CUBA NEWS
March 8, 2004

Castro must be deposed, democracy restored

By Lincoln Diaz-Balart. Posted on Sat, Mar. 06, 2004 in The Miami Herald.

The No. 1 policy objective of the Cuban dictatorship is obtaining U.S. mass tourism and the billions of dollars it would generate for the dictatorship.

The only way Americans can legally travel to Cuba now is for humanitarian, educational or journalistic reasons -- and they must have a license. But mass U.S. tourism is the main goal of the dictatorship.

Those who are pushing for that goal in Congress say that Fidel Castro fears tourism. ''Let's adopt a real get-tough policy toward Castro. Let's send him tourists and their dollars,'' they say.

If Castro fears U.S. tourism and the billions of dollars it would bring, then why is he making it his No. 1 objective? His public utterances are very forthright about this goal.

When the House of Representatives passed pro-Cuba travel amendments in 2002, he said: "The House of Representatives voted with determination and courage for amendments that bring glory to that institution. We shall always be grateful for that gesture.''

To say that granting the dictator his No. 1 policy goal is to get tough on the dictatorship, in my view, constitutes uncalled for cynicism.

We have an embargo against the Cuban dictatorship because it is in the national interest of the United States for there to be a transition to democracy in a country 90 miles from our shores.

It is in the U.S. national interest for there to be an end to a terrorist regime that has had the head of its air force indicted in the United States for murder, the head of its navy indicted for drug trafficking, and that carries out aggressive espionage and infiltration operations on all branches of the U.S. government.

More than 15 Cuban spies have been arrested in the last few years alone, with dozens more having been expelled from the United States. The FBI, indeed, confirms that there is no more aggressive, hostile intelligence service in the United States than Castro's operation.

It is in the U.S. national interest for there to be an end to a regime that harbors hundreds of international terrorists and a large number of felony fugitives from the United States. Our policy should require that Cuba free all political prisoners and move swiftly toward free elections to gain access to the U.S. market, including mass tourism.

The European model

That's exactly what the European Economic Community -- now the European Union -- told Spain and Portugal in the 1970s as the long-running dictatorships of Franco and Oliviera were coming to their end. That ultimatum spurred both countries to make swift transitions to democracy when their dictators died.

And that's why retaining the embargo until the Cuban people free themselves from their chains is absolutely fundamental.

It is in the national interest of the United States for there to be an end to a brutal regime that has systematically attempted to derail and hamper U.S. intelligence efforts against international terrorism in the post-Sept. 11 era -- a regime that harbors countless international terrorists.

In the last year, the Cuban people witnessed the most brutal crackdown in decades on courageous pro-democracy leaders and independent journalists who were sentenced to be imprisoned in the Cuban gulag.

Those leaders -- stalwart champions of freedom such as Martha Beatriz Roque, Oscar Elías Biscet, Jorge Luis García Pérez and Rafael Ibarra -- all agree that it is critical that we maintain the U.S. embargo, including the current travel restrictions, until Cuba demonstrates that it is taking steps toward democracy.

Rewarding Castro for his increased repression by granting his dictatorship its primary policy objective would be tragic and unconscionable.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, R- Miami, is a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security.


 


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