Socialist Cuba has won some major victories today. It has been announced that the last three of the “Cuban five”, which remained until today in US prisons, have been freed in exchange for American USAID spy Alan Gross.
The three Cuban heroes;
Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino and Antonio Guerrero will join their families
for the holidays after more than 15 years in jail. They will also join Rene
Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez who were released in 2013 and early 2014. These
five men had infiltrated a group of anti-Cuban terrorists in Florida in the
late 1990s. The US government proceeded to jail them for espionage, despite
their work in uncovering plans for attacks against civilians in Cuba, and their
willingness to share this information with US authorities. Attacks against
Cuba, largely planned by groups operating on US soil with the complicity of the
US, have led to the deaths of around 3,500 Cubans since 1959.
In an address delivered
at noon, Cuban President Raul Castro gave more details about this victory and
ongoing negotiations with the US government. He started his speech with the
acknowledgement that Cuba has been “loyal in defending all the principles of
our independence war” since the revolution of 1959. Raul mentioned that in 2001
Fidel Castro had promised the return of the Cuban 5 to Cuba, and that today was
a realization of the goals of this long struggle. Raul expressed gratitude to
the “hundreds of committees and solidarity groups, governments, institutions
and personalities” that had struggled in their “efforts for liberation” of the
Cuban 5 heroes. Millions of people around the world have participated in demonstrations, conferences, petitions, letter writing and more to demand the release of the Cuban 5.
Raul Castro mentioned
conversations between President Obama and himself as recently as yesterday,
leading to the release of US spy Alan Gross “for humanitarian reasons” and an
anti-socialist Cuban spy. He said that there has been an agreement to
“re-establish diplomatic relations” between Havana and Washington.
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| President Raul Castro announces the return of Gerardo, Ramon and Antonio |
He also clearly stated, “This
doesn’t mean that everything is solved”. He called on Obama to use his
executive powers to lift the economic blockade against Cuba saying, “the
blockade that generates economic losses and humanitarian problems to our
country must stop”. He went on to say “we must learn the art of living with our
differences in a civilized way”.
This fall has put new
pressure on the US government to concede in its unjust and inhumane blockade of
the socialist island. As reported by Rebel Youth, in October 2014 the UN voted
for the 23rd consecutive year for the US to lift the blockade, with
only two countries voting against the motion (the US and Israel). Cuba has
publicly shamed the US by providing hundreds of doctors to West Africa in the
fight against Ebola, while the US sent soldiers. It is estimated that the US
blockade has cost the Cuban economy 1.1 trillion dollars since the US first
imposed it in 1962.
The White House released a statement
and President Obama made an address at the same time as the Cuban government.
It announced a number of changes to the blockade but refuses to fully normalize
relations. While acknowledging US isolation of Cuba “has failed”, the main
thesis of the statement is that Washington has something to teach Cuba about
“democracy”, “human rights” and “private property”, implying that the US’s game
plan for Cuba, the dismantlement of socialism and the reintegration of Cuba
into US imperialism’s control, has not really changed.
On the question of
democracy and human rights, the US has no business preaching these values
anywhere, especially Cuba, which has built a vibrant
socialist democracy. Perhaps it would be better for Obama to tackle
other problems of democracy and human rights: racist police murdering unarmed African
Americans, voter suppression and capitalist control over elections in the US,
the CIA admitting and defending the use of torture, drone strikes, invasions,
occupations, etc.
But there are other
reasons, in addition to some easing of the blockade and freedom for the Cuban Five,
to view these events as a victory for Cuba and peace-minded peoples around the
world. The head of USAID, Rajiv Shah, resigned on the same morning that USAID
contractor Alan Gross was released by Cuban authorities. USAID has been
implicated in destabilization
schemes all over Latin America. Rajiv Shah was no doubt involved in
overseeing two recent high profile attempts of subversion in Cuba. USAID was
caught red-handed trying to develop a Cuban social media platform and paying
Cuban Hip Hop artists in order to develop an anti-socialist movement on the
island. The US has spent $264 million since 1996 on these kinds of subversion
efforts. Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela have all spoken out and restricted the
operations of USAID in their countries as well.
The US also announced
that it would “review” Cuba’s inclusion on the US’s list of states that support
terrorism. Cuba was placed on this list in 1982, while the US was deeply
involved in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Central Americans, the use
of death squads, and the subversion of the Nicaraguan government in the region.
The hypocrisy of the
White House remains towards Cuba, but there are strong reasons to view these
developments as a victory for the Cuban people. After 15 years of prison for
the Cuban 5, and fifty-five years of Revolution, today the United States has
been forced to make some significant concessions towards an island of 11
million people. A defiant island 100 miles from the US, which continues to be a
living example that a socialist world is possible. As Raul Castro said in
today’s address: “Cubans have courageously shown that, despite the adversities,
the Cuban people is committed to the Revolution”.
Interested in learning more about Cuba? Check out the Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade which is travelling to Cuba this May 2014.
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