Another thing that’s the US’ fault

According to the AP (via Fox news and the Washington Post) some Cuban Army soldiers tried to hijack a charter flight to the US last night. They were thwarted and a Cuban Army colonel was killed. All very sad and I sympathizes with all of the people involved. However, halfway down the story, I find that it’s the US’ fault;

“The responsibility for these new crimes lies with the highest-ranking authorities of the United States, adding to the long list of terrorist acts that Cuba has been the victim of for nearly half a century,” it said.

Havana says U.S. immigration policies giving most Cubans almost guaranteed residency encourages them to risk their lives to get to the United States, and says that American officials have long tolerated — even encouraged — violence against the communist-run country.

So it’s the US’ fault that Cuba kills it’s own citizens because they want a life in the 21st Century?

Cuba also blames the US for it’s economic woes because we stopped buying their sugar, their rum, their fruit and (sadly) their cigars. Well, I remember when Coca-cola was made with sugar and I miss it. I’ve smoked Cuban cigars with Cuban rum and it’s a delight – one of my greatest delights. I sorely wish that the US would start trading with Cuba once again. But to imply that Cuban Communism doesn’t work because the US capitalists won’t trade with it is just insane and hypocritical.

The same goes for US immigration policy towards Cuban refugees. It’s the same policy that West Germany had for East Germans who escaped – would the Left complain about that policy?

I guess it all boils down to the fact that if Cuba wasn’t a repressive dictatorship that kept it’s people in the 1950s living in tarpaper shacks on unpaved streets and if Cuba allowed US companies to reclaim their properties and their businesses and pay decent wages, maybe the people wouldn’t be trying to hijack planes and riding innertubes to Florida.

Category: Economy, Foreign Policy