Category: Uncategorized

U.S. Statement on Cameroon National Day  

On Cameroon National Day (May 20, 2025), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the following positive statement:[1]

  • “On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the government and people of Cameroon as you celebrate your country’s 53rd National Day. We proudly reaffirm our sustained friendship with all Cameroonians, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in the year ahead to further our security and economic relations.”
  • “The United States greatly appreciates Cameroon’s efforts in combatting violent extremist organizations and our shared interest in increasing mutually beneficial economic and commercial engagement. We look forward to working with Cameroon in the year ahead to strengthen our relationship.”

[1] Secretary Marco Rubio, Press Statement (May 20, 2025). https://www.state.gov/releases/2025/05/cameroon-national-day/

Reason for Diario de Cuba’s Plea for Reader Financial Contributions 

President Trump recently ordered the pausing of foreign aid and the cancelation of the U.S.Agency for International Development.

That is the reason why two independent sources of Cuban news– Cubanet based in Miami and Diario de Cuba based in Madrid, Spain–recently have launched campaigns soliciting financial contributions from their readers.

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Torres, How U.S. freeze on international aid threatens survival of Cuba’s independent journalists, Miami Herald (Feb. 28, 2025).

 

U.S. General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. Terminated as Joint Chiefs Chairman Because of His June 2020 Comments About George Floyd Killing  

On February 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump terminated General Charles Q. Brown, an African-American man, as Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff without any presidential explanation of the reasons for this firing. [1]

Privately, however, some of Trump’s advisers said the termination occurred because of Brown’s four-minute video about the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota only days thereafter. In those remarks Brown said the following:

“’I’m thinking about how full I am with, with emotion, not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans that suffered the same fate as George Floyd,’ he said, a slight tremor underlying his voice.” ‘I’m thinking about protests in my country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, the equality expressed in our declaration of independence, in the Constitution, that I’ve sworn my adult life to support and defend.’”

“I am  ‘living in two worlds, both with their own perspectives and views.’ He described what those worlds were like for him. He and his sister were the only Black children at his elementary school, he said, and they tried to fit in. In their high school, half of the students were Black and they still tried to fit in.”

“’I’m thinking about my Air Force career, where I was often the only African American in my squadron, or, as a senior officer, the only African American in the room.’”

“’I’m thinking about wearing the same flight suit, with the same wings on my chest as my peers, and then being questioned by another military member, ‘are you a pilot.’”

“’I’m thinking about being a captain at the O Club with my squadron, and being told by other African Americans that I wasn’t Black enough, since I was spending more time with my squadron than with them.’”

“He spoke of how most of his mentors could not relate to his experience as a Black man. He spoke of wondering whether airmen who have not had similar experiences ‘don’t see racism as a problem because it doesn’t happen to them, or whether they’re empathetic.’”

After Mr. Trump became President this year on January 20, “General Brown insisted he would carry out the lawful orders of the president.”

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(1) Cooper, George Floyd Killing Separated Trump From His Generals, N.Y. Times (Feb. 22, 2025). This blog has published many posts about the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent criminal prosecutions of the four Minneapolis police officers who were so involved.

Cuba’s Crisis Is Result of Cuban Socialism

Rafaela Cruz, a Cuban journalist and economist, asserts that Cuba’s current economic crisis is a result of its socialist system that concentrates  “political power in an elite, keeping the civilian population atomized and economically dependent on the State.”

“We are living through the result of six decades of a system – socialism, statism – that has caused more havoc wherever it has been implemented than the hordes of Attila the Hun. There is not a single historical example of a successful socialist economy in relation to its capitalist counterparts.”

“The people must be deprived of any hope for real, sustainable and growing improvement within socialism, by demonstrating to them in historical and economic terms that, as a parasitic system, it will always take more than it can give; but we must also eliminate all desire —through ignorance or short-termism— for improvement within this system, and stop rejoicing when the economic situation improves slightly —out of humanity, they say— when the only way out of this eternal crisis is to reach a situation so bad that the parasite’s own survival is impossible. And yes, for that we must suffer. Has any people ever achieved freedom and prosperity without paying a toll in suffering?

“The path to [Cuban] prosperity, to the dignity that only being free can bring, does not lie in improving socialism, but in killing it; and to do that we will probably have to suffer more hunger, more blackouts, more of all those deprivations that we have been suffering for decades — sometimes more, sometimes less — and that we will only completely overcome when socialism disappears . We have to reach our darkest moment if we ever want to see the light.”

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Cruz, Crisis and socialism in Cuba: the road to the end, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 22, 2025) Here are references to other blog posts about Cruz. .  And here is a list of articles by Cruz in Diario de Cuba.

