Cuban American repudiation of Obama Cuba policy cost Hillary Clinton Florida

Trying to get the facts out on the 2016 Cuban American vote in Florida

Miriam de la Peña talks with Donald Trump about Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown 

On September 17, 2016 the Free Cuba Foundation published a blog that stated "Obama's Cuba policy to be judged by Cuban Americans at the ballot box." This was because a day earlier Donald Trump who had been lukewarmly supporting President Obama's Cuba policy vowed to roll it back. This change was reflected in a dramatic improvement in his polling numbers. On October 25, 2016 the Republican presidential nominee hosted a breakfast with a small group of Cuban American leaders and listened to their concerns. Later that same day he received a formal and public endorsement of the Brigade 2506 Bay of Pigs Association in Little Havana. Trump’s support among Cuban-American voters in Florida was at 52 percent, up from 33 percent in September, prior to the change on Cuba policy, according to Andres Oppenheimer days before the election. On the eve of the Presidential election the New York businessman tweeted the following pledge:

Today in Florida, I pledged to stand with the people of Cuba and Venezuela in their fight against oppression- cont: https://t.co/8eELqk2wUw

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2016

On election day the Pew Research Center placed the percentage of Cuban Americans voting for Donald Trump at 54% and that is asserted by some to be a conservative estimate.

Let us do the math if as some claim 570,878 Cuban Americans voted in the 2016 election and Mr. Trump saw a 21 point shift in support that correlates with his announced change in Cuba policy this translated to 119,884 additional votes. A total of  308,274 Cuban Americans voted for Mr. Donald Trump. Now Mauricio Claver-Carone makes the case that the actual percentage maybe above 60%.

Not only does that overall number increase to 342,527 but also the number of Cuban Americans that switched their vote in favor of the New York businessman after he rejected Obama's Cuba policy is also higher at 154,137 votes.

Considering that President Elect Trump's margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in Florida was just 119,970 votes and the argument is not just that Cuban Americans were critical to the New York businessman's victory but that the dramatic increase in support was linked to U.S. Cuba policy and its rejection by a large number of Cuban American voters according to exit polls. At the low range the shift in that vote alone, possibly Cuba policy single issue voters, was at a minimum 86 votes short of providing the margin for taking Florida or at the higher end exceeded it by 34,167 votes.

If the Florida International University Cuba Poll were accurate and a majority of voting Cuban Americans supported Obama's Cuba policy then President Elect Trump would not have seen a 19 point surge in support when he promised to rollback President Obama's Cuba policy. Furthermore in South Florida one would not have seen all the well financed anti-embargo candidates running for Federal office defeated by crushing margins, even in majority Democrat districts.

There are those now who claim that the Cuban American vote was not a decisive factor in Trump's victory in Florida. They are wrong. This is not a matter of opinion but of the course of events over the past seven months and the math explained above. 

The Latino Decisions poll used by those making this claim is problematic for a number of reasons such as: it being sponsored by the National Council of La Raza that has a vested interest in pushing a particular narrative, it is a push poll with questions that provide information that would negatively impact the Latino vote for Republicans and finally no questions were asked about Obama's Cuba policy and how it would impact the vote. They could have also asked some of the following questions:

Would you be more or less likely to vote for Hillary Clinton after learning that she pressed President Obama to normalize relations with the Castro dictatorship and remove economic sanctions with no regards to the human rights situation in Cuba? 

Would you be more or less likely to vote for Hillary Clinton after learning that not only did President Bill Clinton shake hands with Fidel Castro in 2000 and open up cash and carry trade with Cuba a few months later but also met with and warmly received Raul Castro in 2015 in New York City? 

Would you be more or less likely to vote for Hillary Clinton after learning that the Cuba policy she lobbied for in the Obama Administration approved deals that led to discrimination against Cuban Americans because of their national origin denying them equal treatment because American companies Carnival and American Airlines wanted to bend over backwards to Cuban government demands?

If Latino Decisions had asked these question and as it did with their push poll questions informing on Republican hostility to President Obama's executive orders on immigration then the depth of Cuban American outrage could have been reflected in the polling and so many would not have been surprised on election day.

