On July 22, 2012, Havana's secret police assassinated Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante, both human rights heroes in the Americas. The Cuban government and its agents of influence have continued to try to cover up the atrocity.
Last year, following a ten year investigation, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights confirmed that the two human rights defenders were killed by Cuban government agents.
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. - Elie Wiesel
On July 13, 1994, 37 Cubans were massacred by Cuban government agents, 20 of the victims were between the ages of 5 months and 27 years old, during an operation staged by State Security. Only the sudden arrival of a Greek trawler brought the massacre to an end, leaving survivors to recount what had occurred. The slain Cubans wanted to live in freedom and had a relative who was a tugboat captain who could take them there on the "13 de Marzo" tugboat. What these Cubans were unaware of was that State Security had learned of the event and had planned their departure and execution six miles off the coast of Havana.
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| For the past two decades at FIU a moment of silence held on July 13 |
The Free Cuba Foundation (FCF) was founded in August 1993, and less than a year later, this tragedy shocked and outraged its members, prompting the group to continue denouncing the crime and demanding justice to this day.
On the first anniversary of the tugboat sinking, FCF members joined a flotilla organized by Ramon Saul Sanchez and what became known as the Democracy Movement, which entered Cuban seas to lay flowers at the massacre site. The hull of the lead boat "Democracia" on which Ramon Saul Sanchez was on board was rammed and crushed by Cuban gunboats. (Incidentally, the Democracy Movement organized a flotilla to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat tragedy.) At the same time, a silent vigil was conducted at Florida International University to remember the deaths.
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| Silent vigil at FIU on July 13, 1998 |
On July 14, 1998 Cathy Reyes of the FIU student newspaper, The Beacon, published a story
on the vigil titled: "Free Cuba Foundation, community remember "13 de
Marzo" victims" reporting on the 25 students and members of the
university who gathered the day before in a silent vigil and quoted some
of the FCF members who explained the reason for the event:
"Four years ago on early July 13, 1994, the tugboat "13 de Marzo" was attacked by agents of the Cuban government," said John Suarez, ... "They repeatedly rammed the tug, used high pressure water hoses on the victims and sank the ship seven miles off the coast of Havana, Cuba."
"We must remember those who died at the hands of Castro's inhumane regime," said Jose Raul Carro ...
On December 10, 1998 we signed and sent a signed statement calling on the wider community to "Join Our Silent Call for Justice" that was published in The Miami Herald on December 28, 1998 which placed the July 13, 1994 "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre into Cuba's historical context. In 1999 the Free Cuba Foundation made public another declaration, "Call for Justice on the 5th Anniversary of the "13 de Marzo" Massacre and announced the following:
"We don't think FIU students know much about this event that occurred four years ago. It is an event that the whole world knows, but it is not as known in FIU," said Xavier Utset, FCF president
"We seek to draw attention to these outrages, and we plan to do so by raising a civil and respectful call for justice. We believe that the crimes committed above are a result of the utilization of violence, arrogance, and hatred as government policy. The policy is evil. The best way to oppose evil is not with more evil. Gandhi observed that, "civility and humility are expressions of the spirit of non-violence while incivility and insolence indicates the spirit of violence." Therefore, on July 13, 1999, we will be fasting at Florida International University for 24 hours. We will be holding silent vigils in remembrance of those who have died violently in the Florida Straits..."The 24 hour fast and a five minute silent vigil for justice were both carried out on July 13, 1999. Over the years in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 the silent vigils continued adding a minute to each year. On the tenth anniversary in 2004 the press descended on Florida International University and reported on the 10 minute vigil that year and The Miami Herald quoted FCF coordinator Neri Martinez:
'This was a massacre,'' said Neri Martínez, 22, coordinator of the Free Cuba Foundation, a student group that organized a vigil at Florida International University. The group marked 10 minutes of silence, one for each year that has passed. ''It's a silent call for justice,'' Martínez said. ``Not only are we remembering the victims, but we are also condemning the crimes committed by the Cuban government on its own people.''The Sun Sentinel offered the following report of what took place at FIU on July 13, 2004:
During a noon ceremony at Florida International University, about 20 people climbed up on the edge of an empty concrete fountain, joined hands and stood in silence for about 10 minutes."This was a very big crime against humanity," said Neri Martinez, coordinator for the Free Cuba Foundation, a student group. "People need to remember what's going on inside of Cuba."
