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He was able to take his family on a working trip to Canada? They must've trusted him.

Much caution should be exercised when congratulating these ex-commies for their "defections" and welcoming them with open arms. A long debrief is in order for these folks.

I'M WITH YOUR FATHER, AAAALL THE WAY...

SON COMUNISTAS QUE VIENEN SÓLO PORQUE LES PISARON EL CAYO... SI NO, ESTUVIERAN TODAVÍA SIENDO PARTE ACTIVA DEL RÉGIMEN...

I trust this guy about as far as I can throw him. Im sure being a tv persoanlity afforded him many luxuries your average cuban did without and thus it behooved him to further the revolution publicly.

Im afraid im with your old man as well.

These people should be treated with considerable skepticism and definite caution. In at least some cases, they're just too tainted to deserve the benefit of the doubt. True conversion is possible, but so is acting out of convenience or expediency, not to mention being a plant for the Castro regime.

There is at least one low-level case of this in my extended family, and I just can't get over my revulsion for the person in question. I don't think he was ever a "true believer", but I definitely think he was, and remains, a classic opportunist. He's definitely not alone in being that way. That's one big reason Cuba went down the tubes.

There is a tendency among Cubans to fixate every ill on castro. I beg to differ.

castro is still there 48 years later because hundreds of thousands of smart, well educated, well traveled, well informed collaborators perpetuate and enable the regime to continue oppressing the people of cuba. Mr. Carlos Otero is/was one of them.

He should not be allowed into the United States, free Cubans should not embrace him, and because he was only a little baby in 1959, we should not wish him any harm (assuming he is not a plant).

Canada or Finland sound like splendid places for him to spend the rest of his life in exile. The colder the weather and weirder the language the better.

I say let the guy in. Debrief the hell out of him, just in case he has any intelligence of value. Watch him like a hawk just in case he is a plant.
But I don't have to like him, and I DON'T like that saramanbiche and would not have him or his family over to my house for lechon anytime soon.

The guy is a public persona so unless you see him suddenly being involved in disinformation and other pro left causes, I don't see what the problem is.

Heck don't musicians and athletes defect all the time? weren't they purportedly supporting the regime?

Many are forced to follow the party line, heck Arturo Sandoval was the face of the regime in public for his livelihood and he's a big time opponent of the regime today.

Where I would make an exception would be with respect to anyone who committed crimes against humanity against the people. They should be tried.

But as for this guy, if he wants to come here and work hard like everyone else; and he truly wishes to live free, then why not let him? I agree he should be debriefed, but again, a high profile guy like this is less dangerous than the clandestine spy who comes in on a raft and starts infiltrating BTTR and starts spying on installations and does not raise any attention cause he's just some putz.

Folks, I don't know anything about this Carlos Otero guy, other than he was a comedian on Cuban TV. Is that fact alone enough to ban his entry into this country? Call him an oppressor? etc. etc.?

Does anyone here know whether he tortured anyone? Did he participate in actos de repudio? Did he snitch on a co-worker? Did he ever make strong pronouncements in support of the dictatorship?

Unless someone has information about these types of activities, I don't see why everyone has such a strong reaction against a comedian. I'm very open to persuassion, but I am not hearing anything that would support such strong reactions.

Can someone enlighten me?

Don't trust them, but let them in to wallow in the success of freedom. It helps to create a mental imbalance in them. Unfortunately, the exile community has been infilitrated with these kinds of high value communists for many years. I can't help but think that if past practice is an indication of future behavior, most, not all, are sleepers.
In the event of an armed insurrection, you can bet your last dollar that there will be many activations and chaos set upon MIami by people like these.
I see ex military, writers, entertainers, artists that are recieved with open arms, all the while these individuals are laughing at the apparent gullibility of the exiles and the US government. Unfortuately, it is with the same freedoms that we live by that these s.o.b.'s infiltrate.

The only thing that does deter them some,(better yet, lose sight of their goals) are the trappings of freedom and capitalism. Kind of makes them lose focus and creates all sorts of conflicts in their head. But rest assured, when their master calls, they do his biding.
Let them in, we are not afraid, let them see with their own eyes the hell they have created and the heaven they could of had.

I say cut the guy some slack. I watched him for years in Cuba and he is not Hector Rodriguez or Randy Alonso. He has talent and passion for what he does and just had to play by the rules in Cuba. Not everybody is Darsy Ferrer (unfortunately).

If we apply the criteria of the above comments to everyone, 95% of us (born in Cuba) should not be here. I, for one, went to the university ("es solo para los revolucionarios") and finished my degree, then was working for a government company, like 99% of working people in Cuba. Does that make me undeserving of coming to this country? I don’t think so.

I suppose denying him entry is ridiculous, and somehwat hypocritical from most of our standpoints, but again, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth having some guy that, hypothetically, was a promoter of the revolution, coming here and continuing with his schpiel. Look at FIU and the Miami herald and how infested with commie creeps those places are right now.

Why is he allowed to come in, but the balseros no?

Conchita, it's the innane wet foot dry foot policy that lets him come in and not the balseros.

crazy I know.

Val,

You say "some guy that, hypothetically, was a promoter of the revolution." That is precisely my point. We are casting aspersions on this guy, and all we know at this point is that he was a comedian on TV.

If he has done something that would call for the harsh statements made above, that would be pertinent. But, if not, rg has hit the nail on the head. 99% of the people in Cuba work for the government, because IT is the only legal employer there. That, alone, should not be grounds to disqualify or vilify anyone.

LittleGator, please. He was allowed to go to Canada. That means he was trusted. Which means he had his head way, WAY up some apparatchik's ass. Now that apparatchik will have a new job cleaning toilets in a typical Havana hospital...

George:

You mean cleaning toilets in a hospital reserved for tourists. Right? The typical Cuban hospitals for everyday Cubans don't see soap and water that often.

George,

I think if we are to tar and feather someone it should be based on fact, not supposition, assumption or hypotheticals. As I wrote above, if this guy deserves to be scorned, then so be it. But, I haven't seen anything to support that yet. As someone else pointed out in this thread, Arturo Sandoval was also a perfomer who travelled widely, and he is as anti-castro as the next guy.

I think we should hold our views based on facts not knee-jerk reactions based on assumptions.

The guy has been in the public eye for 30 years. What can you come up with to support your "feelings" about him?

If living a life of relative privilege and notoriety because of your support of the castro regime, while surrounded by the misery and injustice for 30 years is not enough of a reason for scorn, I don't know what is. No wonder it has always been so easy for castro's thugs to infiltrate our community.

We don't have to prove this guy is a sleeper sympathizer - he has to prove to us he is not and that can't be done by words alone.

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