Where I wash my hands…

Well folks, it’s done. President Obama capitulated and has lifted all travel and remittance to Cuba restrictions for Cubans living in the US (please note I did not say “Cuban-Americans” as there is a stark difference) without a single concession from the castro regime.

I doubt that said restrictions will ever be put back in place so now it’s time for the elimination of the wet foot/dry foot, the Cuban Adjustment Act and the 20,000 a year visas granted to Cuban nationals. It is in this country’s best interest to abrogate the carte blanche treatment Cuban Nationals receive vis-a-vis immigration.

After all, Cubans that come to the US are no longer political refugees specifically if they travel back to their native country without fear of political or ideological reprisal. Why should Cubans continue to be afforded special treatment that no other foreign immigrant receives?

So, today I wash my hands of the whole thing. I’m just gonna sit back and watch as the Cuban people continue to screw each other and continue to perpetuate the very same thing that screws them in the first place.

Let the quinces and bembes begin!

15 thoughts on “Where I wash my hands…”

  1. AMEN, Val! I’ve met Cubans who have just stepped off the boat who are already talking about going back to Cuba to visit their family. Even worst, I’ve met Cubans who live off of welfare and send their welfare money to Cuba. One guy started yelling and insulting me in the most vile way imaginable when I pointed out that his welfare money was my tax dollars and I didn’t want my money to go to fidel. If Cubans can now go back to Cuba whenever they want, as you point out, do away with the 20,000 visas a year and the wet foot/dry foot, Cuban Adjustment Act, etc..

    In essence, we have brought this on to ourselves [and I say “we” meaning the collective Cuban community], because Cubans don’t have a collective sense of sacrifice. While there are notable exceptions such as the dissidents, political prisoners, famous authors, heroes and heroines, in the collective sense, Cubans are extremely disorganized, frivolous, nonchalant and cavalier about everything. Everything is choteo and relajo and nobody wants to sacrifice themselves. To illustrate this, I’ll tell you a personal story. I have a cousin who was a political prisoner in Cuba. He has been living in the USA for over 30 years now and he has become quite affluent. He’s a great businessman. Well, I found out that recently he went to Cuba to visit his sister [who by the way is a staunch communist] and he took everyone with him and not only that, but he stayed in the best hotel in Varadero. I mean, if you want to go visit your sister, do so, but don’t take everyone from the newborn grandson to the cat and dog! Don’t go with an entourage of 20 people! And don’t stay in Varadero like if you were staying in the Bahamas!

    By the way, his sister is a horrible “patria or muerte” type of communist who is having her cake and eating it too, because she is receiving every capitalist amenity one can imagine from the USA thanks to my cousin [DVD player, Plasma TV, computer, etc..] while she defends that horrible system.

    That much said, I don’t think that Obama will remove the 20,000 visas, etc.. because I don’t believe that the US government wants the regime to fall and they know that if you bottleneck the regime and stop allowing people to leave, a swell of dissatisfaction could reach critical matter. That’s why even under the Bush Administration that was so friendly to us, they didn’t get rid of the visas and the USA and Cuba used to have regular immigration talks and agreements.

    Castro, Inc.. as usual will have their cake and eat it too!

  2. Amen Val, sadly; but history repeats itself. Remember “Los Vuelos de la comunidad”, El Dialogo con La Comunidad Cubana en el Exterior” and the subsequent Marielazo?
    Seem to me that whoever is orchestrting this knows full well the crapola who dances to their conga beat. I’m glad I’m not living in Miami any more-I fear I would go postal on a few somebodies.

  3. Val, I agree with you 100%. I for one will not travel to Cuba as I feel it would be a slap in the face of my parents who sacrificed everything to give me freedom and democracy. Until things change and democracy comes to Cuba, I will not be going.

  4. Excellent news from the White House.

    Now Cubans here who don’t have health insurance and/or cheat on taxes so they can use that money for remittances, trips and phone calls to Cuba can go ahead and knock themselves out without anyone standing in their way. Now they can send indispensable necessities like designer clothes, perfumes, jewelry, entertainment items and high-tech gadgets (or money to buy them at government stores) to their hearts’ content (not to mention that of the Castro regime). They can go to Cuba and have a grand old time in Varadero every chance they get, and bring over the relatives (including those still actively pro-Castro in Cuba). There are, of course, all manner of fees and surcharges every step of the way, charged and pocketed by Castro, Inc. and its agents/collaborators.

    None of the above, by the way, is made up or imagined, to our shame. No, it doesn’t apply in every case, but the fact it applies far too often is one reason Castro, Inc. must spend lots of time laughing its ass off at the big, bad “exile mafia.” You know, the same “mafia” that, when Moscow pulled the plug and left Havana gasping for breath, stepped in and kept Castro, Inc. afloat long enough for Chavez to arrive with his petrodollars. With enemies like that awful “mafia,” who needs friends?

