The Miami Herald.
March 1, 2002.
That tensions are escalating in Cuba is evident from the latest break into
the Mexican Embassy in Havana.
A bus bearing Cubans crashed through the embassy's gates late Wednesday
night, and 21 remain there awaiting their fate.
We hope and expect that the Mexican government will protect the Cubans, who
otherwise would be subject to Cuban government persecution outside the gates.
The incident creates a diplomatic tangle. It raises the specter of past,
desperate runs for refuge. It even recalls the 1980 Mariel exodus of some
125,000 refugees. Finally, it puts Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's foreign
minister, in a hot spot.
All of this is very convenient for the Cuban government, which hasn't
forgiven Mr. Castañeda for his human-rights criticisms of Cuba or the
Feb. 4 meeting between Mexican President Vicente Fox with Cuban dissidents at
the same Mexican Embassy in Havana.
To his credit, Mr. Castañeda opened the embassy's doors to
independent Cuban voices, those who have differences with the regime and are
relentlessly harassed by it.
Yet no one at the time interpreted Mr. Castañeda's supportive words
and actions as encouragement for breaking into the embassy.
In Miami earlier this week, Mr. Castañeda affirmed Mexico's longtime
relations with Cuba and, metaphorically, suggested that Mexico's embassy in
Havana would be ''open.'' His words were picked up by a number of media,
including the U.S. government's Radio Marti, which broadcast the comments to the
island.
Cuba's regime conveniently blamed the Radio Marti broadcast for provoking
Cubans into seeking refuge. Yet the Cuban government, which listens to Radio
Marti just as do ordinary Cubans, provided no extra security to prevent any such
breach.
People who are content with their government don't risk persecution, jail or
submit themselves to the mercy of the sea to leave their homeland. In Cuba,
those who resort to such desperate measures do so out of desperation and decades
of privation.
Unfortunately, Mr. Castañeda blamed ''radical elements in Miami'' for
twisting his words into a provocation. Yet the Cuban regime had the best motive
for smearing him.
Despite the hardships in Cuba now, another Mariel is doubtful. Unlike in
1980, the United States now has an immigration accord with Cuba that offers the
regime an escape valve -- 20,000 U.S. visas a year to Cuban nationals. President
Bush, moreover, has a strong relationship with President Fox, who dearly wants
his own U.S.-Mexico immigration pact.
The Bush administration would be wise to encourage Mexico's government to
protect the human rights of the Cubans inside its embassy. Both the U.S. and
Mexican governments must also work to prevent Cuba's regime from provoking any
disorderly exodus or starting a new round of reprisals against Cuban dissidents.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher yesterday succinctly summed up
the situation: "Cubans would not seek entry to foreign embassies if they
had an opportunity to choose their own government.'' | 
