not for the fact that it exposes the refusal of the government, which claims to be aware of the need to change the way it governs, to establish an open and sustained dialogue with civil society.”

The press freedom organization also called for the journalist to be given all appropriate care.

Hablemos Press has recorded just over 1,900 detentions or hostile acts by the authorities towards dissidents since the start of the year, including 340 during April. The agency has itself been affected by the crackdown. Besides Martinez, two more of its journalists, Gerardo Younel Avila and Magali Norvis Otero, were each detained briefly, on 6 and 9 May respectively.

Ever since President Obama opened up American tourist travel to Cuba under the misnomer "people-to-people contacts," it has been a virtual free for all devoid of any benefit to the Cuban people. Salsa dancing lessons, mojito tasting events, and propaganda laden Castro regime organized tours of State-run enterprises have made up the bulk of the "people-to-people" activities engaged in by American citizens vacationing on the island. To put it in Cubano terms, the entire policy is one huge relajo.

However, thanks to the pressure put on the U.S. government by elected officials such as Senator Marco Rubio, the U.S. Treasury Department has had to revise, clarify, and tighten the restrictions on American tourists visiting Cuba. In reality, the restrictions were always in place, only now the Treasury Dept. is threatening to actually enforce them.

Juan Tamayo in the Miami Herald:

U.S. changes requirements for some Cuba trips

The U.S. changes on some ‘people to people’ visits come after pressure from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

The U.S. Treasury Department has tightened a few of its restrictions on trips to Cuba by non-Cuban Americans on so-called “people to people” visits, saying that the revisions will “help to deter abuses.”

Complaints of abuses of such trips — they must be for “educational” purposes, never for tourism — have dogged the program since President Barack Obama approved it last year in a bid to increase Americans’ engagement with regular Cubans.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., drew laughter during a speech in Washington last year when he read the schedule for one such trip, showing salsa dancing sessions every night. Other tours have met with Cuban government ministers and even a daughter of ruler Raúl Castro.

Rubio put a block on Roberta Jacobson’s nomination as the top U.S. diplomat for Latin American until the Obama administration addressed some of the myriad complaints. Jacobson was sworn in earlier this month.

“I think it’s progress … because the changes require closer reviews of the itineraries,” Rubio said. “But I still have concerns about the program in general, because it is difficult to manage and avoid abuses.”

Continue reading HERE.

"All Cubans are expected to take part in community activities, perhaps as members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution responsible for polio shots, traffic control, or perhaps preparing a float for a civic parade or carnival."

"In 1974 Cuba held what may well have been the first unrigged unbought election ever in the country's history, whether before or after the Revolution."

"If there is a favored class in Cuba it is the children. They told us they do not mind working in addition to studying. Many told us they were grateful for the opportunity."

"If one compares Cuba....to any other Latin American country, then to all but a handful of landed aristocrats it must seem a very favorable place indeed."

"The enthusiasm and unity of the Cuban people...they are proud of their accomplishments and sing songs about themselves and their country that reflect this self-pride. The people work together and work hard for what they believe to be the good of their neighbors..."

None of the above from from Danny Glover, Vanessa Redgrave, Angela Davis...etc. I quote the late Frank Mankiewics from his book published in 1975. He served as campaign chairman for Presidential candidate George McGovern, running as candidate for America's MAJORITY political party. He worked as press secretary for Seantor Robert Kennedy. He was regional director for the U.S. Peace Corps. He served as Head of NPR from 1977-1983...and he was a major campaign contributor to Joe Garcia, as broken by Babalu.

So please note, this is not some quip from a coked-up Hollywood-ite...some ignorant initiative by a Mercedes Chairman, or some drunken comment from baseball manager. Frank Mankiewics was a lifelong and powerful player INTIMATELY tied with America's MAJORITY political party. And when it came to backing Joe Garcia, Frank Mankiewics put his money where his mouth was.... and you hate to think where that mouth was on his visits to Cuba, especially given Bola de Churre's reputation for hygiene.

Unreal.

Hey! Thanks for the post, Alberto. The images came flooding out of my vault of oblivion, like the Atlantic Ocean into the ballroom of the Titanic. @#!%$#@!

I collected these "postalitas" and filled up my album while casting a wary eye on all of the propaganda nonsense. I pasted them on the newsprint-quality paper with mucilage or Elmer's glue, or even with starch (almidón) distilled from boiled yuca or malanga.   Even worse, I'm ashamed to confess, I found out after buying countless card packs and amassing lots of "dobles" (same card over and over) that my uncle Mario was a business partner in the whole venture. Imagine that: a capitalist cashing in on revolutionary fervor.