On July 12, 2006 at Florida International University the Free Cuba Foundation organized a panel discussion on what had happened on July 13, 1994 and its links to the February 24, 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shoot down. Guest speakers were Ramon Saul Sanchez of the Democracy Movement and Jose Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue. The Associated Press made mention of the gathering in one of its stories on Cuba policy. The following day on July 13 at 12 noon a 12 minute silent vigil was held at the FIU main fountain and captured on video.
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| Past FCF presidents Susana Navajas (center) and Pedro Ross (far right) listen to Jorge Garcia |
Silent vigils continued to be announced and held at Florida International University in 2007
and 2008 adding a minute for each year that had passed without justice.
On 2009 for the 15th anniversary of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre
the Free Cuba Foundation held a panel discussion
with Jorge Garcia, a family member, who had 14 relatives
extrajudicially executed in the massacre. Earlier that day FCF held a 15
minute silent vigil. The Spanish newswire EFE reported the following:
"We want to say to the world that this was a crime against persons who only wanted to leave Cuba to have liberty. We consider that this crime should not remain in impunity," said Julio Menache co-president of FCF at FIU. FCF will commemorate the event with a vigil and projection of a ducumentary about persons who lost family members in the sinking of the tugboat. At the event will be present Jorge García who lost 14 family members, among them his son Joel of 20 years of age and his grandson Juan Marion, of 10 years.In 2010 a dissident who had been jailed for protesting for justice in the case of the July 13, 1994 tugboat massacre joined the silent vigil at FIU organized by FCF and afterwards spoke with us about his ordeal. The silent vigils without much press attention continued to be held in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
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| FCF silent vigil at Florida International University in 2013 |
In 2014 we marked 20 years and the silent vigil was held for 20 minutes. Members reflected on what else could be done to obtain justice using nonviolent means for the 37 victims of the tugboat massacre. We called on people of good will world around the world to gather, hold and document their own 20 minute silent vigils for justice for the victims of the July 13, 1994 "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre.
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| 20 minute Silent vigil at Florida International University on July 13, 2014 |
On Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 3:00pm members of the Free Cuba Foundation gathered at the main fountain at Florida International University [Facing the Library] 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL for a twenty minute silent vigil. Other events were held in Miami, New York City, Washington DC, and in flotilla 12 miles off the coast of Cuba.
We realized that continuing to add a minute was not a feasible exercise after a 25 minute moment of silence in 2019, and beginning in 2020 the vigil was changed to 13 minutes.
On July 11, 2021 when protests broke out throughout Cuba we were outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC reading the names of the 37 victims of the "13 de marzo" tugboat massacre.
Let us return to the beginning, but with a reflection from inside Cuba.
Behind the Christ of Havana, about seven miles from the coast, "volunteers" of the Communist regime committed one of the most heinous crimes in the history of our city and of Cuba. In the morning, a group of seventy people in all, fled on a tugboat, led by the ship's own crew; none was kidnapped, or there against their will. They came out of the mouth of the Bay of Havana. They were pursued by other similar ships. When the runaway ship and its occupants stopped to surrender, the ships that had been chasing them started ramming to sink it. Meanwhile, on the deck, women with children in their arms begging for mercy, but the answer of their captors was to project high pressure water cannons against them. Some saw their children fall overboard under the murderous jets of water amid shrieks of horror. They behaved brutally until their perverse mission was fulfilled: Sink the fleeing ship and annihilate many of its occupants.Twelve years ago on July 22, 2012 on a stretch of road in Eastern Cuba, State Security agents rammed the car Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante were traveling in. Both bodies appeared later that same day. The man who repeatedly denounced the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre would himself become a martyr of the same dictatorship along with Harold, a youth leader of the Christian Liberation Movement.
https://www.amnesty.org/es/
Inter American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States)
REPORT Nº 47/96 CASE 11.436 VICTIMS OF THE TUGBOAT "13 DE MARZO" vs.
