Hyper-pirates of the Caribbean snag another hostage

Uh, oh.  We know what this poor guy and his family are up against.  A British citizen, with a British passport, detained in Cuba for a minor technicality (He was born in Castrolandia long ago, and failed to purchase a Cuban passport from the Ministry of Piracy).   Vast sums of money are about to exchange hands, for sure.   Or maybe the bargaining will involve other valuable items, some less tangible.

The only silver lining in this cloud is that they haven’t imprisoned him yet, alongside other hostages such as Alan Gross and Angel Carromero.  But he does have to live in his mother’s destroyed shack, without water or electricity.  At least for now.   If they find him guilty of something — potential dangerousness, maybe, or too much complaining — and throw him into the hoosegow, he will become even more valuable.

Viva la Revolucion…..  Yeah.  Arrrrrgh, mate.

From The Telegraph

Family appeals for freedom for Briton stuck in Cuba

The family of British man trapped in Cuba after travelling to the country to help his mother in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has issued a heartfelt appealed for his release.

Yoandry Depass, who was born in Cuba but moved to the UK as a child, was stopped from leaving Havana a week ago when the Cuban authorities told him he did not have the right documents.

Leah Hall, his partner and mother of his child, said that on his way in Mr Depass was told by an immigration officials that “he would be all right” for this trip but should get a Cuban passport for any future travel to the country.

He was then stopped by officials attempting to leave on Dec 4 and return to his family in Mansfield.

Cuba does not recognise dual nationality and Mr Depass was required to have a Cuban passport to travel in and out of the country. He was unaware of those requirements when he arrived in on Nov 24 to visit his mother Oadalis, whose roof was blown off by the storm.

She said Mr Depass, who is universally known as Yogi, was staying in his mother’s one-room shack living off basic rations with no shower or bath facilities” in Santiago de Cuba, a 12-hour bus ride from the capital Havana.

“He feels he is a prisoner. He feels it is not safe to go out because people know he is not from around there,” said Ms Hall, 24, who has started a website, Get Yogi Home.

Mr Depass has spent all his savings on helping his mother and on £380 demanded by the Cuban authorities for a passport and official photograph.

“We are young and didn’t have many savings any way and now he is totally out of money. I just want him home soon and want him home for Christmas,” said Ms Hall, a trainee nurse.
Mr Depass, 27, has been told that the passport could take up to two months.

A joiner, he and Ms Hall have a 15-month old baby named Jaylah.

Ms Hall said she felt “massively let down” by the Foreign Office, which she said appears to have done little more than contact Mr Depass.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the case. Cuba does not recognise dual nationality and the gentleman involved requires a Cuban passport under Cuban law. Our Embassy in Havana is providing consular assistance to Mr Depass.”

Oh, and by the way…. please note that this Briton has a young child.   What happened to that noble Castronoid ethic so forcefully applied in the Elian Gonzalez case: “Every child deserves to be with its father”?

1 thought on “Hyper-pirates of the Caribbean snag another hostage”

  1. I expect the real problem is that he’s black. He was supposed to be VERY grateful to Massah Castro, but he up and left the plantation instead. Bad Negro. Gotta teach him a little lesson, and get some more hard currency for good measure. The old “papers not in order” trick can be very useful.

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