 

 

More Litigation About the George Floyd Killing

On May 25, 2020, in south Minneapolis, George Floyd, a black man, died while lying on the street under the pressure on his back and neck by Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin with the assistance of three other Minneapolis policemen (Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng  and Tou Thao). In subsequent state and federal criminal prosecutions, all four of these policemen were convicted and sent to federal prison for concurrent service of their state and federal sentences.[1]

Recently Chauvin’s filed a motion for a new trial in his federal court case that awaits court disposition.

In addition, Katy Blackwell, another Minneapolis police officer who testiied about the training of Derek Chauvin and the other criminal defendants, has brought a civil lawsuit for defamation against the author of a book about her testimony and a movie based on that book. That lawsuit also is sill pending.

Detaiils about these other proceedings will be provided in subsequent posts.

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[1] This blog has published many ports about the George Floyd killing and the resulting criminal prosecutions. (See List of Posts to dwkcommentaries: Topical: George Floyd Killing,.)

Former Cuban Judge: Cuba Uses Criminal and Administrative Law To Violate Citizens Rights        

Former Cuban Judge, Edel Gonzalez Jimenez, says that Cuba’s second highest prison rate in the world is “typical of a system of law in which the sanctioning element prevails over compliance with citizens’ rights and the duties of the State.”

“When a State lacks material and financial resources, and its own policies for social inclusion, it generally resorts to the use of brute force. The use of brute force in a State is not well regarded by the international community or by its own citizens.”

“That is why we have seen that since 2019 (in Cuba) norms have been issued that regulate violations in practically all scenarios of human conduct: in the workplace, in the exercise of self-employment, in public spaces.”

In Cuba there is a “proliferation of informal garbage dumps and the lack of containers, despite the fact that citizens are required not to dump waste on public roads. Furthermore, in a country where the population needs foreign currency to travel outside the country and even to cover basic needs, the State penalizes the purchase and sale of foreign currency between individuals, despite the fact that it is not capable of selling these currencies to citizens.”

The Government’s need for foreign currency and money has led to the arrest of people who have some foreign currency to “ provisional imprisonment, the confiscation of all the money that is seized and exemplary prison sentences.”

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The Cuban regime uses ‘criminal and administrative law’ to exercise violence against its citizens, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 10, 2024).

U.N. General Assembly Overwhelmingly Adopts Resolution Condemning U.S. Embargo of Cuba       

On October 30, 2024, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed Cuba’s resolution condemning the U.S. embargo pf the island (187 to 2 with 4 abstentions).The U.S. and Israel again voted against the resolution while the abstentions came from Moldova, Ukraine, Somalia and Venezuela. Here now is a summary of that resolution and the General Assembly proceedings regarding same. [1]  A subsequent post will examine some of the criticisms against that U.N. resolution.

Summary of the Resolution

The resolution was titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba,”

“The resolution reaffirmed, among other principles, the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade and navigation.”

The Resolution “also reiterated its call for all States to refrain from promulgating or applying restrictive laws and measures, in line with their obligations under the UN Charter and international law, which, inter alia, reaffirm the freedom of trade and navigation.”

The Resolution “once again urges States that have and continue to apply such laws and measures to take the steps necessary to repeal or invalidate them as soon as possible in accordance with their legal regime.”

The Resolution also “recalled the measures adopted by US President Barack Obama in 2015 and 2016 to modify several aspects of the application of the embargo, “which contrast with the measures applied since 2017 to reinforce its implementation.”

Remarks About the Resolution[2]

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez urged the assembly to support “reason and justice,the U.N. Charter and international law and back the resolution.”

The Foreign Minister said the U.S. embargo has imposed “the most cruel and long-lasting unilateral coercive measures that have ever been applied against any country” and that it constitutes “a crime of genocide” and an “ act of economic warfare during times of peace.” Moreover,” the American aim is to weaken Cuba’s economic life, leave its people hungry and desperate, and overthrow the government.”

Rodriguez also blamed the U.S. government’s “maximum pressure policy” aimed at depriving Cuba of the imported fuel it relies on for a widespread blackout this month, including when Hurricane Oscar lashed the island.”

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Paul Folmsbee told the Assembly after the vote that the “United States stands with the Cuban people. We strongly support their pursuit of a future with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” He also added the following comments:

  • “Approximately 1,000 unjustly detained political prisoners remain behind bars in Cuba – more than at any point in Cuba’s recent history. Nearly 700 of those detentions are connected to the July 11, 2021, historic protests. These people have languished in horrible conditions in Cuban jails for exercising their freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly to demand better living conditions from their government.”
  • “Despite Cuba’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council, the Cuban government has delayed responding to several requests by special procedures that mandate holders of the UN Human Rights Council send independent experts to Cuba, who would help advance respect for human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and the freedom of peaceful assembly. Some of these requests have remained pending for more than 10 years.”
  • “Sanctions are one element of our broader effort to advance democracy and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba. We therefore oppose this resolution.”
  • “That said, we recognize the challenges the Cuban people face. That is why U.S. sanctions include exemptions and authorizations relating to exports of food, medicine, and other basic goods to Cuba.”
  • “The United States remains a significant source of basic goods to the Cuban people. In 2023, the United States exported nearly $336 million in agricultural products and authorized another $100 billion in humanitarian exports, demonstrating America’s desire to help the Cuban people.”