CUBA
October 16, 1996 Inter American Commission on Human Rights
https://cidh.oas.org/
For additional information on the Free Cuba Foundation visit the Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/
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| Gandhi King Payá Season for Nonviolence: January 30 - July 22 |
"The Season for Nonviolence represents a successful new model called, 'omni - local' conscious action: 'Engaging large numbers of self - empowered leaders and groups in a collective intention, supplied with strategic sharable tools, adding their own local resources to work globally with singular purpose.'"Beginning on January 30, 2024 with this announcement we will focus on a number of actions that span the physical, the psychological and the spiritual. Dates that will involve concrete actions are the following:
January 30 - 76 year observance of the killing of Mohandas Gandhi
February 23 - 14 year observance of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo on Hunger Strike
February 24 - 28 year observance of the killings of four members of Brothers to the Rescue
April 4 - 56 year observance of the killing of Martin Luther King Jr.
May 10, - 22 year observance of the first Varela Project petitions delivered to the Cuban National Assembly.
May 8 - 13 year observance of the killing of Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia
May 25 - 52 year observance of the death of Pedro Luis Boitel on hunger strike
July 11 - Three year observance of 11J nationwide protests, and dictatorship’s crackdown
July 13 - 30 year observance of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat sinking that killed 37
July 22 - 12 year observance of the killings of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero Escalante
The Objectives
Our objective is to create an awareness of nonviolent principles and practice as a powerful way to heal, transform and empower our lives and community. Through an educational and community action campaign, we will recognize those who have and are using nonviolence to build a community that honors the dignity and worth of every human being. By identifying “what works” in these new models for reconciliation and human harmony, this effort will demonstrate that every person can move the world in the direction of peace through their daily nonviolent choice and action.
The Vision
The Gandhi - King - Payá Season for Nonviolence
As a human family we are asking the question: “How can any act of violence be recognized as a solution to the consequences of violence that we face today?” Violent actions and reactions are t he scars of social, educational, and economic wounds... the voices of a spiritually inarticulate culture. The practice of nonviolence is initiated by choice and cultivated through agreement. The time has come to agree upon this as a global community as if our lives, and those of our children’s children, depended on it. Our vision is of a better world for all human beings. To this end, we undertake the “Gandhi - King Payá Season for Nonviolence” by applying our efforts and resources to identifying, then bringing focus to the spectrum of grassroots projects and programs by individuals and organizations who are pro - actualizing a peaceful social order.
Day 1 of the 174 Days of Gandhi King Payá
Watch the following videos related to Mohandas Gandhi. The first recorded in 1931 was the first interview given on camera to Mohandas Gandhi. The second video is a biography of the non-violent Indian icon. The final video is in Spanish and is by Sara Marta Fonseca, a recently exiled Cuban dissident and she speaks about the importance of Gandhi for activists in Cuba.
Mohandas Gandhi interviewed in 1931
Gandhi biography: Pilgrim of Peace
Sara Marta Fonseca speaks about the legacy of Mohandas Gandhi
Diario las Américas, 10 de diciembre de 2023
ANÁLISIS
La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos fue una iniciativa de las naciones latinoamericanas, en la que Cuba jugó un papel importante al proponerla
Hace setenta y cinco años, el 10 de diciembre de 1948, la Asamblea
General de las Naciones Unidas adoptó la Declaración Universal de los
Derechos Humanos. En 2008, en conmemoración del 60 aniversario de este
importante hito, Mary Ann Glendon, Embajadora de Estados Unidos ante la
Santa Sede, destacó las contribuciones latinoamericanas y católicas a
los derechos humanos, y hizo mención especial a la contribución de Cuba
que fue documentada en un cable diplomático.