He took me over to the studio where the artwork was done, and I got to see the next series of cards in the process of being drawn. The artist was a nice guy, and we joked around a lot about the whole project, the way Cubans joke about everything.  What a shock to discover that the drawings were not the same size as the cards, but about fifty or sixty times larger.  On the way out of the studio I was walking on air and so totally distracted that I failed to notice a floor-to-ceiling glass partition in the lobby and walked right into it.   Boom!  Ay!  Imagine that:  a brand-new air-conditioned Cuban building with fancy glass partitions, built by Cuban entrepreneurs.  Yeah, we were third world for sure in 1959. Instantly, the largest bump ever seen on planet earth erupted on my forehead. My uncle and the artist laughed their heads off. "Oye, carajo, tremendo chichón; ahora si que te pareces a un marciano con ese cuerno en la frente..." And so on...

I eventually got the complete set of postalitas from my uncle, and filled up my god-damned album in one fell swoop, feeling like a cheat. As the country quickly transformed into a tropical Third Reich I hung on to my album, despite my loathing for it, thinking that some day it might be valuable.  Of course, I left it behind, along with everything else, including my whole family and my collection of Batman comic books in Spanish. I didn't have the first issue, but I did have number 2. Where is all that crap now? Who knows? Who cares? Well, as it turns out, if I want to be honest, I have to say, after looking at these images: I care. I should have been able to hang on to that album and sell it at Christie's, along with my Batman comic book collection.  Commie bastards.... Now they're hawking the album to a new generation of sniveling cretins who might be as enthralled as I was  by the bright colors of the postalitas and their comic-book rendition of history.  I should have killed them all while I was still a child, and not yet fully responsible for my actions.  Maybe if I  travel back in time .... like Superman... I can fix it all.  Yes.

Así mismo. Vuelvo, y los mato a todos.  I had a few of those comic books too, so I know all I have to do is fly really fast westwards around the earth, opposite to its spin...  $#@!%$#@!

Audacious narcissism...

Conservatives are having a laugh after it surfaced that the official presidential biographies on the White House website have been updated to inject President Obama into history. But kidding aside, this is a truly disgraceful behavior. In the most egregious example, noted by the Heritage Foundation's Rory Cooper, the official Ronald Reagan biography is appended with the note: "In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffet Rule." (Over at Commentary, Seth Mandel has a roundup of more examples.) Put aside the fact that what Reagan was proposing in 1985 had nothing to do with the Buffett Rule. Obama should not vandalize his predecessors' biographies to promote his own agenda.

Obviously, as president, Obama can use the tools of the White House to advance his goals. But at the same time, all presidents are to some extent guardians of the institution. Sure, a lot of the White House website is naturally going to be used to promote Obama, but there are some areas that should be considered neutral ground -- one of them being the history sections. White House presidential biographies are the type of thing that school kids read and they should be able to do so without being bombarded by propaganda for whoever is in power. [...]

This coming Tuesday, May 22nd, don't miss Charlie Toraño at the latest edition of the El Lector Series from the Granada Presbyterian Church's Granada Man group:

NEWS

House Foreign Affairs Committee

U.S. House of Representatives

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman

For IMMEDIATE Release – May 15, 2012

Promotion of Cuban Human Rights Defenders by George W. Bush Institute Praised by Ros-Lehtinen

(WASHINGTON, DC) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement today praising the efforts of the George W. Bush Institute’s Freedom Collection to raise the visibility of Cuban freedom fighters suffering under the Castro regime.  Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“I commend the work of the George W. Bush Institute and its recent launch of an online forum that promotes the work of the Freedom Collection.  Through this forum, human rights defenders and leaders are highlighted by a series of interviews and compilation of writings to advance the struggle for freedom and justice worldwide.

“I am gratified that opposition voices from my native land of Cuba are included among the thirty-five dissidents interviewed and hope that more brave Cubans who struggle to free their people from the Castro tyranny will be afforded the opportunity to share their stories.

“I urge proponents of democracy and freedom to support the work highlighted in the George W. Bush Institute’s Freedom Collection to bring light to the cause of liberty and justice.  It is our responsibility to be the voice for those whose voices are silenced daily by oppressive dictatorships.”

