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Ahmadinejad. Add to these Bashar alAssad in Syria, and the leaders of North Korea, China, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, among others. What does all of this mean, and what do we say to those who say the cold war is over and this is old news? It has been said that U.S. policy has likely delayed rather than hastened Cuban democracy, and held back Cubas socioeconomic abilities. Some pro-Castro pundits claim that gradual and limited shifts, allowances and improvements for the Cuban people are evident on the island. And there are those who rationalize that Cuba is too poor to be a threat to anyone. Reality -- versus rose-colored views of Cuba, its citizens, government and rogue security services, factually tell quite a different story. The Castro brothers have not discarded their bloody revolutionary communist and socialist ideology over the last 50plus years of iron fisted rule. The Cuban government and the Castro security apparatus are frequently accused today of tremendous human rights abuses that involve beatings and torture to innocents. These acts include oppression, arbitrary imprisonment, intimidation, harassment and violence against women. Cubans throughout the island have a limited voice to this very day. Some are able to blog or share news and incidents of brutality with others throughout the world via electronic mail, albeit often highly censored. The Twitter network is often saturated by breaking news of incidents of arrests of notables, descriptions of perceived kidnappings by security officials, beatings, torture, and unfair trials.
Human Rights Watch alleges the government "represses nearly all forms of political dissent," and that "Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law. No political party is permitted to nominate candidates or campaign on the island. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consisted of 40 maximumsecurity prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps. According to Human Rights Watch, political prisoners, along with the rest of Cuba's prison population, are confined to jails with substandard and unhealthy conditions. As far back as 2003, the European Union accused the Cuban government of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms." And within the United Nations Human Rights Council, Cuban members continue to receive criticism. In 2008 Cuba had the second-highest number of imprisoned journalists of any nation, behind only the People's Republic of China, this according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Gladys Bensimon, an award winning multilingual producer, director and president of HBR productions near New York City, has spent much of her career exposing dictators and associated human rights violators. One of her most recent films was "Celebrating Life in Union," a factual docudrama narrated by the famed Cuban American actor Andy Garcia. The film and powerfully courageous
story of surviving ex-Cuban political prisoners is told through their memories of imprisonment, physical and mental torture, and death by firing squads under the tyrannical and oppressive Castro regime. Cuba continues to maintain and aggressively fund its state intelligence service, the Direccin de Inteligencia (DI). DI agents are especially active in Venezuela, and they are found in and around the U.S. and much of Latin America, with a large hub in Mexico City. Their recent espionage activities within the U.S. have been widely and factually documented. Cooperative engagement with Cubas totalitarian regime, curbing sanctions against Cuba, as well as Cubas token and claimed concessions promulgated by the world media will not bring about this regimes demise. Chief of State Raul Castro recently warned Cubans not to waste their time hoping to build wealth (as he is not about to let that happen). No one is responsible for the failed Cuban revolution of the Castros except for Fidel, Raul, and their loyal and close minions. It remains a weak, corrupt, bankrupt, and miserable Communist party and revolution, hurting and oppressing the Cuban homeland. Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global threat mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia. His website is located at www.cjiausa.org. TWITTER: CJIAUSA Jerry Brewer Published Archives