“El principal líder del grupo latinoamericano en 1948 era un joven y carismático representante cubano llamado Guy Pérez Cisneros. Su hijo, Pablo Pérez-Cisneros, asistió a la conferencia y relató las contribuciones de su padre a la DUDH, señalando la brecha entre la Cuba de la época de su padre y el deplorable estado de los derechos humanos bajo el régimen actual. El trabajo de Guy Pérez-Cisneros y otros delegados fue capturado en una presentación en video de 12 minutos que presenta imágenes de archivo del discurso de Eleanor Roosevelt y Guy Pérez-Cisneros ante la ONU en apoyo de la DUDH”.
Sin embargo, Pérez Cisneros no fue el arquitecto de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, y hasta que el periodista del Washington Post David Hoffman exploró este capítulo de la historia cubana en su libro de 2022, Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba, esta información sólo estaba disponible en algunos archivos y blogs oscuros.
Hoffman descubrió que la Constitución cubana de 1940, la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos y el artículo 88g de la Constitución cubana de 1992 que hicieron posible el Proyecto Varela fueron en gran medida el resultado de un cubano talentoso que a lo largo de su carrera había sido diplomático, jurista y erudito, pero nunca has oído hablar de él. De hecho, se le ha llamado el “hombre olvidado”.
Se llamaba Gustavo Gutiérrez Sánchez y nació en Camajuaní, Provincia de Santa Clara, Cuba el 20 de septiembre de 1895, y falleció exiliado en Miami el 17 de julio de 1959 a los 63 años.
En 1916, con apenas 21 años. de edad había obtenido doctorados en Derecho Civil y Público, y llegó a ser Profesor Asistente de Derecho Internacional Público en la Universidad de La Habana, y en 1919 pasó a ser jefe de departamento a los 24 años.
Carlos Márquez Sterling, historiador y estadista cubano que dirigió la redacción de la Constitución de 1940 del país, escribió en 1976 un artículo en el Diario de las Américas donde destacó el papel de Gustavo Gutiérrez en la redacción de la Constitución de 1940.
"Gustavo había formado parte de la Comisión Bicameral que redactó el proyecto de Constitución y les puedo asegurar que muchas de las instituciones que luego encontraron expresión en nuestro documento original se basaron en trabajos anteriores creados por Gustavo Gutiérrez".
Hoffman en “Give me Freedom” informó que la Constitución de 1940 tenía una cláusula que había sido redactada años antes por Gustavo Gutiérrez, y se convirtió en “el Artículo 135, Sección F, que disponía que las leyes podían ser propuestas por congresistas y senadores, funcionarios de gobierno, tribunales , - y por los ciudadanos. En este caso", declara la Constitución, "será condición indispensable que la iniciativa sea ejercida por al menos diez mil ciudadanos que tengan el mismo estatus de electores".
El jurista cubano creía que esta cláusula habría dado a los ciudadanos cubanos una voz en los asuntos públicos que podría haber frenado el paso de Machado hacia la dictadura, o haber llevado a una derogación más temprana de la Enmienda Platt, o haber impedido que Batista se convirtiera en un hombre fuerte. Esta disposición de alguna manera fue reciclada en la Constitución cubana de 1992 y fue la base para el Proyecto Varela que desafió el régimen totalitario en Cuba a partir de 2002.
