(Front Page of OPINION section)
Life After Fidel Will Mean
Raul
Changing Names is No Change At All
By ROBERT WEINER and JEFFREY BUCHANAN
It's
about time for a reality check.
The
likely scenario is that Raul will lead Cuba after Fidel. Still the
Commission Report is fixated on fictions like, "Leaders of a transition
government will likely move urgently to address a number of immediate
priorities." So will Raul "move urgently" to facilitate the transition
towards democracy and equality? Unfortunately, he is no Thomas
Jefferson. Raul's style of government is much closer to that of
Stalin. Sadly for Cuba, he will "move urgently" into his big
brother's footsteps -- and if his history is our lesson, he could prove
to be even more dangerous.
Consider evidence of Raul's linkages to Cuban drug trafficking. In 1993, the U.S. Attorney in South Florida drafted an indictment charging Raul Castro as a leader of a ten-year conspiracy sending Colombian cocaine through Cuba to the U.S. The Cuban Defense Ministry was declared a criminal organization. In 1987, the U.S. Attorney in Miami won convictions of 17 drug traffickers who used Cuban air force bases, MiG escorts for the smuggler's planes and military logistical support, all controlled by then Defense Minister Raul Castro, to bring over 2,000 lbs of Colombian cocaine over U.S. borders. While Fidel has asserted he wants to work with the U.S. on interdiction, his brother has an apparent history of being less than cooperative -- a "good cop-bad cop" partnership perhaps?
According
to the Commission report's proposed scenario, the first move of the
transitional government would be to free "political prisoners."
It's safe to assume Raul has different ideas for political
prisoners. Let's not forget Raul's role in what the Commission
calls "the most significant act of political repression in Latin
America in a decade." In March-April 2003 seventy-five human rights
activists and journalists were jailed for their criticism of the
military and the regime. Amnesty International has confirmed
three have already been executed with as many as fifty-five facing
possible death sentences. His government will continue to rule by
fear and there is little reason to believe the US government can change
this.
The commission does acknowledge the possibility of Raul's succession and states a longstanding policy not to deal with a government with Raul at the head. But rhetoric is cheap. If we think that stating U.S. policy will stop him from coming to power, guess again. Fidel rules the country, Raul is his successor, and Cubans will have to wait for freedom.
Our State Department and the political gurus in the White House must not send Florida and America myths about the future. To be realistic, foreign policy needs to focus on what Raul Castro really means to Cuba after Fidel because sadly, government under Raul is the real future of Cuba.
(Robert Weiner was spokesman for the White House National Drug Policy Office from 1995-2001. Jeffrey Buchanan was Chairman of the John Hopkins University's Charles Village Foreign Policy Forum)
If Raul is to be Cuba's leader, step up pressure
Letter to the Editor, June 27, 2004
I congratulate Robert Weiner and Jeffrey Buchanan for the article "Life after Fidel will mean Raul" (Opinion, June 6). The Cuban people have been living in oppression, hunger and misery under the communist regime for 45 years, with every vestige of human rights wiped out, and have been dominated every day by the fear of being denounced, killed or imprisoned.
The embargo against Cuba was designed not to bring down the communist government but in retaliation for Castro's theft of $2 billion worth of American-owned property and businesses, which never has been repaid.
The likely scenario on the island after Fidel's death is that the cruel Raul will gain power. His style of government is much closer to that of Josef Stalin, and he could prove to be more dangerous than his brother, considering evidence of links to Cuban drug trafficking in this country.
It is well known that the United Nations, like the Organization of American States, has proven to be useless in opposing most real threats to human rights and freedom around the world, so if the future of the Cuban people is to live under Raul's tyranny, there is no other way to get rid of communism in Cuba than for the democratic nations to wake up and exert firm and strong pressure against that kind of terrible doctrine.
Cubans have the right to be free and independent, so let's give them an opportunity to fight for their country and to live in freedom and liberty.