Uncommon Sense

49 years later

Forty-nine years ago tonight, life forever changed for my family.

The fall of one dictatorship, and the rise of a much more brutal tyranny, meant they would have to leave their home, their Cuba. The first ones to make it to America, were my paternal grandfather, Raimundo Masferrer Rojas, and his two brothers, Rodolfo "Kiki" Masferrer Rojas and Rolando "El Tigre" Masferrer Rojas. Forty-nine years ago tonight, as Batista loaded up on an airplane out of town, the Masferrer brothers — blood enemies of the Castro brothers — boarded Rolando's converted U.S. Navy PT boat and fled to Florida.

Over the next few years, other family members would arrive in America, adopting it as their new home and building new lives. It is a story that can be told many times over, from Miami to Madrid, from Union City to Dallas.

My life today, and the liberty I enjoy as an American, as a free man, is a product of their sacrifice.

The Castro brothers took plenty from family, and then some. But they never had a chance to take our resolve or our pride. Ultimately, we, not they, were the victors.

And I am certain that one day soon, perhaps even in 2008, our victory will be extended and shared by our cousins on the island. A dictator will fall, to be replaced not by another tyrant, but by freedom, democracy and a respect for human rights.

Until that day, the struggle will, the struggle must, continue.

The truth about Castro

The truth about Fidel Castro, is best summed up by the stories of its many victims, men, women and children who have paid with their lives, for the 49 years of dictatorship and tyranny that Castro has brought to Cuba. It is their suffering, and their deaths, that forever will reveal the true horror of castroism.

That truth has a new voice.

Cuba Archive has launched a long-awaited online database holding information on more than 9,000 victims of the Castro dictatorship. The number surely will go, as Cuba Archive also is asking users to submit additional information about their loved ones.

Cuba Archive explans the purpose of the database:

There is profound unawareness of the cost in lives of the Cuban Revolution. This contributes to pervasive ignorance of the violent nature of the current regime.

By telling the stories of its victims, we hope to compel people and nations to demand the end of oppression in Cuba. In furthering an understanding of the the steep cost of violence, we hope to foster a culture of respect for life and justice. In honoring the memory of those who’ve paid the highest price, we find meaning to their sacrifice.

This work is a gift to present and future generations that deserve to live in peace.

This is an invaluable historical resource, that hopefully will both help convince the world of the true, abhorant nature of the Castro regime and hold those most responsible, accountable for their crimes.

(Cross-posted at Babalú.)

Julián Antonio Monés Borrero, Political Prisoner of the Week, 12/30/07 (UPDATED X 3)

UPDATED, April 28, 2008 — Julián Antonio Monés Borrero was released from prison on April 18, 2008. UPDATED, Oct. 18, 2008 — Monés was arrested Sept. 30 on a trumped up charge of "attacking" and immediately began a hunger strike that lead to his hospitalization.UPDATED, Nov. 27, 2008 — Monés was sentenced to 3 years in prison for "offenses against authority."

If you read enough MSM stories about Raul Castro — and you believe both what they say, and what they leave unsaid — you'd think he's a gentler, kinder dictator. Surely, he's no democrat, but he's open to change, and more tolerant of dissent. Complete fiction, of course, but you have to give his handlers credit. They spin a good line, and a compliant media goes along, to get along or whatever.

Most of the political prisoners in the Cuban gulag are on Fidel Castro, locked away because they dared to oppose his regime, or maybe just on the bearded bastard's whim. But the oppression and repression did not stop with Fidel's surgery in the summer of 2006 and ascent of his little brother. There have been plenty of dissidents locked up during his rule.

Just ask Julián Antonio Monés Borrero.

Monés, and three other members of the John Paul II Reconciliation and Peace Movement, were arrested last Jan. 27, when they tried to attend the investiture of a new Catholic bishop in Guantanamo. Details of his prosecution were sketchy, but at some point Monés was convicted of a supposed crime and sentenced to one year of house arrest.

In October, Monés was sent to Paso de Cuba prison in the far eastern part of the country, because he was continuing to participate in dissident activities.

Just before Christmas, Payo Libre reported that Monés' health had worsened. He suffers from low blood pressure but the best a prison doctor could do for him is to suggest he place salt beneath his tongue, because the needed medicine was not available.

One of the surest indicators of the repressive nature of the Castro regime is the jailing of political prisoners. To illustrate that reality, Uncommon Sense each week profiles one prisoner. There also is a Political Prisoner archive on the right sidebar. To suggest a prisoner for a profile, send me an e-mail.

For profiles of imprisoned Cuban journalists and related information, read the March 18 Project.

Giuliani takes swipe at Raul

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani made another campaign stop in Little Havana on Thursday, promising a "new day" for Cuba, and reminding voters that he knows Raul Castro is just another blood-thirsty dictator — just like his brother.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Raul Castro, the bearded revolutionary's 76-year-old brother, has assumed much of the regime's leadership duties. But, Giuliani said, he represents no hope for democratic change.