Menos de cinco años después, en febrero de 1945, con la Segunda Guerra Mundial todavía en marcha, en el Castillo de Chapultepec en la Ciudad de México, veinte países latinoamericanos y una numerosa delegación de Estados Unidos participaron en la Conferencia Interamericana sobre Problemas de la Guerra y la Paz. El Dr. Gustavo Gutiérrez presentó en nombre de Cuba "dos propuestas detalladas para su consideración, un Proyecto de Declaración de los Derechos y Deberes Internacionales del Individuo y un Proyecto de Declaración sobre los Derechos y Deberes de las Naciones".
Estos dos borradores fueron escritos por el Dr. Gustavo Gutiérrez en su libro La Carta Magna de la Comunidad de Naciones. Más tarde ese año la delegación cubana en San Francisco presentaría su proyecto para su consideración en la creación de una declaración universal de los derechos humanos. El jurista francés René Cassin y Guy Pérez-Cisneros argumentaron firmemente en el debate sobre la redacción de la declaración el derecho de los individuos a solicitar “reparación por presuntos abusos de los derechos humanos a 'las autoridades públicas del Estado del que es nacional o en el que reside, o ante las Naciones Unidas” es un derecho humano esencial que debe incluirse. Esto fue objetado por la Unión Soviética y México, que argumentaron que “violaba el principio de soberanía nacional y violaba las disposiciones de no interferencia”.
El jurista francés René Cassin y Guy Pérez-Cisneros argumentaron firmemente en el debate sobre la redacción de la declaración que el derecho de los individuos a solicitar “reparación por presuntos abusos de los derechos humanos a 'las autoridades públicas del Estado del que es nacional o en el que reside, o ante las Naciones Unidas” es un derecho humano esencial que debe incluirse. Esto fue objetado por la Unión Soviética y México, que argumentaron que “violaba el principio de soberanía nacional y violaba las disposiciones de no interferencia”. No terminaría en la declaración, pero sería reconocido más tarde por algunos estados.
El espíritu de esta cláusula de que los individuos podrían solicitar que se cometan injusticias contra ellos hasta llegar a la ONU está en consonancia con la defensa de Gutiérrez de dar a los ciudadanos una voz en los asuntos públicos.
Al jurista canadiense John P. Humphrey se le atribuye la preparación del primer borrador de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos en 1947, pero en sus memorias publicadas en 1983, Humphrey le dio crédito a Gustavo Gutiérrez por presentar el modelo que inspiró el borrador.
“Yo no era ningún Thomas Jefferson y, aunque era abogado, prácticamente no tenía experiencia en la redacción de documentos. Pero como la Secretaría había recopilado una veintena de borradores, tenía algunos modelos sobre los cuales trabajar. Uno de ellos había sido preparado por Gustavo Gutiérrez (Sánchez) y probablemente había inspirado el proyecto de Declaración de los Deberes y Derechos Internacionales del Individuo que Cuba había patrocinado en la Conferencia de San Francisco”.
La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos fue una iniciativa de las naciones latinoamericanas, en la que Cuba jugó un papel importante al proponerla, ayudar a redactar el documento y ejercer presión exitosamente para lograrlo. Los diplomáticos cubanos que desempeñaron este papel histórico al hacer realidad esta “Carta Magna de la Comunidad de Naciones” han sido borrados para dar paso a una de las grandes mentiras de la dictadura de Castro de que los conceptos políticos de libertad, igualdad y justicia no son universal pero difiere según la geografía.
Esta es también la razón por la que la dictadura comunista de La Habana considera la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos como propaganda enemiga.
En 1976, cuando Ricardo Bofill Pagés y la doctora Marta Frayde fundaron el Comité Cubano Pro Derechos Humanos, al cual pronto se unieron Gustavo Arcos Bergnes, su hermano Sebastian y un grupo importante de activistas y por la perseverancia de sus denuncias y monitoreo de la situación precaria de los derechos del hombre en la isla, en medio de la más feroz persecución, el régimen fue condenado por la antigua Comisión de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas. En 1988 una delegación de esta viajó a Cuba para escuchar y tomar in situ testimonios de ciudadanos víctimas de la dictadura.