To scattered booing in the assembly chamber, Folmsbee concluded by saying the General Assembly should urge the Cuban government “to adhere to its human rights obligations and listen to the Cuban people and their aspirations to determine their own future.”

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[1] Lederer, U.N. General Assembly condemns the US economic embargo of Cuba for a 32nd year, Wash. Post (Oct. 30, 2024); Bruno Rodriguez at the UN: “Who can believe that US policy is to help Cuba?, Granma (Oct. 30, 2024); The great US irony: are sanctions meant to help Cuba?, Granma (Oct. 30, 2024).This blog has published posts about previous U.N. resolutions against the U.S. embargo. (See, e.g., “U.S. Embargo of Cuba” section in List of Posts to dekcommentaries—Topical: Cuba [as of 5/4/20].

[2] U.S. Mission to the U.N., Explanation of Vote on a UN General Assembly Resolution on the Cuba Embargo (Oct. 30, 2014).

List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: Cuba: 5.19.20-7.19.24

            

No. Date             Title
1596 05/19/20       More Objectionable U.S. Statements About Cuba
1600 05/23/20       U.S. Insulting Proclamation of May 20th as Cuba’s Independence Day
1663 08/07/20       Cuba Eliminates List of Permissible Activities for Private Sector
1700 10/11/20       New U.S. Sanctions Against Cuba
1731 12/20/20        Strong  Recommendation for New U.S. Policy for Engagement with Cuba
1756 02/15/21       U.S. Reviewing Designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism”
1837 04/15/22       U.S. State Department’s Latest Report on Cuban Human Rights
1861 10/01/22      Criticism of President Biden’s “New Cuba Policy”
1862 10/02//22        Hurricane-Damaged Cuba Needs Immediate U.S. Recovery Help
1863 10/03/22     Cuban Government Asks for U.S. Aid in Responding to Hurricane Ina Damages while Cubans Protest Over        Continued Power Outages
1865 10/19/22     U.S. Announces $2 Million Grant to Cuba for Hurricane Ian Relief
1865A 10/20/22    Comment: U.S. $2 Million of Aid for Cuban Relief from Hurricane Ian Is Not Going to Cuban Government
1868 11/8/22      U.N. General Assembly Again Condemns  U.S. Embargo (Blockade) of Cuba
1871 12/11/22    The Cuban Missile Crisis: Immediate Postmortems
1880 01/21/23    U.S. and Cuba Resume Law Enforcement Dialogue
1897 03/01/23     U.S. Admits “Havana Syndrome” Not Caused by Foreign Adversary
1898 04/13/23     U.S. and Cuba Hold Migration Talks
1902 04/21/23     State Department Secret Memo from 1960 Set Basis for Subsequent U.S. Policies Regarding Cuba
1905 04/29/23     U.S. Should Release All Guantanamo Prisoners and Close Down
1922 07/19/23     U.S. Calls for Cuba To Release All July 11 Political Prisoners
1923 07/20/23     UN Counterterrorism Expert Reports That Conditions at U.S. Guantanamo Detention Facility Are Cruel and Inhuman
1927 08/04/23    U.S. Needs To Improve Relations with Cuba
1927A 08/25/23    Developments Regarding U.S. Private Exports to Cuba
1937 08/26/23    Cuba Reports 1.5 Million Tourists Have Visited the Island So Far this Year
1942 09/07/23     Cuban Criminal Prosecution of “Trafficking Network” for Recruiting Cubans for Russian Armed Forces
1943 09/08/23     Cuba Arrests 17 Linked to Russian Trafficking Network Recruiting Cubans for War in Ukrain
1943A 09/09/23     COMMENT: Moscow Denies It Recruits Cubans for Ukraine War
1944 09/12/23     Conflicting News About Cubans Fighting for Russia
1945 09/16/23      More Conflicting News About Cubans fighting for Russia Against Ukraine While U.S. Continues Anti-Cuban Policies
1946 09/17/23      Cuban Foreign Minister: Cubans May Not Legally Participate in Foreign Wars
1947 09/19/23      More Details on Cubans fighting for Russia in Ukraine
1948 09/20/23      At U.N., Cuban President Says Nothing About Russia and Ukraine While Condemning U.S. Sanctions
1950 09/27/23     Signs of Increasing Connections Between Cuban Private Enterprise and U.S.
1951 09/27/23     Elaboration of International and Cuban Law Against Cubans Fighting for Russia Against Ukraine
1952 09/28/23     Worsening of Cuba’s Economic and Humanitarian Programs
1953 09/29/23     More Details on Cuba’s Fuel Crisis
1954 09/30/23     More on Cuba’s Current Problems
1955 10/02/23     More Information on Cuban Entrepreneurs
1956 10/03/23     Update on Cuba’s Economic and Electricity Crisis
1959 10/05/23     Wall Street Journal Praises Cuba’s Small Businesses
1960 10/06/23     Human Rights Watch: Cuba Should Not Be Re-elected to UN Human Rights Council
1962 10/10/23     Increased U.S. Food Exports to Cuba
1960A 10/11/23    COMMENT: Cuba Re-elected to U.N. Human Rights Council
1963 10/11/23     World Communion Sunday at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church Celebrates Its Global Partners
1964 10/18/23     U.S. Report on Latest Session of U.N. Human Rights Council
1967 10/21/23     Congressional Opposition to U.S. Helping Cuban Private Businesses
1968 10/23/23     100,000+ Cubans Obtain Humanitarian Parole in U.S.
1969 10/24/23     U.S. and Cuba Meet and Discuss Various Issues
1968A 10/25/23     COMMENT: Nearly 425,000 Cubans Migrated to U.S. in Last Two Years
1972 11/02/23     Once Again, U.N. General Assembly Condemns U.S. Embargo of Cuba
1975 11/06/23     U.N. Univerasl Periodic Review of  Cuban Humen Rights
1976 11/07/23     Preliminary Comments on Cuba’s Upcoming Univesal Periodic  Review of Its Human Rights
1981 11/21/23     International “Tribunal” Rules U.S. Embargo (Blockade) of Cuba Violates International Law
1982 11/27/23     U.S. Embassy in Havana Echoes State Department’s Warning: “Worldwide Caution”
1984 12/01/23     Cuba Still on U.S, List of State Sponsors of Terrorism