Trump opens chasm between himself and Hillary Clinton on Cuba policy

Obama's Cuba policy to be judged by Cuban Americans at the ballot box

Democrat Hillary Clinton versus Republican Donald Trump

Cuban American voters now have a choice not an echo on Cuba policy in the 2016 Presidential election

Cuban American voters now potentially have a reason to turn out in record numbers in the 2016 presidential election. Republican GOP nominee Donald Trump yesterday in Miami announced that he would reverse Obama’s Cuba policy if the Castro regime did not meet his demands that “include religious and political freedom for the Cuban people and the freeing of political prisoners.”

For the first time ever in a presidential election both major party candidates were backing normalizing relations with the Castro regime. This position would have hurt Republicans more than Democrats because part of their base of Cuban American voters, in Hialeah for example, are working class and vote Republican out of their anti-communism, not economic interests. Until yesterday Cuba policy was going to be a wash in the 2016 presidential election with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump supporting Obama's failed Cuba policy.

 “The last time there was a clear choice, a referendum, on U.S. Cuba policy took place between two presidential candidates in 1980, where Jimmy Carter decided to open the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, lifted the travel embargo on Cuba and began direct negotiations with the Castro regime only to be defeated by Ronald Reagan who promised to reverse the policy,” explained Augusto Monge, co founding member of the Free Cuba Foundation. Augusto, also observed that “As in 1980, like today in 2016, the fruits of the normalization policy with the Castro regime are decidedly rotten. The human rights situation in the island has worsened; the regime's subversive influence in Latin America expanded threatening democratic governments friendly to the United States.”

"Cuban American voters who care about a free Cuba now have a clear and contrasting choice not an echo on Cuba policy in this election,” said FCF member John Suarez who added “let us not forget that President Obama along with his GOP adversaries in 2008 and again in 2012 backed maintaining economic sanctions until political prisoners were freed and the fundamental human rights of the Cuban people respected.  This position was also held by previous winning Democratic nominee Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 who did well among Cuban American voters. Once they entered office and no longer had to worry about getting elected then they took on policies unpopular with their Cuban American constituents. This places Hillary Clinton in a disadvantageous position among Cuban-America voters in South Florida. She might want to join Donald Trump and reconsider her position on U.S. – Cuba policy.”

This new contrast over Cuba will test the FIU poll of Miami Cubans that claims strong support for Obama's Cuba policy among Cuban Americans.  In stark contrast, Marco Rubio who repudiated the Obama Cuba policy won the Cuban American vote in Miami-Dade County handily even though he lost the rest of Florida in the Republican primary. Trump's about face on Cuba policy is good news for the GOP in South Florida where Cuban Americans upset over the the administration's December 17, 2014 announcement now potentially have a candidate that they can support. 

Donald J. Trump addresses Bay of Pigs veterans in 1999

Back in 1999 Donald Trump wrote an OpEd in The Miami Herald on Cuba advocating maintaining the embargo:

Published Friday, June 25, 1999, in the Miami Herald

DONALD J. TRUMP

---

A choice for human rights

Donald J. Trump is a real-estate investor and head of The Trump Organization in New York City.
Several large European investment groups have asked me to take the ``Trump Magic'' to Cuba. They have ``begged'' me to form partnerships to build casino-hotels in Havana. With the influx of foreign tourists, we would make a fortune, they promise, and they are no doubt right. They are also right to say that this type of arrangement would allow me to skirt the U. S.-imposed embargo. 

But rushing to join those who would do business in Cuba would do more than that. It would place me directly at odds with the longstanding U. S. policy of isolating Fidel Castro. I had a choice to make: huge profits or human rights. For me, it was a no-brainer.

I fully understand the familiar arguments for lifting the embargo. The Cold War is over. Castro is on the ropes. Pumping money into his economy would benefit the long-suffering masses. This is the way to ``open up'' Cuba, export democracy, and promote entrepreneurship and independence from the state. We need to put the past behind us.

Each of those arguments is bogus.

The Cold War is indeed over, but it would be instructive to remember the role that Castro played in the struggle between -- yes -- good and evil. He turned his island over to his Soviet patrons. He was quite willing to have nuclear missiles, launched from Cuban soil, destroy American cities. He exported revolution to Central and South America. He abetted Libyan terrorism. He gave asylum to murderers. He posted troops in Africa.

More important, he turned his nation into a maximum-security prison. His regime controls every aspect of human life -- access to food, medical assistance, schools and employment. Castro has not mellowed with age. Terror continues to reign. The secret police are unrestrained. The disappearance and beatings of citizens are still tools of civilian control, as is the suppression of free speech. Castro's ruthless domination of the Cuban people has not lessened even as his regime crumbles.