#####

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 15, 2012

Remembering Orlando Zapata Tamayo on the 45^th Anniversary of His Birth

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) inserted the following statement into the Congressional Record, commemorating the life of political activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a prominent figure in the fight for democracy on the island of Cuba:

“We commemorate the day that Orlando Zapata Tamayo would have turned 45 years old had his life not been cut short by the murderous Castro dictatorship.  He was a member of the pro-democracy organizations Movimiento Alternativa Republicana and the Consejo Nacional de Resistencia Cívica.  He was arrested several times, including on March 20^th, 2003 during Cuba’s notorious ‘Black Spring.’  During his many years in prison, he suffered beatings, humiliation, and long periods of solitary confinement.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo began a hunger strike on December 3^rd, 2009 to protest inhumane prison conditions and arbitrary extensions of his sentences.  His hunger strike lasted more than 80 days.  During that time, he was deprived of water, suffered abhorrent prison conditions, and ultimately died at the hands of the Castro regime on February 23^rd, 2010.  Sadly, the two years since Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s death have been years of increased repression and more murders by the Castro regime.  The number of political arrests doubled between 2010 and 2011, and the first three months of 2012 have proven even more brutal and repressive than the same period last year.

While we continue to mourn the loss of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, his spirit and mission have nonetheless strengthened Cuba’s courageous pro-democracy movement.  Shortly after Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s death, other pro-democracy activists continued his cause such as Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (‘Antunez’), who founded the ‘Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Front for Civic Resistance and Civil Disobedience.’

In so many ways, Orlando Zapata Tamayo still lives.  Among the pro-democracy activists that honor him and continue his mission, Orlando Zapata Tamayo is an enduring symbol of perseverance in the face of brutal repression.  Although his life was brutally cut short, Orlando Zapata Tamayo will forever be a blessing to Cuba’s courageous pro-democracy movement and to the activists that will not allow his sacrifice to be in vain.”

###

Via Cuba Confidential:

Today in History: Cuban Influence Operation

May 14, 2007:  The weekly magazine, The Nation, featured an article on Cuba titled “The Changing of the Guard.”  Among the six co-authors were Intelligence Officer Ramon Sanchez-Parodi and former Cuban agent, Alberto Coll.  Sanchez-Parodi used the opportunity to favorably portray Raul Castro’s institutional support and his efforts to enhance the performance of these institutions.   Lesser issues addressed included the “Cuban 5” and alleged opportunities for bilateral cooperation.

Prior to his felony conviction, Dr. Coll served as Chair of the Strategic Research Department at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.  He had earlier served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict from 1990-1993.

Coll’s previous work as a cooperating Navy intelligence source made the government’s espionage case problematic.  The two sides subsequently negotiated a plea agreement in  which the government revoked Coll’s security clearance, sentenced him to one-year probation, fined him 5000 dollars, and sealed his confession.  Prior to her death in a tragic car accident in 2003, Coll’s daughter was far along with plans to attend the University of Havana; an amazing event given the sensitivity of Coll’s position.

An editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Free Alan Gross

After spending two years and five months in Cuban detention on dubious charges of subversion, American Alan Gross recently told CNN that he feels like a "hostage." The U.S. State Department agrees.

Gross, 63, was arrested in 2009, while he was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development on a project designed to link Cuba's Jewish community to the Internet. For the crime of transporting laptops and other telecommunications equipment into Havana, a Cuban court found Gross guilty of "acts against the independence or territorial integrity" and sentenced him to 15 years.

While the Castro government asserts that conditions are not poor, Gross has lost 100 pounds while being held in a military hospital. His 90-year-old mother suffers from lung cancer and cannot travel. Gross has pleaded for Havana at least to allow him to see his mother one last time. He even has offered to return to Cuba afterward.

The Cuban government sent CNN's Wolf Blitzer a letter offering to hold a dialogue to find a humanitarian solution "on a reciprocal basis." The State Department takes the gesture as yet another attempt by the regime to swap its release of Gross in exchange for Washington's release of five Cuban intelligence agents found guilty of trying to infiltrate U.S. military institutions in 2001.

On the plus side, the Castro regime deserves credit for allowing Gross to use his weekly phone call to contact CNN and make his case. On the down side, the news coverage serves to remind the world of the repressive policies of President Raul Castro.

Every country has a right to uphold on its sovereignty. Havana certainly had a right to sanction Gross for misusing a tourist visa to transport laptops and other devices. Even still, Cuba's use of Gross as a pawn - for the crime of trying to put Cubans onto the Internet - shows how truly vulnerable Castro's hold on Cuba must be.