Juan Manuel Santos is the president of Colombia. In a region sometimes known for hotheads, Santos is a voice of reason, cool diplomacy and common sense. He's a good friend of the United States, without being slavishly deferential. But he gets along just as well with his feisty neighbors in Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba. Santos' credentials are extraordinary. An economist by training, he was educated at the University of Kansas (Santos surely must be a Jayhawks fan), the London School of Economics, Harvard and Tufts. It doesn't get any better than that.
On April 14 and 15, the Summit of the Americas will assemble in Cartagena, Colombia. Many countries will participate, but Cuba, which lies a stone's throw away, will not be one of them. The United States and Canada made sure of that by lodging vigorous objections to Cuban participation. Canada doesn't hesitate, of course, to send thousands of tourists annually to the island, allowing them to contribute their dollars to the local economy.
Over the weekend president Santos called once again for the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. But he noted that this will be impossible until after the November elections, and he laid the blame squarely where it's due: on the rabidly anti-Castro community in Florida, which is firmly opposed to any change, however slight, in America's approach to the aging regime. I've written about this topic many times, and it's encouraging to read the same words from Santos. U.S. policy towards Cuba is completely sterile, and an excellent way not to promote democratic reforms in Havana. To Albert Einstein is attributed the famous statement that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and yet expecting different results." The principle quite succinctly describes the last 52 years of American "strategy" towards Cuba.
Santos points out that U.S. policy towards Cuba is very hypocritical. We deal with China without the slightest qualms, for instance, despite the fact that it's a politically repressive regime, a one party state and a world leader in capital punishment, including for all kinds of offenses which would be regarded as petty economic crimes in most countries. Just a few years ago we regularly condemned China's human rights violations. Everything has changed, of course, because now we have no other option: China has become America's lender, and holds the mortgage to the house. You don't lecture your banker on his morals.
Although sparing him by name, president Santos surely had in mind Florida's Republican senator Marco Rubio. He’s a darling of ultra-conservatives, and his name is now being tossed around as a good VP choice for Mitt Romney (Rubio is a native Spanish speaker). Rubio’s supporters love him, and he in turn loves to feed their dreams of returning to the island to recover homes and businesses long ago expropriated by the Cuban government. Rubio’s parents left Cuba in 1956, when Batista was still in power. Rubio himself was born in Miami, but he often refers to himself and his family as "Cuban exiles." The senator likes to wave his political saber in Barack Obama’s direction, daring him to alter American policy towards Cuba even a little. Rubio has built his career on worn out anti-Castro rhetoric.
Barack Obama, for his part, has been a disappointment on all things Cuban. He may get one more chance, after November, to try a different course. Many would welcome such, including a 63 year old American who today sits in a Havana jail quietly serving a 15 year sentence - a sentence which may include the penalty of never again seeing some of his family members. The president should ponder the fact that the idle policies of nations carry very real human consequences. In the case of Cuba, it's time to change the policy.
Note - Here's a great illustration of why American politicians are so terrified of the Cuban voting population in Florida: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/10/144702/fidel-castro-comments-lead-to.html
Barack Obama should free Alan Gross: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/barack-obama-should-free-alan-gross.html.
U.S. refuses to to swap Miami Five for convicted American smuggler Alan Gross: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/us-refuses-to-to-swap-miami-five-for.html.
The real story of Alan Gross: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/alan-gross-us-agent-who-knew-what-he.html.
Alan Gross y Los Cinco de Miami: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.mx/2011/11/alan-gross-y-los-cinco-de-miami.html.
U.S. shows revolting double standard in René González case: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.mx/2011/11/us-shows-revolting-double-standard-in.html.
U.S. congressional delegation goes hat-in-hand to Havana: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/two-american-senators-visit-cuba.html.
U.S. judge allows Miami Five member René González to visit his dying brother: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/us-judge-allows-rene-gonzalez-to-visit.html.
Fidel Castro greets Pope Benedict - but no jail pass for U.S. citizen Alan Gross: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/03/fidel-castro-greets-pope-benedict-xvi.html.
Cuba urges Miami Five supporters to launch White House communications blitz: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/cuba-urges-world-wide-communications.html
50th anniversary of U.S. embargo of Cuba - Feb. 7, 2012: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/us-embargo-of-cuba-is-50-years-old.html.
It's time to end the Cuban embargo: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/us-embargo-of-cuba.html.
United Nations condemns U.S. embargo of Cuba (186-2) for the 20th time: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/united-nations-condemns-us-embargo-of.html.
Newt Gingrich spews the same old Cold War rhetoric on Cuba: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/gingrich-spews-same-old-cold-war.html.
Hillary Clinton's worn out Cuban game plan: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/hillary-clinton-sticks-to-same-old-game.html.
Benedict and Fidel: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/benedict-and-fidel-of-what-might-they_27.html.
What does Che Guevara have to do with Mercedes-Benz?: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/01/what-does-che-guevara-have-to-do-with.html.
Have a free drink at the Hemingway Bar in Washington, D.C.: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/hemingway-bar-opens-in-cuban-diplomatic.html.
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