The real cause of misery of the Cuban people is Castro's Marxist-Leninist economic system -- not the U.S. embargo. Castro's Cuba is a brutal police state; Castro rules through terror, intimidation and brutality.

Castro urgently wants the United States to lift the embargo because he is desperate for hard currency to keep his faltering communist economy afloat. Now, without the generous subsidies from the Soviet Union -- between $5-7 billion dollars a year -- Cuba's economy is reeling.

Of course, he would love Donald Trump to come to Havana and build casino hotels. Why? Not to raise the standard of living for the people of Cuba. Quite the contrary. Almost every dollar would go to prop up his police-state. Why? Because foreign investors cannot legally do business with private Cuban citizens. They can go into business only with the Castro government. It is highly illegal in Cuba for anyone except for the regime to employ a Cuban citizen.

Foreign investors are not allowed to hire or pay Cuban workers. They must pay the government directly for the workers. Castro then pays the workers in worthless Cuban money and keeps the rest. Under these circumstances, my investment cannot help average Cubans -- it can only replace the Soviet subsidy Castro no longer receives.

If I opened a casino/hotel in Havana, I would be required to pay Castro about $10,000 per year for each Cuban worker. But the workers would not benefit. Castro would pay them the equivalent of $10 a month. The rest he uses to pay for the brutal and violent system that keeps him in power -- and deprives the Cuban people of basic human rights. In other words, my investment in Cuba would directly subsidize the oppression of the Cuban people.

Yes, the embargo is costly. If I formed a joint venture with European partners, I would make millions of dollars. But I'd rather lose those millions than lose my self-respect. I would rather take a financial hit than become a financial backer of one of the world's most-brutal dictators, a man who was once willing to aid in the destruction of my country. To me the embargo question is no question at all. Of course, we should keep the embargo in place. We should keep it until Castro is gone.
Copyright 1999 Miami Herald  

AN OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW CUBA POLICY

 Free Cuba Foundation is a member of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a coalition of Cuban and Cuban-American pro-democracy organizations and reproduces this letter released on December 17, 2015 at a press conference at the Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW CUBA POLICY

Coral Gables, Florida. December 17^th, 2015- Assembly of the Cuban Resistance. Today two key organizations of the Cuban American community, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and the Cuban Democratic Directorate, issued an Open letter to President Barack Obama on the first anniversary of the announcement of the new Cuba policy. In both video and written formats, the letter presents to President Obama a powerful evaluation of the negative repercussions for the human rights movement in Cuba as a result of an engagement policy consisting of unilateral concessions to the Castro regime.

AN OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW CUBA POLICY

From

THE CUBAN DEMOCRATIC DIRECTORATE (DIRECTORIO)

17 December 2015

Mr. President:

A year ago today you announced a new policy towards Cuba. This policy has resulted in little more than one unilateral concession after another to a totalitarian dictatorship that has continuously oppressed the Cuban people for the past 56 years.

The first of these concessions was the return to Cuba of Castro agents, one of whom was directly involved in the murder, on February 24, 1996, of four young men, three of them US citizens and one a U.S. resident, who were Brothers to the Rescue volunteers piloting unarmed civilian aircraft over international waters while on a humanitarian mission. This first immoral act, together with all that followed, has emboldened the continued repression against the Cuban people.

Emboldened by acts such as these, the Castro Regime’s repression on the growing civic resistance movement in the island has grown ever more brazen. It is our goal in this letter to provide information on the events that have taken place on the ground, in Cuba, over the past year, and have had a direct effect on Cubans. 

Below we take these points from your December 17, 2014 speech announcing the new Cuba policy and contrast them with what has taken place in Cuba since that date.

President Obama quote: “[W]e welcome Cuba’s decision to release a substantial number of prisoners whose cases were directly raised with the Cuban government by my team.”

Mr. President: This December 10, 2015 – International Human Rights Day – more than 300 activists were arrested in Cuba. This continues a pattern of over 8,000 politically-motivated arbitrary detentions this year. Political prisoners continue to be unjustly jailed in Cuba. Some have responded to this injustice by declaring themselves on hunger strike leading to additional punishments by prison officials. Among these political prisoners, we are deeply concerned by the current plight of seven: Geovanys Izaguirre Hernandez and Laudelino Mendoza who have been imprisoned since November 6, 2015 for writing a sign that read, “We want change, and no more hunger;” Hugo Damian Prieto Blanco, who was detained on October 25, 2015 accused of charges of public disorder; Vladimir Morera Bacallao arrested and sentenced to four years in prison for writing on the wall of his home, “I vote for my freedom and not in elections where I cannot elect my president,” he has been on hunger strike since October 9th demanding his freedom; also, on hunger strikes since December 1, 2015, Felipe Martínez Companioni and Alexander Palacios Reyes, jailed for handing out human rights fliers; and Javier Jouz Varona since December 14, 2015 when he was imprisoned for carrying out opposition activities in the streets. I fear for their lives, Mr. President.