Es por eso que los cubanos de toda la isla lo arriesgaron todo para ser escuchados por la comunidad internacional en 2002, 2004 y 2021 en sus demandas de libertad y el fin de la dictadura. En 2002 y 2004, decenas de miles de cubanos liderados por Oswaldo Paya y el Movimiento Cristiano Liberación hicieron esta demanda en la petición ciudadana del Proyecto Varela, una iniciativa de ley inédita en la isla durante estas nefastas décadas de dictadura y en julio de 2021, cientos de miles de cubanos en toda la isla le gritaron a todo pulmón el anhelo de ver garantizados sus derechos y la libertad.
Actualmente hay más de 1.000 presos políticos en Cuba, y en el día internacional de los derechos humanos de 2023, 75 aniversario de la firma de la declaración, hacemos un llamado por su libertad, y la libertad de todos los cubanos.
Regis Iglesias Ramírez se desempeña como portavoz del Movimiento Cristiano Liberación.
John J. Suárez es Director Ejecutivo del Centro por una Cuba Libre.
Introduction
1. The Cuban government does not recognize the legality of independent reporting on the
socio-economic challenges facing the island. Activists protesting the deteriorating
housing situation in Cuba have been punished.
2. The government does not provide data on the number of homeless Cubans on the
island.
3. The right of access to adequate housing, food, and healthcare. These are the most
basic rights needed to guarantee a decent and dignified life and are increasingly
being eroded in Cuba.
Demanding adequate housing in Cuba is a punishable offense.
4. Cuban human rights defender Silverio Portal Contreras was sentenced to four years in
prison for alleged crimes of "public disorder" and "contempt" after leading several public
protests demanding decent housing for all Cubans. He was detained on June 20, 2016
in Havana and the court document states that "the behavior of the accused is particularly
offensive because it took place in a touristic area." (1) The document further describes
the accused as having “bad social and moral behavior” and mentions that he fails to
participate in pro-government activities.
5. According to Silverio’s wife, before his arrest he had campaigned against the collapse of
dilapidated buildings in Havana. Silverio was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by
Amnesty International on August 26, 2019. (2) He was beaten by prison officials in mid-
May 2020 and lost sight in one eye, and spent 2 years and 9 months unjustly
imprisoned. (3) He suffered a stroke during his imprisonment and is now in fragile health.(4)
6. Government officials, who jailed Silverio, did not heed his warnings regarding dilapidated
buildings. On January 27, 2020 three school girls died when a balcony collapsed on
them in Old Havana. María Karla Fuentes and Lisnavy Valdés Rodríguez, both 12
years old, and Rocío García Nápoles, 11 years old were killed. (5)
7. Although buildings housing Cubans are in disrepair and collapsing the Cuban
government is in the midst of a construction boom, for luxury tourist hotels. (6),(7)
8. Cuban policy makers decided not to invest in Cuba's maintenance of their power plants
in favor of plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into building luxury hotels across the
country that profit GAESA, the Cuban military conglomerate run by the Cuban military.