1985 12/05/23     Analysis of Cuba’s Current Economic Crisis
1987 12/11/23     Almost All Cubans Suffer Worst Economic Crisis in the History of the Western Hemisphere
1288 12/15/23     Cuba Accuses U.S. of Planning Violent Attacks on the Island, and U.S. Denies the Charges
1998A 12/17/23     Cuba Accuses U.S. of Complicity in Terrorism Against Cuba
1990 12/21/23     U.S. Accuses Cuba of Attempted Interference in U.S. Elections of 2022
1991 12/26/23     “Message From a Cuban Jail”
1995 01/06/24      U.S. Designates Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” Regarding Religious Freedom
1995A 01/08/24       COMMENT: More Details on Cuba’s Denunciation of U.S. Criticism of Cuba Religious Freedom
1997 01/12/24        Increasing U.S. Exports to Cuba
1998 01/12/24       U.S. Senators and Representatives Demand Ending to U.S. Designation of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism
1988A 01/13/24      Another Congressman Calls for Ending Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
2001 01/16/24       Cuba Fails To Respond to U.N. Request for Information on Alleged Violation of Religious Freedom
2002 01/18/24        U.S. Accuses Cuba of Being a State Sponsor of Trafficking in Persons
2003 01/19/24        Cuba’s Current Economic and Political Crises
2004 01/20/24        U.S. House Hearing on Cuban Private Enterprise
2005 01/23/24        U.S. Indicts and Arrests Victor Emmanuel Rocha on Charges of Acting as Cuban Undercover Agent
2003A 01/24/24        COMMENT: Another Excellent Report on Cuban Emigration to U.S.
2006 01/24/24        Cuban Government Forcing Another Migratory Stampede
2007 01/25/24         U.S. and Cuba Dispute Existence of Legitimate Cuban Private Business Sector
2008 02/01/24         Two U.S. Congress Officials Object to O’Grady’s Defense of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism
2009 02/02/24         U.S. Recommends Cuba Should Include More Disabled Cubans in Society
2010 02/03/24         Cuba Dismisses Ministers of Energy and Food Industry
2011 02/04/24         Poor Marks for Cuban Corruption
2013 02/11/24         U.S. and Cuba Expand Their Competing Messages About Terrorism
2914 02/13/24         Cuba’s Communist Party Alleges U.S. Spreads a “Scenario of Insecurity” in Cuba
2005A 02/14/24         COMMENT: Developments in Criminal Prosecution of Victor Manuel Rocha
2016 02/15/24         Increasing U.S. Exports to Cuba
2017 02/16/24          U.S. State Department’s Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba
2016A 02/17/24          COMMENT: Details on U.S. Exports to Cuba in 2023
2018 02/17/24          Cuba’s Worsening Economy and Political Crises
2018A 02/18/24          COMMENT: Cuban Government’s Objecitve Is Higher Inflation
2018B 02/20/24          COMMENT: Cuban Regime Again Postpones Implementation of “Adjustment Plan”
2019 02/20/24          Cuba’s Poor Ranking in World Democracy Index
2020 02/22/24          Expansion of U.S. State Department’s Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba
2021 02/23/24          Cuban Peso Declines in Value versus Euro and U.S. Dollar
2022 02/26/24         U.S. State Department Official Visits Cuba
2023 02/27/24        Liberating Cuban Agriculture To Improve Cuban Life
2023A 02/28/24       COMMENT: Food Crisis Is Number One Priority To Improve Cuban Life
2024 02/28/24        Russia’s Top Security Official Meetings in Havana
2025 02/28/24       U.S. State Officials in Havana Promoting Exports of U.S. Agricultural Products to Cuba
2027 02/29/24       President Biden’s New Executive Order Regarding Cuba
2028 02/29/24         Victor Emmanuel Rocha, Former U.S. Ambassador, To Plead Guilty to Charges of Acting as Cuban Agent
2028A 03/01/24         COMMENT: Victor Manuel Rocha Sued for Wrongful Death
2029 03/04/24         How Cuban Government Fuels Inflation
2030 04/02/24         Russia Is Responsible for Havana Syndrome Attacks on U.S. Personnel
2030A 04/03/24         COMMENT: Reactions to Claims That Havana Syndrome Is Real
2030B 04/03/24         COMMENT: Other Reactions to Claim That the Havana Syndrome Is Real
2030C 04/03/24         COMMENT: U.S. Defense of Its Position on the Havana Syndrome
2030D 04/04/24         COMMENT: U.S. Senate Seeks Answers About Havana Syndrome
2031 04/05/24         U.S. Criticism of Cuba’s Labor Export Program
2028B 04/13/24       COMMENT: Victor Rocha Sentenced to 15 Years Imprisonment and Fine
2034 04/16/24      U.S. and Cuba Hold New Immigration Talks
2034A 04/17/24      More Cuban Details on Migration Talks with U.S.
2035 04/19/24      U.S. and Cuba Hold Law Enforcement Dialogue
2036 04/20/24     White House Holds Cuban Day
2038 04/21/24    Bipartisan Group of U.S. Senators Call for Reassessment of So-Called Havana Syndrome
2039 04/22/24    Accelerating Inflation in Cuba
2041 04/25/24    Accelerating Inflation in Cuba
2043 04/26/24   U.S. National Institutes of Health Finds Severe Symptoms of Havana Syndrome, But No MRI-Detectable Brain Injury or Biological Abnormalities
2044 04/26/24     Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Cuba’s Abuse of Power Against the Rule of Law
2045 04/29/24     Cubans Have Difficulty Obtaining Pesos
2046 04/29/24     Cuban Private Enterprises Offer Opportunities on the Island
2047 04/30/24     U.S. Condemns Cuba’s “Outrageous” Sentences of Protesters
2049 05/01/24    U.S. Official Says U.S. Will Not Negotiate Removal of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism
2050 05/03/24     U.S. Critical of Cuban Religious Freedom
2051 05/04/24    Cuba Ranked Last in Press Freedom in Latin America
2053 05/06/24    No Solutions to Cuba’s Water Crisis
2054 05/11/24   U.S. Response to Cuban Americans for Normal Relations with Cuba
2058