    As if it weren’t bad enough having to deal with a bitch of a “mother,” bastards for “brother countries,” and repulsive hypocrites the world over who’d do anything to end apartheid in South Africa, yet blithely drive one nail after another into Cuba’s coffin, there’s also the little matter of Cubans (at least nominally so) who are not only not helping, but are in fact enabling and maintaining the horrible staus quo. On top of that, they not only show no shame, but they get extremely defensive or downright hostile if confronted, and many of them actually act as if they deserve some sort of medal for their, uh, humanitarian efforts.

    Like I keep saying, if enough Cubans here and there don’t get serious enough, forget it. We can blame non-Cubans till we’re blue in the face, and heaven knows we have countless reasons to do so, but if we don’t clean up our own house first, nobody else will clean up their act or take us seriously–and it’s beyond foolish to expect otherwise.

  5. Even before Obama was an issue, when somebody would complain that Bush or whoever wasn’t being tough enough on Castro, Inc., my standard reply was that Cubans themselves had no right to ask the White House or Congress to do what they wouldn’t do themselves. Cuba is supposed to be OUR issue. Non-Cubans will NEVER “get it” like we do (or like we should). Every prior US attempt at tightening the screws on Havana has been sidestepped, bypassed and essentially nullified by Cubans, one way or another. So what should the US do when it sees that kind of RELAJO? What’s an outsider supposed to think? Yep, you got it: “These people aren’t serious; it’s mostly talk, so if they won’t do their part, why should we waste our time?”

  6. I have long said that the most effective tool in our arsenal is not the embargo but rather the immigration. This is how we bail out the regime time and time again. It is a win/win for them. A) if the pressure gets too much let out the steam and let people go B) their #1 source of revenue is the exile community. They lose nothing by dumping on our shores. The people coming now are economic immigrants just like Haitians, Mex, etc. Those who flee for political reasons can still seek asylum – there is after all a procedure for that. It is absurd to assume in this day and age that all those coming from Cuba are seeking freedom as the CAA currently does.

  7. I agree 100%. With the lifting of the policies Cubans become de facto immigrants, no longer political refugees. Therefore there is no reason for them to have any privileges over any other group that wants to make a life in the US.

  8. If people want to go to Cuba and give those murdering pricks dollars, fine, have at it.
    I do have a feeling that tourism isn’t going to be what everyone expects it to be. You been to Cuba lately? What is there to go and do? How are you getting around? What are you going to see? A beach, a rundown city, shitty accommodation, and a bunch of jineteras.
    All I know is that I’m tired of all this mierda, and I’m also washing my hands.

  9. There seems to be a lot of hand-washing going on in Miami these days….

    Here’s an alternative idea: 50 Cuban-American men and women (patrons of Babalu Blog who carry American passports), who would rather be flayed alive than kiss the decrepit ass of Fidel – all organizing public protests in Havana.

    At present, Cuba SEETHES with discontent.

    50 single-minded, organized, coordinated Cubans who are incapable of masking their contempt for the ruling class could create an incident in Havana that could make Tienmen square look like a Sunday Mass….

    However, I am not exactly sure where one could actually find 50 single-minded Cubans……

  10. Look at it this way… There are over 11 million people in Cuba… Soooo, that means that -in my estimation- about 250,000 will probably benefit from this TOURISM. The remaining 10 million or so are going to be MIGHTY PISSED at all the newfound wealth of those with families in the U.S.A. Anything can happen.

  11. Gabe,

    Any Cuban that came after 1980 that wants to travel to Cuba must do so on a Cuban passport. You are a Cuban citizen for life regardless of any other citizenships you may obtain. Traveling to Cuba on a Cuban passport acts as a chill on the type of behavior you suggest. And if you don’t think the regime would do anything to foreigners, you haven’t been paying attention. Human rights groups from Europe have staged protests that are promptly broken up and then the participants are deported.

    Maybe if I didn’t have have twins that are less than 2 years old I would attempt it. But let me ask a question, if the Cubans that are being oppressed by this regime for the most part won’t risk their own necks why should we who have made our lives here risk ours for them?

    Firefly, I think there’s a lot of talk about a boom in trips to Cuba but I just don’t see it.

  12. I agree Henry, despite the media frenzy about the right to travel to Cuba I suspect that most who want to go already have. This is just a step towards ending the embargo, the real prize. I predict congress will end it before summer, and Americans will end up paying the monetary bill, but Cubans will pay the real cost with years more of repression . I can’t see any way for a peaceful end. Like someone else commented on a post today, there won’t be freedom for the Cuban people until they are willing to pay for it with their blood.

  13. If the embargo and especially the tourist restrictions are lifted then we have to shift tactics. We’ll need to a create a grass roots campaign to shame travelers from going to Cuba. Ads at the airport, in in-flight magazines, etc. We’ll need to blog about how crummy the hotels and restaurants are and how there’s hustlers and prostitutes everywhere.

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