Funds used for some of the more high profile hotel construction projects could have met
the needs for the upkeep of Cuba's national electric grid, and power plants.(8)
Recommendations
Endnotes
(1) Amnesty International "Cuba: Panorama de los presos y presas de conciencia bajo el
gobierno del presidente Miguel Díaz-Canel" Agosto 27, 2019 Index Number: AMR
25/0936/2019
https://www.amnesty.org/es/documents/amr25/0936/2019/es/
(2) CubaBrief: Amnesty International names five new prisoners of conscience August 27, 2019
https://www.cubacenter.org/archives/2019/8/27/cubabrief-amnesty-international-names-fivenew-
prisoners-of-conscience
(3) Marti Noticias "Preso político Silverio Portal pierde visión de un ojo tras golpiza, informa su
esposa" May 27, 2020
https://www.radiotelevisionmarti.com/a/preso-pol%C3%ADtico-silverio-portal-pierdevisi%
C3%B3n-de-un-ojo-tras-golpiza-informa-su-esposa/265886.html
(4) Diario de Cuba "Silverio Portal tras salir de prisión: Conmigo hubo 'una discriminación racial
y abuso de poder'" December 4, 2020
https://diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/1607076252_26969.html
(5) On Cuba "Three girls die in Old Havana due to collapse of a balcony" January 28, 2020
https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/three-girls-die-in-old-havana-due-to-collapse-of-a-balcony/
(6) Associated Press "Cuban economic boom a boon to the military" by Andrea Rodriguez
September 9, 2016
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/special/2016/09/10/cuban-economic-boom-boon-tomilitary/
25477886007/
(7) NPR "Cuba hopes if it builds new hotels, tourists will come, after a long COVID shutdown"
May 24, 2022 https://www.npr.org/2022/05/22/1100587966/tourists-are-returning-to-cuba-butis-
it-enough-for-the-islands-economy
(8) 14ymedio "‘There Is No Money’ to Repair Thermoelectric Plants in Cuba, But There is
Money to Invest in Luxury Hotels" August 27, 2022
https://translatingcuba.com/there-is-no-money-to-repair-thermoelectric-plants-in-cuba-but-thereis-
money-to-invest-in-luxury-hotels/
“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” - Mohandas Gandhi
On August 26, 1993, thirty years ago next week, two Cuban-American students from Florida International University organized a five-hour candlelight vigil in front of the Mexican Consulate that mobilized hundreds to protest Mexico's deportation to Cuba of eight Cuban refugees who survived when their boat sank off the Mexican coast the previous week. When we look back thirty years and see Cuban refugees being mistreated in the Bahamas ten years ago, and being deported today by the United States back to the dictatorship that still rules in Cuba, it is natural to ask, "What have we accomplished?" Are we not in the same situation as we were three decades ago?
The answer is found in Gandhi's epigram at the top of this blog entry and in the words of the great English poet T.S. Eliott: "If we take the
widest and wisest view of a Cause, there is no such thing as a Lost Cause,
because there is no such thing as a Gained Cause. We fight for lost
causes because we know that our defeat and dismay may be the preface to
our successors' victory, though that victory itself will be temporary; we
fight rather to keep something alive than in the expectation that it will
triumph."
The Free Cuba Foundation has consistently and independently advocated for nonviolent resistance against injustice and oppression. We have continuously advocated for victims of the dictatorship seeking justice, while also advocating for freedom and national reconciliation. We have remained
true to our mission statement.
What the future may hold is uncertain because we are free to decide and nothing is written in stone.
However, the past 30 years have demonstrated that young Cubans,
Cuban-Americans,Cuban-Spaniards, Peruvians, and other people of good
will have not acquired the "amnesia of Coca Cola" as some on the island describe the forgetfulness of some who leave for freedom and forget their friends and family back home.
These student leaders moved on after graduating and were replaced by new ones.
Augusto Monge, FCF Chairman 1993 -1994
John Suarez, FCF Chairman 1995
Jose Raul Carro, FCF Chairman 1996
Xavier Utset, FCF Chairman 1997-1998
Susana Mendiola, FCF Chairwoman 1998-1999
Helen Castro, FCF Chairwoman 1999-2000
Neri Ann Martinez, FCF Chairwoman 2001-2004
Michel Betancourt, FCF Chairman 2004 -2005
Pedro Ross, FCF Chairman 2006-2008
Susana Navajas, FCF Chairwoman 2008- 2009
Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr., FCF Co-Chair 2009-2010
Julio Menache, FCF Co-Chair 2009 - 2010
Kristan Patton, FCF Chairman 2011 - 2013
Their testimony is evidence that the struggle continues because new
generations have sought to carry the torch for the cause of freedom in
Cuba over the past sixty four years and continue to do so today.
