It is painfully apparent that Cuban exiles are the only group not buying into the all the hype being generated by the cosmetic changes announced in Havana this past Sunday. As the old saying goes, we have seen this movie before…
Is this really the end of Cuba’s Castro brothers? Exiles say not so fast
Cubans in Miami’s Little Havana are reacting with a collective shrug at the announcement that soon neither Fidel or Raul Castro will be at the helm of the government. Alan Diaz / AP
On the streets of Miami, the announcement of a possible end to the Castro brothers’ rule was met with uncharacteristic silence Monday — no clanging of pots and pans in Little Havana and Hialeah.
No loud pronouncements on Spanish-language radio, either, about the news that President Raúl Castro planned to retire in 2018 and had named an heir apparent.
“There’s like, a little burnout about this subject with us,” said Alex Fumero, 30, a co-creator, editor and contributor of the poetry group Hialeah Haikus.
But the emotions were as strong as ever for Cuban-born U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who believes this is just another sinister ploy by the Castro brothers.
“The fact that this possible retirement won’t take effect for years is just another in a long line of false propaganda tactics used by the regime to trick the masses and international community,” said Ros-Lehtinen, whose political career has been dedicated to opposing Castro.
“U.S. law states that no Castro may be in power, so this may be a ploy by the Cuban regime to attempt to normalize relations prematurely with the U.S.,’’ she said.
Miami radio commentator Ninoska Perez Castellon said five more years of any Castro is a long time. “This is just more of the same, and a cruel joke on a people enduring a 54-year-old dictatorship,” she said.
Many like the idea of an end to the Castros, but they say it should have happened years ago.
It’s not the head but the system. Like, DOH.