President Obama quote: “The United States believes that no Cubans should face harassment or arrest or beatings simply because they’re exercising a universal right to have their voices heard, and we will continue to support civil society there.”

President Obama: There is a clear linkage between U.S. rapprochement with the Castro Regime and escalating violence against Cuban activists. Earlier this year on May 24, 2015, a mother of two was machete attacked on the orders of State Security, losing her left hand, suffering deep and crippling cuts on her knees, and the machete cut through the bone of her right arm leaving it dangling. Her offense? As a regional delegate of the Peoples Power who tried to keep a neighborhood school open, when official channels ignored her requests, she went to the international press. Removed from her government position, she joined the democratic opposition and petitioned for improved human rights and freedoms.  This case is emblematic of the heightened violence against activists in Cuba since December 17, 2014.

President Obama quote: This April, we are prepared to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas.  But we will insist that civil society join us so that citizens, not just leaders, are shaping our future. 

Mr. President:  Inviting the Castro Regime to the Summit of the Americas in Panama in April of 2015, violated the democratic ideals of the summit. The cost of ignoring the dictatorship’s anti-democratic and violent nature was made evident during the Summit when events were interrupted by acts of repudiation organized by the Castro Regime. On the eve of the Summit, a group of activists from Cuba and the United States that went to lay flowers at a statue of Jose Marti were viciously attacked by Cuban State Security. Several required hospitalization and needed to undergo extensive surgery for the injuries sustained. In spite of this, you met with Raul Castro and treated him as an equal, sending a dangerous signal to the Castro dictatorship, but also to hostile regimes everywhere, that the safety of Americans is not a priority.

President Obama quote: My fellow Americans, the city of Miami is only 200 miles or so from Havana.  Countless thousands of Cubans have come to Miami -- on planes and makeshift rafts; some with little but the shirt on their back and hope in their hearts.

Mr. President: The current U.S. policy that has abandoned the goal of regime change and is embracing a 56-year-old dictatorship has been received by millions of Cubans, who were initially hopeful, with profound despair as things have gotten worse. This, combined with a perception by the Castro Regime that the current administration is weak, has given a green light to another immigration crisis in the region. Tens of thousands have already sought to flee the prospects of a dynastic succession within a continuing Castro dictatorship.

President Obama quote: “I believe in the free flow of information.  Unfortunately, our sanctions on Cuba have denied Cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe.  So I’ve authorized increased telecommunications connections between the United States and Cuba.  Businesses will be able to sell goods that enable Cubans to communicate with the United States and other countries.”

    

Mr. President: The United States cannot be blamed for the lack of access of Cubans to technology.  To start with, a 1,600 kilometer (994-mile) fiber-optic cable between Venezuela and Cuba, estimated to cost $70 million, was actually completed in February 2011 and was due to come into operation in July 2011.  The Castro Regime’s officials have never explained why this cable remains unused.  The obvious reason, as stated by the prestigious NGO Reporters without Borders, is the political will of the Castro Regime to keep the Cuban people from freely accessing the Internet.  The Castro Regime tightly controls the distribution and use of computers in Cuba, and access to Internet cafes comes at a cost that most Cubans cannot afford.  Radio and TV signals from outside Cuba are routinely jammed, and low tech equipment from short wave radios to laptops have routinely been confiscated by the dictatorship. The Castro Regime limits access to technology for the same reason that it controls all media and imprisons independent journalists: so as to maintain the Cuban people uninformed and defenseless.  What’s more, over the past five years, despite your efforts in 2010 and again in 2014 of loosening sanctions, the Castro Regime has gone backwards, not forward in technology rankings. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies and is a respected reference source for international rankings. The ICT Development Index (IDI) is a composite index combining eleven indicators into one benchmark measure that can be used to monitor and compare developments in information and communication technology (ICT) between countries and over time. According to ITU between 2010 and 2015 Cuba has dropped in rank from 119th to 129th in the world in IDI overall rankings, falling behind countries such as Lesotho, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Honduras and Syria.

