How to kill Cuban People

The decline of the Empire is nowhere so glaring as in Latin America—the Uncle Sam’s traditional backyard. Having lost its longest war in Afghanistan, America is now shifting its focus to Latin America with renewed vigour to destbilise Cuba, the source of inspiration to dozens of nationalist and socialist movements in the western hemisphere. The one-point agenda of the White House administration is how to kill Cuba and Cuban people. Washington has long been trying to destroy Cuban Revolution and install in Havana a pro-American puppet government without any success. Of late they tried to mobilise masses against the government taking advantage of hardships people are facing day in and day out, with a view to engineering a ‘colour revolution’, rather counter revolution. But the hardships the Cubans are experiencing today are due to economic sanctions imposed by America. It has been condemned in the UN several times but the White House , being the sole super power, has no reason to honour UN resolutions. Barring a short period of Obama administration America never tried to slacken sanctions.

In truth the Trump regime tightened the sixty-year-old US blockade of Cuba by initiating 243 extra sanctions—all of which were retained in place by Joe Biden. President comes, President goes but Cuba remains the worst victim of the notorious ’Monroe Doctrine’. The intensified sanctions have created severe shortages in supply of food, medicines and fuel leading to protest marches in the Havana streets, as per American script. Bankers are increasingly refusing to transfer funds to Cuba for fear of US retaliation and it is now almost impossible for Cubans living abroad to send money to their families. It means more hardships.

Covid-19 was a serious blow to Cuba’s economy because tourism, one of the major sources of revenue was down by 94 percent in the first four months of 2021. Tragically enough, despite having five home-grown vaccines, Cuba’s vaccine programme has been severely hindered by a lack of syringes and raw materials as a direct result of the blockade. Cuba’s medical internationalism is exemplary. Its medical assistance by way of providing doctors to poor third world countries, particularly African nations, has no parallel. Cuba has already vaccinated about 2 million of its 11 million people and hopes to have 70 percent of the population vaccinated in a month or two. It’s a tragedy that Cuba is facing shortage of syringes. It makes little sense that a country so advanced in bio-tech and pharmaceuticals should have problem sourcing syringes. It is strange that concerned Indians don’t bother about it. Even voluntary organisations are not coming forward to help Cuba by supplying ,of all things syringes.

Cuba’s achievements in health-care are model. Their public health system has allowed it to outperform much of the world in terms life-expectancy, infant mortality and more recently per capita pandemic statistics. For one thing life-expectancy in a poor third world country, at 78.80 years is actually higher than in the US. America’s plan to ban medical supplies to Cuba is basically aimed at killing Cuban people.

With the rising tide of nationalist and socialist movements throughout Latin America the White House is trying to make things difficult for the persons in power in Havana because most popular political trends in Latin America are inspired by Castro’s Cuba.

The ruling Communist Party of Cuba, the party founded by Fidel Castro, proved itself highly skilful in international diplomacy, defeating the US ploy to isolate Cuba from international forums. In Africa Cuba’s revolutionary image is extremely high because of its positive contribution in raising the flag of resistance against the racist South African Army in the late 1980s. Not for nothing Nelson Mandela once referred to Fidel Castro as a great” source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people”. American pressure notwithstanding, most countries, including some of America’s strategic partners support Cuba in UN. The wide-ranging diplomacy was seen very recently in the 184-2 vote in the UN against the US economic blockade of Cuba. Only Israel was on America’s side.

Communists in India never took Cuban Revolution seriously. Nor are they vocal enough about America’s barbaric acts against Cuba. They don’t mention it even in their stereotyped discourses. They don’t know anything other than Bolshevik insurrection.

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Frontier
Vol. 54, No. 13, Sep 26 - Oct 2, 2021