Review of Anti Cuban American Sentimentby Rogelio Madrazo We have been witnesses to another episode of character assassination by the Clinton Administration, this time perpetuated against a class of people wrongly identified as Cubans. Cubans do not vote, Americans of Cuban descent do!. The Administration in this case, has followed a pattern that has become all too common, every time it has encountered an obstacle to its policies, unleashing a cadre of spokespersons that lie with impunity in the endless access that the all news networks provide. In the case of the American of Cuban origin or descent, the fray has been joined by elements from all the political spectrum showing the success of the smear campaign and the vested interests in the complicated US-Cuba history. Lets review who are the players, in the first place we need to recognize the International Communist Movement. Cuba is a rogue state that offers training, arms and technical support to any group anywhere in the world bend on destabilizing the existing order. The permanency of the Castro government, is in itself a rallying banner in the class struggle that is fought daily by those that see in Socialism or Communism a way out of their misery or a way to become part of a successful oligarchy. Castro despite the havoc that it has created in Cuba is to many a symbol of a successful antagonist to Capitalist Imperialism. These well organized groups have access to the Federal Legislative branch through the Progressive Caucus, and we have seen many members of this group leading the barrage of lies against the Americans of Cuban descent. The other day while the Americans of Cuban Origin held a massive and peaceful protest mach in Miami because of the horrible raid to sequester Elian, an airplane towing a banner overflew the event stating: "Do not fight your battles here. Go back and fight your war." Whomever paid for this banner has a couple of wrong concepts. This is my Country as well as well as the country of thousands of Naturalized and Second and Third generation of Americans of Cuban descent that marched peacefully exercising our rights. Our great concern about Cuba comes from our experiences we see in their rulers all the evils that today endanger the morals of this Nation. Knowing first hand the despotic, intolerable conditions that the Cubans must endure, make those that defend the regime either idiots or evil, and we have the moral obligation to oppose both. In April of 1961, the efforts of the Brigade were betrayed by the organizers, and a small group of brave men were left to die in Cuban shores. Taking a mental enema to purge their guilt the survivors were ransom and promised at the Orange Bowl, that the flag of the Brigade will be returned to a FREE Cuba. Also lets not forget the Kennedy-Krushov Pact, as the result of the Missile Crisis in October 1962, the Cubans in exile were disarmed, and the US and British Navy became the guardians of the Cuban coastline, making it impossible to take the war to where it has always belong. In addition immigration was a weapon used by this Country in the days of the Cold War, throngs of dissatisfied customers of a Communist Paradise was used as propaganda against the spread of Communism, it also provided loyal, dedicated, intelligent soldiers to openly and covertly combat the forces of what President Reagan rightfully called the "Evil Empire". Those that question our patriotism in good faith, because a few Star Spangled banners may have been burned or flown upside down, should take inventory of their neighborhoods and count how many were killed or wounded, how many stores cars or busses were burned, as the result the anger elicited in the American population of Cuban descent by the abominable act committed by a non elected public official. Their restrain speaks volumes about their quality as citizens of a Democracy It is of interest to point out that the term "Yankee" was used in Cuba to refer to the New York baseball Team. When all of the sudden we found ourselves in the middle of the Cold War through the betrayal by Castro of the just struggle against Batista a common expression was "This is not going to last, the 'Americanos" will never allow a Communist base in the middle of the Caribbean." Even though we were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of having such a powerful neighbor so close to our shores, the famous ninety miles, the Cuban people were and are today friends of this Nation. Remember that the struggle against Batista was fought to restore a Constitutional government, not to institute a tyranny based of foreign dogmas represented by Stalin and Mao. Castro has managed to emulate these two historic butchers. We are victims of our own success, the Anglo, is sad to say never accepted us as equal partners and have been unable to phantom that in South Florida the cities they live in are an invention of the Americans of Cuban descent, and were waiting for expressions such as "the Cubans in Miami are nothing but goons that fled their country after becoming rich during the tyrannical government of Batista" to show it. I heard such an utterance by a member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party on a Hannity and Colmes, Fox News Network program. It was such a ridiculous assertion that it was almost comical but apparently it felt on fertile ground. In another News Network MSNBC in the program Hardball, I heard US Representative Charles Rangel insinuate that the problem has racial overtones, he blurted something like this. "If any one has any doubts go to Cuba and see the color of the people there and then go to Miami and compare". What a villain this man Rangel is, to use the racial card to alienate the Americans of Cuban descent from the Americans of African descent. As it has been said many times before the Americans of Cuban descent have not been good to the leadership of the myriad of organisations that make their living by proclaiming the oppression of their constituency by a system that denies them the opportunity to succeed. We have succeeded despite the fact that the establishment never accepted us as it has been patently demonstrated in the last few weeks. We have been called Mafia, Thugs, Goons, by public figures and angry citizens, the opinion polls, tell that the overwhelming majority of those questioned would like for us to disappear from the face of the earth. In this point there is again agreement with the Castro regime. Somebody said after the infamous raid of Good Saturday one down, 800,000 to go. Perhaps the occasion will rise where we will be interned in concentration camps like the Japanese were interned during WW II, but let it be clear that we will march proclaiming the right of the Cuban people to be free, and denouncing those that conspire to bring down our system of government. Now a warning, with Clinton having a few months left in office, and the perception that the American of Cuban origin and/or descent vote in South Florida and New Jersey has been lost to the Democratic Party in the November elections, the conditions are right for the Administration to tangle with the so call Embargo issue. Not only it may bring votes to the Democratic ticket riding the anti American-Cuban wave, but it will also swell the coffers by the gratitude of the merchants represented by the US Chamber of Commerce, the Multinationals, the members of the Progressive Caucus. We Americans will be well advised to remember the words of Jorge Mas, when in appearance front of the Foreign Relation Committee of the House of Representatives, incidentally Jesse Jackson was sitting next to him, he said and I paraphrase "Who do you prefer to influence the course of our foreign policy in regards to Cuba?, honest, hard working Americans, or turning to the audience, the Cuban, the Castro lobby sitting here today?". I have meditated long and hard about the wisdom of leaving the country in which i was born, and I have found good reason, it is that in the event that my wife and I would have survived there, we saved our children from the horrors of living the misery and despair threat the Cuban people have suffered for the last forty one years, and perhaps saved one of them from becoming target bait in a desperate quest for freedom. I am also proud to be a member of a society that gave thousands like me the opportunity succeed, although it was not ready for our success, and makes me so far free to write this words without fear of having someone knock at my door tonight. I feel I have contributed to make this society better. I will continue to proclaim that this is the land of the free, and warn that its enemies are always looking for the opportunity to divide it. ELIAN AND CUBA DESERVE TO BE FREE END Rogelio Madrazo
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