Noose Tightening on Cuba

For those who don't google Cuba news every morning as I do, here is a summary of the recent developments:

-- President Bush will be committed during his second term to the “liberation of Cuba," a top State Department official said last Friday. Roger Noriega, who heads the department’s Latin American bureau, also said that once Fidel Castro is no longer in power, the United States is ready to support broad economic and political reform in Cuba “to ensure that vestiges of the regime don’t hold on.” News story.

Things are bout to get real serious. This on top of the recent mob-like (illegal) arm-twisting manuevers the Bush Administration has been up to of late, including:

-- US Companies that legally sell food and agricultural products to Cuba are reporting that payments are not being credited to their bank accounts in the United States. Banks have confirmed receipt of payments from Cuba but have not credited the accounts of exporters on instructions from the U.S. government. News story

Already, Cuba was the only country in the world forced to pay for US goods with cash on delivery - with no line of credit. Now, it appears forces in the Bush Administration want to find a way to stop selling things to Cuba all together. But since Congress overwhelmingly approved such sales - the Adminstration is finding a back-handed "adminstrative" way to try to cut them. They are saying that cash now may have to be deposited in a US bank account before the goods can even be shipped.

-- In response to this pressure not to deal with Cuba (added to other more disgusting restrictions on family assistance and travel introduced bu Bush in May), Cuba took the step a couple weeks ago to restrict the use of the once prevalent US Dollar on the island. No doubt the "stick in eye" factor was large here, but this will also boost the Euro and put Cuban dealings with the world out of reach of the US Treasury Department. Cuba-haters (the mainstream press) says this was a ploy to confiscate dollars to help an ailing economy. Well actually not one dollar that was exchanged for Euros or Pesos will be touched or spent by the Government.
News story

-- The big story on Cuba has been that the Government has released 7 more of the original 75 so-called "independent journalists" and dissidents rounded up last year. The press has focussed on the apparent success of Spain's new socialist government in obtaining the release through talks - not US style threats. However the real story continues to be how these paid mercenaries of the US are still glorified and considered innocent... despite the fact that the trials were public, that page after page of damning evidence from the court transcripts is available on the internet and that each was connected to the United States in some way - either being directed by it, paid by directly or indirectly or received material assistance from it. No mention is made of our treason laws, which imprison people for the same crimes - working at the service of enemy powers.

Viva La Revolucion!
Hasta La Victoria Siempre!!