One might say Obama never intended to push the Cuban people further into misery and pour billions into the coffers of a communist dictatorship, but we all knew that would be the case. Ten years after Obama’s “Cuba Thaw,” the Castro dictatorship has billions stashed away while the Cuban people have no food, fuel, or electricity.
The Center for a FREE Cuba explains:
Unintended consequences of the 2013-2017 Obama thaw in Cuba meant the military takeover of the Cuban economy, and surge in tourism leading to food shortages for residents
The dictatorship in Cuba, and its agents of influence over the years have sought to construct a victim narrative favorable to obtaining concessions to the regime. Nevertheless, reality on more than one occasion disrupting their efforts. When Fidel Castro died in November 2016, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation is the national public broadcaster of Turkey (TRT World) lifted the veil on the Cuban military, and Castro family’s dominance over the Cuban economy in the above report.
Nora Gámez Torres in an article in the Miami Herald today, and Mary Anastasia O’Grady in her column yesterday in The Wall Street Journal with facts exposed the falsehoods of the regime, and the harm inflicted on Cubans, and the negative impact to the region.
Gámez Torres reports on leaked documents showing that Almest, a subentity of the Cuban military conglomerate Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) most likely obtained a loan from foreign sources to construct hotels, despite the fact that Cuban officials usually attribute some of the severe shortages in the nation to a lack of credit from foreign banks, and blame it on the U.S. sanctions. The company is repaying a long-term loan of 45 billion Cuban pesos, or roughly $1.9 billion using the 24-pesos-per-dollar exchange rate, according to the July balance sheet. According to her reporting in the Miami Herald, Gaviota, another subentity of GAESA, is currently sitting on $4.3 billion in its bank accounts. Cubans are dying due to a lack of 70% ” of the essential medications to treat most illnesses, Cuba’s prime minister said earlier this month.” According to Gámez Torres that means Gaviota has ” almost 13 times the $339 million the government said it needed to buy medications to supply Cuban pharmacies annually.
The dictatorship in Cuba has worsened over the last decade, and the record shows that the Obama thaw was responsible for, or coincided with this worsening trend. Defenders of the Obama policy often bring up the huge number of tourists then visiting Cuba, but left out are the unexpected consequences in a communist dictatorship. In free societies, with market economies, tourism means an improved standard of living, but Azam Ahmed reporting for The New York Times in December 8, 2016 described the following outcome.
Continue reading HERE.
When Fidel was the acting dictator, there was an equivalent fund known as “la reserva del Comandante,” ostensibly for the use of the “revolution” but controlled by you-know-who. This is the current version. The crooks in question are many things, but they’re not stupid. They’re making damn sure they have LOTS of money stashed away in case they have to flee the country never to return.