President Obama quote: Cubans have a saying about daily life: “No es facil” –- it’s not easy.  Today, the United States wants to be a partner in making the lives of ordinary Cubans a little bit easier, more free, more prosperous.

No, Mr. President, it hasn’t been easy for the Cuban Resistance to see the President of the world’s most powerful democracy shaking the hand of a dictator that has yet to pay for the crimes that he has committed against humanity.  Over the past year, life for the civic resistance movement of the Cuban people has become even more difficult, as well as for the Cuban people in general.  Emboldened by unilateral concessions, the Regime has increased repression and retrenched itself in power.  The thousands of monthly political arrests and the current mass exodus of Cubans are a result of this.  Now is not the time to unilaterally lift sanctions on the Castro Regime.  There is still time for the United States to lead an international coalition calling for the release of political prisoners, an end to repression and genuine free elections.  The Agreement for Democracy, signed on to by the vast majority of the Cuban opposition, shows a road map towards true change in Cuba. Only with this true change can the life of ordinary Cubans be easier, with freedom, justice and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Dr. Orlando Gutierrez Boronat,
National Secretary
Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio)

Obama quotes: Taken from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/statement-president-cuba-policy-changes

ITU data for tech quote. http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2015.aspx

 

CARTA ABIERTA AL PRESIDENTE BARACK OBAMA EN EL PRIMER ANIVERSARIO DEL ANUNCIO DE LA NUEVA POLÍTICA HACIA CUBA

 Coral Gables, Florida- 17 de diciembre del 2015- Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana. Dos importantes organizaciones de la comunidad cubano americana, la Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana y el Directorio Democrático Cubano publicaron una carta abierta dirigida al Presidente Barack Obama, en el primer aniversario de su anuncio de cambio de política hacia Cuba. Las publicaciones, una escrita y la otra en forma de video, le presenta al Presidente Obama una evaluación contundente sobre las repercusiones negativas que ha tenido esta nueva política para el movimiento de derechos humanos en Cuba, como resultado de la misma, que consiste en hacer concesiones unilaterales al Régimen Castrista.

CARTA ABIERTA A BARACK OBAMA EN EL PRIMER ANIVERSARIO DEL ANUNCIO DE LA NUEVA POLITICA HACIA CUBA

De

EL DIRECTORIO DEMOCRATICO CUBANO

17 de diciembre de 2015

Sr. Presidente:

Hoy se cumple un año de que usted anunciara una nueva política hacia Cuba. Esta política ha logrado poco más que una sucesión de concesiones unilaterales a una dictadura totalitaria que incansablemente ha oprimido al pueblo cubano por los últimos 56 años.

La primera de estas concesiones fue el regreso a Cuba de agentes de Castro, uno de los cuales estaba directamente implicado en el asesinato, el 24 de febrero de 1996, de cuatro hombres, tres de ellos eran ciudadanos americanos y uno residente en los Estados Unidos, quienes eran voluntarios de Hermanos al Rescate y piloteaban aviones civiles desarmados sobre aguas internacionales mientras se encontraban en una misión humanitaria. Este primer acto inmoral, junto a todos los que le siguieron, han envalentonado a una incesante represión en contra del pueblo cubano.

Alentados por actos como este, la represión del Régimen Castrista en contra de la creciente resistencia cívica en la isla ha aumentado en brutalidad. Es nuestro objetivo con esta carta proveer información sobre los eventos que han ocurrido en el terreno, en Cuba, a lo largo del año pasado y han tenido un efecto directo para los cubanos.

A continuación tomamos como base los puntos que usted tocó en su discurso del 17 de diciembre de 2014, anunciando la nueva política hacia Cuba, y los contrastamos con los hechos que han ocurrido en Cuba desde esa fecha.

Presidente Obama cita: “Nosotros recibimos con placer la decisión de Cuba de liberar a un número sustancial de prisioneros cuyos casos han sido directamente propuestos por mi equipo al gobierno cubano”.