We will continue to denounce the crimes being committed by the dictatorship in Cuba while at the same time letting the world know of brave activists who have sacrificed everything in the cause of Cuba's freedom.We will make use of this milestone to reflect on what has been done well. What needs to be improved and what needs to be done in the future to achieve the goal of a free Cuba where human rights and dignity are both recognized and respected.
Over the past 10 years, the Free Cuba Foundation has kept its pledge. Rey Anthony, a representative of the Free Cuba Foundation in 2015 led protests against President Obama's thaw with the Castro military dictatorship.
FCF members published a statement in Huffington Post in 2015 that declared "Not in our name" in opposition to the Obama Administration's rapprochement with General Raul Castro.
FCF leaders in 2016 took part in an international conference were Cuban opposition leaders both in and out of the island called for a commission against impunity, and two years later presented a report for the universal periodic review of Cuba in 2018.
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| FCF's Augusto Monge attended international gathering in Puerto Rico in 2015 |
Our advisor throughout twenty eight of these years was Martin L. Tracey. We are grateful for his steadfast and courageous support over this time, and mourn his passing in 2021.
This is an open call to Florida International University students interested in carrying on this tradition, and to past members to join us on August 26th at 6:00pm via Zoom to celebrate this anniversary. To take part please e-mail frcbfndtn@gmail.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Eric Schmidt's presence at eMerge Miami recalls his role in Google partnering with the Castro
dictatorship and the ethical and human rights concerns it continues to
raise
Contact: Augusto Monge, freecubafoundation@proton.me
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| Eric Schmidt in Cuba in December 2016 |
Free Cuba Foundation. Miami, Florida. April 20, 2023 - The invitation of Eric Schmidt, now of Schmidt Futures and
the former CEO of Google and chairman of Alphabet to be a keynote speaker
at eMerge Miami presents an opportunity to revisit Mr. Schmidt's
tenure at Google/Alphabet and its continued business relationship with the Cuban dictatorship.
On December 12, 2016, Google/Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt signed an agreement with the Castro dictatorship in Cuba, a state sponsor of terrorism. This ill-advised agreement (still in place) with the communist regime's communication's monopoly ETECSA continues to raise concerns with human rights activists about the ethics of sharing technology with the highly centralized totalitarian regime. It has been suggested this technology transfer and collaboration is providing technical assistance to the Cuban secret police to create digital dossiers on citizens, which are used to silence and arrest dissidents online in real time.
Despite this, Mr. Schmidt returned to Cuba in June 2018 to meet with Miguel Diaz-Canel, but did not publicly address concerns about Cuba's secret police having access to Google servers on the island, or that Google's pilot display center gives priority access to agents of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT).
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| Eric Schmidt and Castro regime rep Mayra Arevich sign agreement. |
Mr. Schmidt's visit and ongoing
business ventures in South Florida should present an opportunity to examine Google's ongoing business
dealings with the terrorist regime in Cuba. Two important questions that need to be asked:
1) What can be done to protect Cubans from the predations of Google's and Mr. Schmidt's partners in the Cuban dictatorship?
2) What can policy makers in Washington do to ensure that Google's and Mr.Schmidt's arrangement with Havana does not empower the secret police, as it appears to be doing now, and help the Cuban people?
The pattern established first with Communist China, then continued in Cuba have cost lives, endangered democracy around the globe, and contributed to the undermining of international human rights standards as totalitarian dictatorships, with the aid of Western companies like Google, have modernized their repression for the 21st century, and extended their reach transnationally..
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| Miguel Diaz-Canel, Eric Schmidt, and Brett Perlmutter |
It is imperative that technology companies
not aid anti-democratic regimes, especially those governments, like Cuba, that sponsor and engage in terrorism.
In the long run, it is both bad ethics and bad business to alienate millions of freedom loving Cubans and Cuban-Americans by collaborating with the Castro dictatorship," said Augusto Monge, chairman of the Free Cuba Foundation.
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