Looming US Foreign Relations Disaster over Cuba

Alberto N Jones

HAVANA TIMES, Nov. 28 — An apparently benign, innocuous article reproduced in the Daytona Beach News-Journal 11/27/10 “ILY to lead Foreign Affairs”, which refers to Cuban-American Ileana Ros-Lethinen  to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will have a catastrophic, long-term, confrontational effect on US relations with the most important nations in Latin America and many more around the world.

US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lethinen has demonstrated during her 25 years in the Florida Legislature and the US Congress, to be a vicious, rabid political extremist, who in order to address her visceral hate against Cuba, her vindictive feelings against the Cuban government for having “hurt my Dad”, is willing to allow her deranged inner bitterness, to pull this country to the edge of the precipice.

Just in Latin America, Mrs. Ros-Lethinen will put the US on a collision course with oil rich Venezuela, Brazil and Ecuador, in addition Argentina, Paraguay, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Mexico and the Caribbean islands.

Completely oblivious of the fact, that half a century of confrontation with Cuba, has only served to inflict indescribable pain, hunger, destruction and death on the Cuban people who she claims to love, the goals of the US embargo to decapitate the Cuban government have failed and will continue to fail, as long as we continue on this belligerent path that may re-enact the horrific days of the missile crisis of 1962.

Working against the best interest of her adopted country, Mrs. Ros-Lethinen has devoted her life, to incite and fan the flames of hatred between the US and Cuba.  While more than 20 US States are continuously leading business delegations to Cuba, opening agricultural, medicine and other markets, that have earned US business people billions in sales, she has done everything she possibly can, to shut off every avenue of dialogue, friendship and understanding .

With the arrival of George W. Bush to the White House, Mrs. Ros-Lethinen, Diaz-Balart brothers, Bob Menendez, Senator Mel Martinez and other extremists, rammed through the US Congress the most inhumane, anti-family bill against Cuban-Americans in history.  This Bill restructured the Cuban family, by excluding aunts and uncle, allowing only closest family members a one-week visit every three years and forbade each visitor from spending more than $50.00 a day.

Mean-spirited actions

A graphic example of the wicked entrails of those supporting this bill, was a response to a question posed to a high ranking State Department official during a press conference as to, what would happen if a Cuban-American should need to visit an ailing family member in Cuba who would die at a later date? His response said it all: “It is for them to decide if they choose to visit a dying family member or to be at the funeral,” end of quote.

Tragically, the damage and hardship created by these mean spirited actions, has been felt in Miami as well.  The huge Flee Market on 36th street with hundreds of small enterprises went out of business, Calle 8 suffered irreparable hardship, the charter airlines Concourse at the Miami International Airport suffered severe financial distress and hundreds of Cuban-Americans became beggars on 103rd street in Hialeah.

A mere five months since President Barack Obama lifted these cruel measures, flights/passenger to Cuba have experienced a 6 fold increase, 20th street SW has gone from an eyesore to a booming small business area in Miami, that was deserving to be featured  in Time Magazine.  Much, much more mutually beneficial development could be achieved, if reason and logic would prevail over hate and destruction.

US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lethinen’s pervasive obsession with Fidel Castro and Cuba, lead her to utter the obnoxious remarks of “I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro“, or for throwing her full political weight behind the failed kidnapping attempt of six year old, shipwrecked Elian Gonzalez.  The boy had experienced the drowning death of his mother, nine friends and may have suffered greater trauma than most of us in our lifetime. He certainly did not receive simple motherly love and comfort from that gang of hate mongers.

Thousands of citizens of Florida have demanded that US Congresswoman Ros-Lethinen and the rest of the Cuban-American delegation to Congress, focus on the massive housing crisis in their state, job creation, the health and education crisis, violent crime, drug abuse and tens of other maladies that have a direct impact on people’s lives, rather than spewing her bilious hatred and frustration everywhere.

The state of Florida with its similar climate, geographical proximity, common cultural and historical links with Cuba, should begin to develop the closest socio-economical-complementary, mutually beneficial relation with its closest neighbor.  Failing to do so will expose numerous weakness and vulnerabilities we have as compared with Cuba, that may wreak havoc in the near future to our economy and livelihood, now that Cuba has begun to open and expand its development.