Sr. Presidente: Este 10 de diciembre de 2015 – Día Internacional de los Derechos Humanos – más de 300 activistas fueron arrestados en Cuba. Esto continúa con un patrón de más de 8,000 detenciones arbitrarias, políticamente motivadas este año. Los prisioneros políticos siguen siendo injustamente encarcelados en Cuba. Algunos han respondido a esta injusticia declarándose en huelga de hambre, lo que ha desencadenado castigos adicionales por parte de los oficiales de prisión. De estos prisioneros políticos, estamos especialmente preocupados por la situación actual de siete: Geovanys Izaguirre Hernández y Laudelino Mendoza quienes fueron encarcelados el 6 de noviembre de 2015 por escribir un cartel que decía, “Queremos cambios, no más hambre”; Hugo Damian Prieto Blanco, detenido el 25 de octubre de 2015 al serle imputado cargos de desorden público; Vladimir Morera Bacallao arrestado y sentenciado a cuatro años de prisión por escribir en la pared de su casa, “Yo voto por mi libertad y no en una elección donde no puedo elegir a mi presidente”, él ha estado en huelga de hambre demandando su libertad desde el 9 de octubre de 2015; también en huelgas de hambre desde el 1ro de diciembre de 2015, Felipe Martínez Companioni y Alexander Palacios Reyes, encarcelados por repartir panfletos sobre los derechos humanos; y Javier Jouz Varona desde el 14 de diciembre de 2015 cuando fue detenido por organizar actividades opositoras en la calle. Yo temo por sus vidas, Sr. Presidente.

Presidente Obama cita: “Los Estados Unidos cree que ningún cubano debe sufrir asedios, arrestos, o golpizas simplemente porque ejerciten el derecho universal de hacer sentir sus voces, y nosotros continuaremos apoyando a la sociedad civil allí”.

Presidente Obama: Hay una relación directa entre el acercamiento al Régimen Castrista y el escalamiento en la violencia en contra de los activistas cubanos. A comienzos del año, el 24 de mayo de 2015, una madre de dos, fue atacada con un machete bajo las órdenes de la Seguridad del Estado, perdiendo su mano izquierda, sufriendo heridas profundas que la mutilaron. El machete penetró a través del hueso de su brazo derecho, dejándolo colgando. ¿Su ofensa? Como delegada provincial del Poder Popular, intentó mantener abierta una escuela del barrio, cuando las vías oficiales ignoraron sus pedidos, ella contactó a la prensa internacional. Despedida de su posición en el gobierno, se unió a la oposición democrática y pidió el mejoramiento de los derechos humanos y libertades. Este caso es emblemático para ilustrar la creciente violencia en contra de activistas en Cuba desde el 17 de diciembre de 2014.

Presidente Obama cita: Este abril, estamos preparados para aceptar que Cuba se una a las otras naciones del hemisferio en la Cumbre de las Américas.  Pero, insistiremos en que la sociedad civil se una también, no solo los líderes están moldeando nuestro futuro”.

Sr. Presidente: Invitando al Régimen Castrista a la Cumbre de las Américas en Panamá en abril de 2015, violó los ideales democráticos de la Cumbre. El costo de ignorar la naturaleza violenta y anti-democrática de la dictadura fue evidente durante la Cumbre cuando los eventos fueron interrumpidos por actos de repudio organizados por el Régimen Castrista. En vísperas de la Cumbre, un grupo de activistas de Cuba y los Estados Unidos que iban a llevar flores a la estatua de José Martí fueron despiadadamente atacados por la Seguridad del Estado cubana. Muchos requirieron ser hospitalizados y necesitaron someterse a extensas operaciones por las lesiones sufridas. A pesar de esto, usted se encontró con Raúl Castro y lo trató como un igual, mandando una peligrosa señal a la dictadura Castrista, pero también a todos los regímenes hostiles en el mundo, de que la seguridad de los ciudadanos americanos no es una prioridad.

Presidente Obama cita: Mis compatriotas, la ciudad de Miami está a tan sólo 200 millas de La Habana.  Incontables miles de cubanos han venido a Miami – en aviones y balsas; algunos con poco más que la camisa que vestían y esperanza en sus corazones”.

Sr. Presidente: La política americana actual, la cual ha abandonado la meta de cambio de régimen y ha  abrazado a una dictadura de 56 años, ha sido recibida por millones de cubanos, quienes inicialmente estaban esperanzados, con profunda desesperación mientras la situación ha empeorado. Esto, aunado a la percepción del Régimen Castrista de que la actual administración es débil, ha dado luz verde a otra crisis migratoria en la región. Cientos de miles ya han intentado huir ante la perspectiva de una sucesión dinástica dentro de la dictadura Castrista.

