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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