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Michael Putney. Posted on Wed, Apr. 24, 2002 in
The Miami Herald
Memo to: Jimmy Carter
Re: Your trip to Cuba
Dear Mr. President:
You'll be leaving for Cuba in about two weeks, which means you're in the
process of finishing up your itinerary. Let me make a few suggestions, if you
don't mind. I've been there several times since my first reporting visit in
1981.
Do spend as much time with Fidel Castro as you -- and he -- think is needed.
But don't expect anything to come of it, not a blessed thing.
Over the last 43 years, hundreds of smart, accomplished Americans, including
a recent parade of members of Congress and business executives, have spent time
with Castro. Many thought that they had changed him, the course of U.S.-Cuba
relations or the deplorable human-rights situation on the island. They didn't.
Remember Pope John Paul II's visit in 1998? Bupkus. That's what the pope got
for his trouble. Remember him saying, ''Let the world open itself up to Cuba,
and let Cuba open itself up to the world''? We've certainly seen that happen,
haven't we? And the ''opening'' for the Catholic Church and other denominations
the pope asked for? Right, that hasn't happened either.
But the pictures of Castro and John Paul were great, weren't they? Mr.
Carter, get ready to pose for' some of your own.
Castro will wine and dine you and keep you up 'til all hours, if you let
him. Don't. Tell him you're tired and that you'll talk in the morning, otherwise
he'll yak 'til dawn's early light. It might be good for your memoirs, but that's
about it. It won't change his mind about anything and will make you cranky the
next day. Forget it.
Now, as for what to do when you're not with Castro: The head of the U.S.
Interests Section, Vicki Huddleston, will want to spend some time with you. Do
that. She's smart and has some good ideas about trying to help Cuba's
dissidents, human-rights activists, independent journalists and librarians. They
all need U.S. help. She can arrange visits with some whom Castro won't want you
to see. See them.
For that matter, ask Castro to let you visit with Vladimiro Roca and Oscar
Elías Biscet in their prison cells, along with other prisoners of
conscience. If Castro refuses, say so at the joint news conference you're sure
to hold. Let's see what he says then.
Oh, and while you're visiting with the U.S. diplomatic team in Havana, drop
by the ambassador's residence. It's one of the most beautiful and elegant homes
in Cuba, maybe the hemisphere. Also a reminder of why there was a revolution. It
epitomizes many of the things that Castro hates about us. Why not ask him over a
drink there?
Eat at a paladar, a restaurant in someone's home. Given security
precautions, this may not be easy, but it'll give you an authentic sense of how
most Cubans eat -- if they can put their hands on a few dollars.
You'll want to hear some music, too. You'll find some hot bands at the
Palacio de la Salsa at the old Riviera Hotel. Just be advised that to get in the
club, you'll have to walk past a gaggle of jineteras, spandex-clad young women
waiting for a visiting foreigner to take them inside and, perhaps, later to
their hotel room.
You also should take a late-night stroll down the Malecón, Havana's
grand waterfront drive. At night, people of all ages hang out on the Malecón
talking, drinking, laughing, kissing. I've learned more from conversations on
the Malecón than all the ''official'' interviews I've done in Cuba. If
you're lucky -- and enough Havana Club has been consumed -- you'll hear what
Cubans really think of Castro and his revolution.
You might want to go to church. The Catholic cathedral in Old Havana is
quite wonderful, but I'd suggest that you also attend one of the evangelical
services; they give Cubans release.
Oh, and one other place, if you can squeeze it in. At the Fortaleza de la
Cabaña, on the other side of the harbor, there's a small museum dedicated
to Che Guevara. Castro put him in charge there, after they took Havana. For the
next four or five months, there were show trials that resulted in hundreds of
summary executions at La Cabaña.
Ask the woman at the museum where is el paredón -- the wall. She'll
pretend not to know. But it's there. It's a necessary reminder that Castro's
rule has been paid for in pain and suffering, blood and death.
Buen viaje, Sr. Presidente, y buena suerte. You'll need it.
mputney@click10.com | 