Presidente Obama cita: “Yo creo en el libre flujo de información. Desafortunadamente, nuestras sanciones a Cuba han negado a los cubanos acceso  a la misma tecnología que ha dado poder a individuos alrededor del mundo. Es por esto que he autorizado un incremento en las conexiones de telecomunicaciones entre los Estados Unidos y Cuba. Los negocios tendrán la oportunidad de vender productos que permitan a los cubanos comunicarse con los Estados Unidos y otros países.” 

    

Sr. Presidente: Los Estados Unidos no pueden ser culpados por la falta de acceso de los cubanos a la tecnología. Para comenzar, un cable de fibra-óptica de 1,600 kilómetros (994-millas) entre Venezuela y Cuba, de costo estimado en $70 millones, fue completado en febrero de 2011 y debía comenzar a operar en julio de 2011.  Los oficiales del Régimen Castrista nunca han explicado porque este cable permanece sin uso. La razón obvia, como ha sido declarado por la prestigiosa ONG Reporteros sin Fronteras, es la voluntad política del Régimen Castrista la que evita el acceso libre a Internet de los cubanos. El Régimen Castrista estrictamente controla la distribución y uso de computadoras en  Cuba, y el acceso a las Salas de Navegación de Internet tiene un costo que los cubanos no pueden pagar. Las señales de Radio y TV que entran desde afuera de Cuba son rutinariamente interrumpidas, y los equipos de baja tecnología de radios de onda corta para laptops han sido normalmente confiscados por la dictadura. El Régimen Castrista limita el acceso a la tecnología por la misma razón que controla todos los medios de comunicación y encarcela a periodistas independientes: para poder mantener al pueblo cubano desinformado y desprotegido. Además, en los últimos cinco años, a pesar de los esfuerzos en el 2010 y de nuevo en el 2014 de debilitar sanciones, el Régimen Castrista ha retrocedido, y no progresado en clasificaciones de tecnología. La Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT) es la agencia especializada de las Naciones Unidas para las tecnologías de la información y comunicación, y es una fuente referencial respetada para clasificaciones internacionales. El Índice de Desarrollo de la UIT (IDI) es un índice compuesto que combina once indicadores en una medida de referencia que puede ser usada para monitorear y comparar el desarrollo de la tecnología de la información y la comunicación (ICT) entre países y a través del tiempo. De acuerdo a la UIT entre 2010 y 2015 Cuba ha descendido en la clasificación en el mundo, desde la posición 119 a la 129, de acuerdo a la clasificación general de IDI, ocupando un lugar detrás de países como Lesoto, Sudan, Zimbabue, Honduras y Siria.

Presidente Obama cita: Los cubanos tienen un refrán sobre la vida diaria: “No es fácil”.  Hoy, los Estados Unidos quiere colaborar en convertir las vidas de los cubanos comunes en algo un poco más fácil, más libre, más próspero. 

No, Sr. Presidente, no ha sido fácil para la Resistencia Cubana ver al Presidente de la democracia más poderosa del mundo dándole la mano a un dictador que todavía tiene que pagar por los crímenes que ha cometido en contra de la humanidad. En el último año la vida para el movimiento de Resistencia Cívico del pueblo cubano ha sido incluso más difícil, como también para el pueblo cubano en general.  Envalentonado por las concesiones unilaterales, el Régimen ha aumentado la represión y se ha afianzado en el poder. Los miles de arrestos políticos mensuales y el presente éxodo en masa de los cubanos son el resultado de esto. Ahora no es el momento para unilateralmente levantar las sanciones al Régimen Castrista.  Aún es tiempo para que los Estados Unidos lidere una coalición internacional que demande la liberación de los prisioneros políticos, el fin de la represión y elecciones libres genuinas. El Acuerdo por la Democracia, firmado por la mayoría de la oposición cubana, muestra una hoja de ruta hacia el cambio auténtico en Cuba. Sólo con este cambio verdadero puede la vida del cubano común ser más fácil, con libertad, justicia y prosperidad.

Le saluda atentamente,

Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat,
Secretario Nacional,
Directorio Democrático Cubano

Obama quotes: Taken from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/statement-president-cuba-policy-changes

ITU data for tech quote. http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/mis2015.aspx

Free Cubans Protest Failed Obama-Kerry Cuba Policy

Standing up for freedom

The Free Cuba Foundation protested the Obama administration’s failed Cuba policy on Friday, August 14, 2015 starting at 6:00pm on the sidewalk in front of La Carreta Restaurant located on 8650 Bird Rd along with members of the South Florida community.

