Humberto Fontova: Castro and Our Wallets
[Humberto Fontova is the author of Fidel; Hollywod's Favorite Tyrant, a Conservative Book Club Main Selection.]
A legislative scheme is gaining steam in Washington, greatly aided by lobbyists for Archer Daniels Midland, to "make it easier" for Cuba to "buy" from U.S. vendors.
Despite all the scribbling and gabble about the "U.S. embargo of Cuba," or "blockade" as termed by The Congressional Black Caucus and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself), the U.S. has done over a billion dollars worth of business with Cuba the last few years and currently ranks as her biggest food supplier and fifth biggest import partner. Much of this business is with ADM.
Nevertheless, ADM executives and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) whine that restrictions on doing business with Cuba are "too onerous." These "restrictions" stipulate one thing primarily: that the Castroites pay cash for U.S. imports. Well, as Strother Martin asked Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid as they descended that Bolivian hill: "Do you want to know why?"
Glad you asked. Following please find a list of items many in the Mainstream Media and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) are frantically trying to erase or obscure:
In its first year in power the Castro regime received $200 million in subsidies from U.S. taxpayers while denouncing U.S. economic ties with Cuba as "Yankee imperialism!"
The following year Castro's KGB-trained security forces stormed into 5,911 U.S owned businesses in Cuba and stole $2 billion from outraged U.S. businessmen and stockholders at gunpoint. Rubbing his hands in triumphant glee, Castro boasted at maximum volume to the entire world that he was freeing Cuba from "Yankee economic slavery!" ( Che's term, actually) and that "he would never repay a penny!"
This is the only promise Fidel Castro has ever kept in his life.
"Okay, fine," said a bewildered U.S. in 1962. (between 1950-1960 a befuddled U.S. made several back-channel contacts attempting to ascertain the nature of Castroite grievances and trying to mend fences. Argentina's president, Arturo Frondizi, was the conduit for many. Every overture was haughtily rebuffed.) "Well, If that's the way you Cuban Communists feel," finally said an exasperated U.S. "Then fine, consider yourselves formally emancipated."
Thus the original embargo.
Far from a "Blockade" as the World Council of Churches and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) label it, Cuba, even then, remained perfectly free to transact with most of the nations of the world. But the deals with the East-Bloc were the sweetest.
The Soviets sent the equivalent in economic subsidies of eight Marshall Plans to Cuba, which was not a war-ravaged continent of 300 million people but an island of 6 million people who shortly before had enjoyed a higher-per-capita income than half of Europe. These Cuban citizens had owned more TVs' per capita than any European country, had enjoyed the services (some free, most extremely cheap) of more doctors and dentists per capita then citizens in the U.S. or Britain and had never emigrated from their homeland. Instead, in the 40's and 50's when Cubans could get U.S. visas for the asking and Cubans were perfectly free to emigrate with all their property and family, fewer Cubans lived in the U.S. than Americans in Cuba. At the time Cuban laborers earned the 8th highest wages - not in Latin America, but in the world.
By a process that defies not just the laws of economics, but seemingly the very laws of physics, 40 years later Castroite Cuba emerged from this Soviet largesse with among the lowest per-capita incomes in the Hemisphere, a lower credit rating than Somalia, fewer phones per capita than Papua New Guinea, fewer internet connections than Uganda, and 20 per cent of her population gone - all at total cost of their property and many at extreme cost to life and limb....
Read entire article at http://www.newsmax.com
A legislative scheme is gaining steam in Washington, greatly aided by lobbyists for Archer Daniels Midland, to "make it easier" for Cuba to "buy" from U.S. vendors.
Despite all the scribbling and gabble about the "U.S. embargo of Cuba," or "blockade" as termed by The Congressional Black Caucus and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself), the U.S. has done over a billion dollars worth of business with Cuba the last few years and currently ranks as her biggest food supplier and fifth biggest import partner. Much of this business is with ADM.
Nevertheless, ADM executives and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) whine that restrictions on doing business with Cuba are "too onerous." These "restrictions" stipulate one thing primarily: that the Castroites pay cash for U.S. imports. Well, as Strother Martin asked Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid as they descended that Bolivian hill: "Do you want to know why?"
Glad you asked. Following please find a list of items many in the Mainstream Media and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) are frantically trying to erase or obscure:
In its first year in power the Castro regime received $200 million in subsidies from U.S. taxpayers while denouncing U.S. economic ties with Cuba as "Yankee imperialism!"
The following year Castro's KGB-trained security forces stormed into 5,911 U.S owned businesses in Cuba and stole $2 billion from outraged U.S. businessmen and stockholders at gunpoint. Rubbing his hands in triumphant glee, Castro boasted at maximum volume to the entire world that he was freeing Cuba from "Yankee economic slavery!" ( Che's term, actually) and that "he would never repay a penny!"
This is the only promise Fidel Castro has ever kept in his life.
"Okay, fine," said a bewildered U.S. in 1962. (between 1950-1960 a befuddled U.S. made several back-channel contacts attempting to ascertain the nature of Castroite grievances and trying to mend fences. Argentina's president, Arturo Frondizi, was the conduit for many. Every overture was haughtily rebuffed.) "Well, If that's the way you Cuban Communists feel," finally said an exasperated U.S. "Then fine, consider yourselves formally emancipated."
Thus the original embargo.
Far from a "Blockade" as the World Council of Churches and Castro lobbyists (but I repeat myself) label it, Cuba, even then, remained perfectly free to transact with most of the nations of the world. But the deals with the East-Bloc were the sweetest.
The Soviets sent the equivalent in economic subsidies of eight Marshall Plans to Cuba, which was not a war-ravaged continent of 300 million people but an island of 6 million people who shortly before had enjoyed a higher-per-capita income than half of Europe. These Cuban citizens had owned more TVs' per capita than any European country, had enjoyed the services (some free, most extremely cheap) of more doctors and dentists per capita then citizens in the U.S. or Britain and had never emigrated from their homeland. Instead, in the 40's and 50's when Cubans could get U.S. visas for the asking and Cubans were perfectly free to emigrate with all their property and family, fewer Cubans lived in the U.S. than Americans in Cuba. At the time Cuban laborers earned the 8th highest wages - not in Latin America, but in the world.
By a process that defies not just the laws of economics, but seemingly the very laws of physics, 40 years later Castroite Cuba emerged from this Soviet largesse with among the lowest per-capita incomes in the Hemisphere, a lower credit rating than Somalia, fewer phones per capita than Papua New Guinea, fewer internet connections than Uganda, and 20 per cent of her population gone - all at total cost of their property and many at extreme cost to life and limb....