2059

 05/18/24   U.S. Excludes Cuba from List of Non-Cooperators Against Terrorism

05/18/24   Cuba States That Its Cooperation Against Terrorism Invalidates U.S. Finding That Cuba Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism
2060 05/19/24    U.S. Churches and Religious Organizations Demand Ending of U.S. Designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
2061 05/20/24         Cuba Reiterates Its Demsnd That the U.S. Stop Listing Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
2062 05/25/24         U.S. State Department Publishes Revised and Updated Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba
2064 05/27/24         Cubans Ask for Acceleration of U.S. Humanitarian Parole Process
2065 05/28/24          U.S. Treasury Department Issues New Regulations To Promote Cuba’s Private Business Owners
2066 05/28/24          Other Reactions to New Treasury Department Regulations on Cuba Private Enterprise
2067 05/29/24          More Reactions to New U.S. Regulations for Cuban Private Enterprise
2068 05/30/24          Cuban Government’s Reactions fo New U.S. Regulations for Cuban Private Enterprise
2069 05/30/24          Congressional Reactions to New U.S. Regulations on Cuban Private Sector
2071 06/02/24          Cuba Prevents Cubans from Obtaining U.S. Auto Imports
2072 06/03/24          DFrente Cuba Says New U.S. Regulations May Help Reduce Cuban Inflation
2075 06/15/24         U.S Believes Cuba Will Attempt to Influence Florida Elections
2076 06/18/24         Cuban Economist Says Cuba Today Is a Catastrophe
2078 06/26/24         U.S. Again Ranks Cuba in Worst Category for Human Trafficking
2079 06/28/24          U.S. Congressional Hearing About Cuban Private Sector
2080 06/28/24          U.S. Criticizes Cuban Religious Freedom
2082

