In the same month that celebrities the like of Conan O'Brien and Paris Hilton partied in Havana and American diplomats worked feverishly to seal a diplomatic deal with the Castro dictatorship, the Cuban secret police went into overdrive in its repression of the regime's opposition.
The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reported Tuesday that it had recorded at least 492 politically motivated arrests in February. That's almost three times the 178 it counted in January and the highest monthly total in six months.
That brings the total number of arrests since right before President Barack Obama announced the rapprochement with Cuba on Dec. 17, to at least 1,159.
The American government has changed its approach toward the Cuban government, willing to give the Castros almost whatever it wants with no desire to demand anything in return -- especially anything having to do with human rights.
But as the numbers show, it's clear the Cuban government has not changed its approach to the Cuban people. In fact, it has been emboldened to resume the tactics -- such as the targeting of peaceful activists walking to Sunday Mass -- that made 2014 a record year for repression in Cuba.
Of course, now it does it with the acquiescence and appeasement of the United States.
Recent Comments