We conducted a burma shave style protest using a series of signs to get our message across along with the images of some of the Cuban and Venezuelan victims killed by the Castro regime on Obama's watch. The above animated GIF recreates it. The protest ended with a silent prayer vigil for victims of Castroism and for a free Cuba that was followed by members of the community singing the Cuban national anthem.

The Free Cuba Foundation is a student movement founded at Florida International University in 1993 that since 2009 has been a member of the Assembly of the Resistance, a coalition of more than 50 organizations inside and outside of Cuba.

Stand up and be counted: Protest failed Cuba policy

Stand up for human rights and a free Cuba.

 Free Cubans Will Protest Failed Obama-Kerry Cuba Policy

The Free Cuba Foundation will protest the Obama administration’s failed Cuba policy on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 6:00pm on the sidewalk in front of La Carreta Restaurant located on 8650 Bird Rd and invites the South Florida community to join us.

We will be conducting a burma shave style protest using a series of signs to get out our message. Protest will end with a silent prayer vigil for victims of Castroism and for a free Cuba.

The Free Cuba Foundation is a student movement founded at Florida International University in 1993 that since 2009 has been a member of the Assembly of the Resistance, a coalition of more than 50 organizations inside and outside of Cuba.

When: August 14, 2015 at 6:00pm
Where: Sidewalk in from of La Carreta Restaurant (8650 SW 40th Street Miami, FL)
Why: To protest failed Obama-Kerry Cuba policy 

Open letter to Congress opposes Obama's new Cuba policy

Former Diplomats, University Professors, Representatives of Cuba’s Democratic Opposition on the Island and in Exile, and Former Corporate Leaders Write to Congress on President Obama’s New Cuba Policy.

Fifty-eight former diplomats, university professors, leaders of Cuba's democratic opposition on the island and in exile, and former corporate leaders wrote an open letter to Congress objecting to President Obama's efforts to remove the Castros’ regime from the State Department list of governments supportive of terrorism.

The letter: “The New Cuba Policy: Breakthrough or Bailout?,” was distributed on Capitol Hill today and says that “increasing U.S. travel to Cuba under the Castro-manipulated people-to-people program will benefit the military which owns all of Cuba’s hotels and tourist infrastructure.”

Among those signing the appeal to Congress are Paula Dobriansky, former Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, James Cason, former U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay and former Chief of Mission at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, Ambassador Phillip Hughes, former Executive Secretary, National Security Council and former U.S. Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, Everett Ellis Briggs, former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, Panama, and Portugal and former President of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

“Removing Cuba from the list of terrorist states will reward the Castro regime for smuggling 240 tons of heavy weapons to North Korea, training and equipping Venezuela’s repressive forces, offering Russia’s Putin an espionage listening post in Cuba, and harboring dozens of fugitive terrorists and criminals, including one of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorists, Assata Shakur,” they said. They added that “Cuba is the only “state-sponsored of terrorism” nation to openly harbor a fugitive on the most-wanted terrorist list.”

The corporate community was represented by: Emilio Alvarez-Recio, former Vicepresident Worldwide Advertising of Colgate-Palmolive, Néstor T. Carbonell, former Vicepresident for International Government Affairs of Pepsico, Ruben Rodriguez-Wallin, former Chairman and CEO of Bacardi, and Alberto Luzarraga, former Chairman of Continental Bank International.

Also signing were Michael Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, Robert O’Brien, Treasurer, Center for a Free Cuba, and José Sorzano, former Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Two of the signatories: Miriam and Mario de la Peña are parents of Mario M. de la Peña, one of four pilots murdered by Cuban warplanes in international airspace in 1996." "One of the spies exchanged by President Obama was serving a life sentence for his role in those murders," the letter says.  General Raul Castro, then Cuba's Minister of the Armed Forces" ordered the murders and later awarded medals to the officers who pulled the trigger."

The project to raise this issue with the Congress honors the “memory of Manuel Jorge Cutillas and his lifelong dedication to the cause of freedom in Cuba." 

Following is the full text of the letter to the Congress including signatories. The signatories have signed this letter in their personal capacities; they do not reflect the views of their company, organization or university, current or past. Center for Free Cuba is a 501-c3 organization according to the Internal Revenue Service. The Center neither supports nor opposes any legislation before Congress. If you would like to add your name then sign here.