2083

 

 07/01/24           Increasing U.S. Exports to Cuba

07/02/24       Cuban Christian Group Demands Release of Political Prisoners and Registration of New Churches
2084 07/02/24        Russian Military Ships’ Recent Visit to Cuba

2084A       07/03/24         COMMENT: Updates on Russian Military Ships After Cuba

2085            07/10/24       Congressional Hearing on Visits to U.S. Airports by Cuban   Officials

2086          07/11/24        U.S. Commemoration of the July 11, 2021 Protests

2087           07/11/24         Cuban reactions to Anniversary of the 7/11/21 Protests

2088           07/11/24        Comments on Cuba’s 7/11/21 Protests by Juan Antonio Blanco

2089           07/13/24        More Cuban Comments on J11 Anniversary

2090           07/16/24        Cuba’s Poor Economic Outlook for 2024

2091           07/17/24        Nearly 90% of Cuba’s Population Is Affected by Extreme  Poverty

2092           07/18/24        Another Perspective on the Failure of the Cuban Economy

2093           07/19/24        Cuban Government Official Admits That Its Inefficient Model

Is Responsible for Cuba’s Economic Problems

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. State Department’s Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba 

Apparently in February 2024, the U.S. State Department publicly announced the third step of the strategic planning process: Mission Strategic Planning, which has produced the Department’s Integrated Country Strategies (ICS) for every country in the world. [1]

“This ICS is led by the Chief of Mission to develop a common set of Mission Goals and Objectives through a coordinated and collaborative planning effort among Department of State and other U.S. Government agencies with programming in the country. Higher-level planning documents and strategies, such as the National Security Strategy, the State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan (JSP), and Department regional (JRS) and functional bureau strategies (FBS) inform the ICS.”

“Once completed the ICS frames and informs the annual Mission Resource Request and Mission-level performance management requirements” that are other steps in the Department’s complex “Managing for Results” system portrayed in the following diagram:

The State Department also stated that it “is in the process of developing a new 4-year State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan, which when drafted will allow Department bureaus and missions worldwide to begin drafting their own new strategies ensuring alignment to higher-level policy and priorities.”

The Department’s ICS for Cuba[2]

The ICS for Cuba, which was approved on May 27, 2022, sets forth the Chief of Mission’s  following “three key priorities:” (1) “supporting Cubans seeking to exercise their universal human rights;” (2)  “protecting the national security of the United States and its citizens;” and (3) “encouraging the growth of an empowered, innovative, and inclusive Cuba.” (Emphasis added) The following are the statements about these emphasized priorities.

Human Rights. “Since assuming leadership as First Secretary of Communist Party in 2021, President Miguel DiazCanel Bermudez added a new chapter to Cuba’s 63-year-long history of atrocious human rights abuses. Announcing on July 11, 2021 that “the order to combat has been given,” Diaz-Canel unleashed a wave of state-sponsored violence and repression on the thousands of Cubans who took part in overwhelmingly peaceful protests to express their frustration over Cuba’s economic failures and lack of democratic freedoms. State security forces detained roughly 1,300 people in response to the protests and created hundreds of new political prisoners who faced harsh detentions, rigged trials, and, in many cases, decades-long prison sentences for sedition.

Cuban authorities regularly harass, imprison, or force into exile those who express dissenting opinions.”

“In an environment where the state has criminalized expressing dissent, the embassy continuously seeks to advance the cause of human rights in Cuba. While aware of the very real risks they face, the mission maintains regular engagement with human rights activists, dissidents, and members of civil society. Supporting independent media, access to information, and building the capacity of the independent civil society organizations to effectively advocate for the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people will remain a constant area of focus for the entire mission.”

“Encouraging the growth of an empowered, innovative, and inclusive Cuba.” “Cuba faces a deepening economic crisis provoked mainly by years of economic mismanagement and compounded by the impacts of the COVID pandemic. Incremental reforms of Cuba’s planned economy – including the legal recognition of micro, small, and medium enterprises – have followed a pattern first set during the infamous ‘Special Period’ in the early 1990’s: slowly implemented, insufficient to the real needs of the economy, and always limited by the regime’s need for complete control of key sectors. Other reforms, such as the monetary unification and economic ‘re-ordering’ that took place during a grinding recession in 2021, failed miserably and unleashed severe inflation that greatly eroded the purchasing power of Cuban workers and retirees who must live on wages and pensions paid in local currency. Cuba’s economy remains heavily controlled, with large and inefficient state enterprises.”