The Republican candidate recalled that as defense minister, the younger Castro was believed to have given the order to shoot down the Brothers to the Rescue planes for allegedly violating Cuban air space. All four men aboard the two light aircraft, who had been on a leafleting mission over Havana, died.

"He has been at Fidel's side from the beginning and all throughout. He's been at the head of the secret police and intelligence. He has blood on his hands," Giuliani said of Raul Castro during a speech to about 200 exiles crowded into the small Bay of Pigs Museum in Little Havana.

The Miami Herald has more.

25 more murdered by Castro

He didn't pull the trigger, and he probably is unable of giving the order. And maybe their boat wasn't rammed by the Cuban coast guard, as some have suggested.

But have no doubt — you can add the names of as many as 25 Cubans trying to escape the tropical gulag, to the list of those who have died because of Fidel Castro and his evil regime.

I have no sympathy for human smugglers; their concern is only financial, and not for the safety of their cargo. However, their kind would not be neccessary, if it were not for the desperation of so many Cubans to escape their slavemaster.

These Cubans, and the two dozen or more who apparently perished earlier this month, died not because of the embargo or even wet-foot, dry-foot — an abhorrant U.S. policy that probably generates customers for the smugglers.

They died because they were fleeing tyranny. They died because they were seeking freedom — a liberty that will forever be denied their countrymen as long as Castro, his little brother and others like him, remain in power. The blood is on their hands.

Accomplices to apartheid

The Spanish hotel conglomerate Grupo Globalia has opened two new Oasis Hotel and Resorts in Cuba, one on the beach at Varadero and another on a beach in Camagüey, according to EFE.

As always, the hotelier is unable to promise that guests will get to meet real Cuban people.

(H/T to Penultimos Dias)

Political prisoner update

This account last week of Cuban independent journalist Juan Carlos Fonseca Fonseca's recent interview with political prisoner Rolando Jiménez Pozada, includes some updated information about Pozada's case.

According to Fonseca's article, Pozada, an attorney arrested in April 2003, was sentenced in December 2006, to 12 years in prison for the supposed crimes of "revealing state secrets" and "aggravated disrespect."

It is frustrating that it has taken me a year to learn and report this information, and I apologize for the lapse. I try to keep up with all the latest information about Cuba's political prisoners, but between there being so many prisoners and only so many hours in a day; my limited ability to read Spanish; and most importantly, the news blackout that the Cuban state-run media and the western MSM impose on information about the prisoners, sometimes it takes us a while to learn what has happened.

In the new year, I will resume my weekly profiles of Cuban political prisoners. I ask for your continued indulgences and your patience.

Meanwhile, the interview this past week provides some context for the recent "hatchet job" by a supposed Cuban "journalist" against leading human rights activist

The candidates on Cuba

The Latin American Working Group, which favors lifting the embargo and other restrictions on dealing with Cuba, has published a fact sheet and grades on where the presidential candidates stand on Cuba-related issues. The bottom lines:

A Chris Dodd (D) Mike Gravel (D) Dennis Kucinich (D) Ron Paul (R)

B
Barack Obama (D)
Bill Richardson (D)

C
Joseph Biden (D)
John Edwards (D)

D
Hillary Clinton (D)

F
Rudy Giuliani (R)
Mike Huckabee (R)
John McCain (R)
Mitt Romney (R)
Fred Thompson (R)

Of course, if you disagree with the Latin American Working Group, just do a Huckabee and flip-flop the grades.

Merry Christmas

Before I take a few days off for the holidays, I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May this be a blessed season for you and your loved ones.

Also, thank you to everyone who, intentionally or otherwise, has found themselves checking out what I have to say here. I blog for myself but I never forget my readers. You humble me with your time and attention.

This site, because of my own shortcomings and that there are only 24 hours in a day, will never be as good as I want it to be. In part, that's because of the importance of what I am trying to champion each day, the cause of Cuban liberty, especially for those locked away in Fidel Castro's gulag because of their faith in democracy, freedom and human rights.

I want my efforts to be worthy of the cause. Even if that's never possible, I promise to keep trying my best.

Again, Merry Christmas, and next year, we'll celebrate in a free Cuba.

Viva Cuba Libre!

Journalist remains defiant

Thanks to Cuba's independent journalists, the world has learned details about how the Castro regime tried to preempt last week's demonstrations by dissidents and other events to commemorate International Human Rights Days. They kept track of who was being arrested and who had been released, and bravely, transmitting their stories to the outside world.

Now, the empire — well, the two-bit dictatorship — has struck back.

A story posted at Payo Libre, details how Cuban police have threatened Carlos Serpa Maceira, one of the more prolific independent journalists, with prison because of his work. They have notified him that he could be charged with "social dangerousness" and fined for illegally being in Havana. (He is supposed to be on Isle of the Pines, but was forced to leave because of police repression there.)

Serpa, who a day before Human Rights Day covered a march by the Damas De Blanco and about 15 foreign supporters, was not shaken. He vowed he would "continue reporting on these and other acts of rebellion for the liberty of political prisoners."

(Cross-posted at Babalú.)