“Economists estimate Cuba’s GDP shrank by as much as 13 percent during the recession that preceded the pandemic in 2020. Even optimistic projections suggest only modest GDP growth for the foreseeable future.”

“Cuba’s economic potential lies not in continued state investments in 5-star hotels controlled by the country’s military-controlled business conglomerate, but in the entrepreneurial potential of its people. The Embassy will continue to seek new ways to engage with Cuba’s independent economic actors, foster Cuba’s entrepreneurial eco-system, while expanding outreach to AfroCubans, women, and other historically disadvantaged groups.”

Reactions

As a U.S. citizen who is not an employee of the State Department or any other federal agency, but who regularly checks the State Department’s website for information about Cuba, this blogger was totally surprised by this undated announcement about ICS, especially when it mentions a May 2022 approval of the Cuba ICS. Did I miss an earlier announcement?

Nevertheless, this blogger has no objections to the “human rights” portion of the CUBA ICS. However, shouldn’t this portion mention whether the U.S. sanctions against Cuba, especially the U.S. embargo (blockade) of Cuba and the U.S. designation of Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” encourage or discourage improvements in Cuban human rights?

The other portion of this ICS (“Encouraging an Empowered, Innovative, and Inclusive Cuban Society”), raises many complicated issues that have been touched in this blog, but not thoroughly analyzed.

Finally, the “Managing for Results” diagram has a systematic, logical approach, but makes one wonder whether such complexity will interfere with the Department’s meeting the constantly changing, complex problems of the world.

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[1] U.S. State Department, Integrated Country Strategies (undated);  U.S. State Department, Foreign Assistance Resource Library, Managing for Results.

[2] U.S. State Department, ICS for Cuba (Approved 5/27/22);

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] U.S. State Department, Integrated Country Strategies (undated); https://www.state.gov/integrated-country-strategies/

[2] U.S. State Department, ICS for Cuba (Approved 5/27/22); https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ICS_WHA_Cuba_Public.pdf

U.S. State Department, Foreign Assistance Resource Library, Managing for Results. https://www.state.gov/foreign-assistance-resource-library/

 

 

U.S. Designates Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” Regarding Religious Freedom  

On January 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of State issued a press statement by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, entitled “Religious Freedom Designations.” According to that statement, he had designated Cuba and 11 other countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” which by statute are those “countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”[1]

This press statement, however, did not have any citations of legal authorities or reports by federal agencies that went into greater depth on this issue. Apparently, without explanation, the Secretary’s designation of the 12 countries was based on the April 2023 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom which was issued in January 2024 and which designated 17 (not 12) countries, including Cuba, as having the status of “Countries of Particular Concern.” However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom only is authorized to make “recommendations to the U.S. Government.” [2]

With respect to Cuba that Commission Annual Report stated the following:

  • The Commission designated Cuba as one of 17 countries as being “Of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
  • “In 2022, religious freedom conditions in Cuba worsened. Throughout the year, the Cuban government tightly controlled religious activity through surveillance, harassment of religious leaders and laypeople, forced exile, fines, and ill treatment of religious prisoners of conscience. Religious leaders and groups that are unregistered or conducted unsanctioned religious activity—as well as journalistic reporting on religious freedom conditions—faced relentless oppression from the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) and state security forces.”
  • “ The Cuban government regularly targeted members of religious communities who refused to abide by strict regulations set out by the ORA. Authorities subjected pastors to detention, interrogation, threats of prison sentences on false charges, and confiscation of property.”
  • “In February, authorities detained Reverend Yordanys Díaz Arteaga, the president of the Christian Reformed Church of Cuba, after an extensive search of his home and the confiscation of technology belonging to his church. He was later interrogated and threatened with criminal charges at an unknown location and held incommunicado under effective house arrest. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that Reverend Díaz became a target of the government after his denomination withdrew from the regime-aligned Cuban Council of Churches. He reportedly arrived in the United States in August.”
  • “In April, evangelical couple Pastors Mario Jorge Travieso and Velmis Adriana Medina Mariño planned an April 29–30 prayer event called ‘Breaking the Chains’ to focus on the wives and mothers of political prisoners. The regime made repeated threats to Pastors Travieso and Medina and several members of their church who planned to participate. Authorities arbitrarily detained the pastors, interrogated them for six hours, and threatened them with imprisonment. The organizers canceled the event due to the regime’s various threats.”
  • “USCIRF received reports indicating that Cuban authorities detained and interrogated citizens who traveled or planned to travel to the United States in 2022, including Catholic layman Dagoberto Valdés and his son Javier Valdés Delgado as well as Mildrey Betancourt Rodríguez, a member of the Alliance of Non-Registered Churches. Similarly, in October the Office of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration, and Foreigners of Cuba arbitrarily barred Imam Abu Duyanah, imam of the Cuban Association for the Dissemination of Islam, from traveling to Mecca for “reasons of public interest” without any specifications.”
  • “Additionally, threats and persecution by the government caused several religious leaders to leave Cuba in 2022. In March, Pastor Enrique de Jesús Fundora Pérez of the Apostolic Movement fled the country to seek asylum in Switzerland after state security officials threatened him with up to 30 years in prison for “sedition” and “incitement to commit a crime.” He drew the ire of authorities when he gave monetary and spiritual aid to families of political prisoners from the July 11, 2021 (J11) protests. Pastor Alain Toledano, a prominent Cuban religious leader of the unregistered Emmanuel Church of the Apostolic Ministry, has experienced severe harassment from the Cuban government for over 20 years. In June, Cuban state security presented Toledano with an ultimatum: leave the country within 30 days or face imprisonment. The United States granted him and his family emergency parole in July. In September, Father David Pantaleon, head of Cuba’s Jesuit Order and president of the Conference of Religious Men and Women in Cuba, had to leave the country after the government refused to renew his residence permit. During an interview in his native Dominican Republic, Father Pantaleon reported that the ORA cited his support for political prisoners and the Jesuits’ critical position toward the regime as the main reasons for his expulsion. The Cuban government continued to target independent journalists who report on religious freedom by threatening criminal charges and fines, often under Decree Law 370, and imposing travel restrictions. Cuban authorities twice interrogated and fined young Catholic layman and journalist Adrián Martínez Cádiz this year.”
  • “RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ■ Redesignate Cuba as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA); ■ Encourage Cuban authorities to extend an official invitation for unrestricted visits by USCIRF, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and ■ Impose targeted sanctions on Cuban government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom—including Caridad Diego, head of the ORA—by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations. The U.S. Congress should: ■ Raise human rights and democracy concerns in Cuba and highlight the situation facing religious leaders and organizations persecuted by the Cuban government, among others.
  • “Key U.S. Policy The U.S. government continued to place robust sanctions on Cuban officials. In January, the U.S. Department of State imposed visa restrictions on eight officials “implicated in attempts to silence the voices of the Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions, and harsh prison sentences” of J11 protesters. Further rounds of visa restrictions came in June and July when the State Department imposed restrictions on an additional 33 individuals for “unfair trials and unjust sentencing and imprisonment” of J11 protesters, plus media and communications officials who “formulate and implement policies that restrict Cubans’ ability to freely access and share information and who engage in the spread of disinformation.”
  • “In September, the U.S. Embassy in Havana announced the resumption of immigrant visa processing and consular services for the first time since 2017.”
  • “On November 30, the State Department for the first time designated Cuba as a CPC under IRFA and imposed as the relevant president action the existing ongoing restrictions referenced in 31 CFR 515.201 and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton Act), pursuant to section 402(c) (5) of the Act. Cuba previously had been on the State Department’s Special Watch List since 2019.”[3]

The Commission ambiguously and erroneously stated that the State Department on November 30 [2002 or 2003?] for the first time had elevated Cuba to CPC status.

Cuba’s Rejection of Its Designation as a CPC[4]

The Cuban Foreign Minister on January 5, 2024, in a text on [the  Internet’s “X”] stated that the “repeated inclusion of Cuba in unilateral reports on terrorism, human rights and religious freedom of the US Government is not linked to the exemplary performance of our country.”

A more official Cuban rejection of this designation was published as an international editorial in Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party. It noted that the U.S. had “unilaterally” included Cuba on a list, “of countries that, in the opinion of the US Government, have ‘participated in or tolerated particularly serious violations of religious freedom.’” However, “The repeated inclusion of Cuba in the United States Government’s unilateral reports on terrorism, human rights and religious freedom is not linked to the exemplary performance of our country.”

Conclusion

Anyone with knowledge of what prompted the content and timing of the Secretary of State’s announcement is invited to share that knowledge in a comment to this post.

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[1] U. S. State Dep’t, Secretary of State Press Statement, Religious Freedom (Jan. 4, 2024);The US keeps the Cuban regime on the blacklist on religious freedom, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 5, 2024)

[2] Annual Report, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (April 2023, issued in January 2024). Before the January 2024 Secretary of State’s press statement the last State Department report on international religious freedom (the 2022 report) was issued on May 15, 2023 and said nothing about Cuba being a “Country of Particular Concern.”

[3] This blogger has not found the source for the Commission’s statements that the State Department on November 30, 2023, had designated Cuba as a CPC and that the Department  should “redesignate” Cuba as a CPC.

[4] Havana has an ‘exemplary performance’ in respect for religious freedom, defends Bruno Rodriguez, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 5, 2024); Cuba’s exemplary performance does not fit on any list, Granma (Jan. 5, 2024).