After All These Years, Will the United States Capture Cuba?
The American regime change attempt against the Castro’s in Cuba has been an operation spanning generations, and now that many Cubans have taken to the streets to protest the government currently run by Miguel Diaz-Canel, there have been some calls for the United States to interfere yet again. Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami has even suggested that airstrikes against the island should be considered, and could an operation like this be why the Biden administration is in the process of leaving Afghanistan? It is difficult to know what level of intervention will occur, but the United States has been very aggressive towards the Caribbean nation in the past.
While progressives and conservatives bicker over whether or not the Cubans are protesting the COVID-19 pandemic, communism, economic sanctions, or the dictatorship, the truth is probably that all of these things have contributed in some way to the plight of the Cuban people. The United States began its strangling of the Cuban economy in 1962 under the Kennedy administration, and it conspired with Latin American countries in the Organization of American States (OAS) and allies in NATO to prohibit almost all trade with that country (Americans were also banned from traveling there, which has been relaxed at certain times) in order to make life so miserable there that the people would want to overthrow Fidel Castro. In 1975, OAS lifted sanctions and began trading with Cuba. Eventually, other countries followed suit, and the embargo on Cuba has since been weakened. However, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 signed by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, respectively, prohibited foreign ships from utilizing American ports, blocked foreign subsidiaries owned by American companies from entering the island, limited medical supplies from the United States, and imposed sanctions against foreign companies that engaged with Cuba.
It is a myth that countries like Spain, Canada, China, Mexico, and the Netherlands cannot engage in business or trade with the island, and the reason that progressives like to use this type of misinformation is so that it does not weaken the concept of socialism and how it fails (progressives have given praise to the Castro regime and its state-managed programs that they view as a model for the United States). When BLM and other progressive groups solely blame the United States, they fail to understand the mismanagement of the economy brought on by socialism (again, this tactic is by design). The people of Cuba are also protesting the human rights abuses committed by a police state that has censored information and arrested dissidents, which has also been described as a reason for sanctions. It is absolutely true that the outdated embargo against Cuba should be ended (the UN has been requesting that the United States end it for years) and that the economic terrorism has contributed towards hardship for the people with little effect on the ruling class, but there are multiple factors involved.
After the United States failed at keeping a corrupt dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in power in Cuba in 1959, there were hundreds of assassinations and coup plots against the new leader, Fidel Castro, and the most infamous was the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which involved the CIA training a Cuban army of 1,400 to topple the regime. However, the Cuban military was able to quell the rebellion easily, and the next failed coup attempt, Operation Mongoose, involved sabotage and espionage.
It was so clear the United States wanted to oust Fidel Castro from power that the American military (with the approval going all the way through the Joint Chiefs of Staff to President Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara) planned terrorist attacks against American civilians (including hijacking airplanes, destroying a ship, and harming citizens throughout various cities) in order to justify war. Americans would not have accepted war with Castro otherwise, and Operation Northwoods remains another reason why some people do not trust the government.
The United States and the Soviet Union almost went to war over the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, which began when the former decided to place missiles in Turkey (and other countries in Europe) pointing them at the latter. The Soviets responded (why would they not?) with missiles in Cuba to act as a balance and deter another Bay of Pigs incident. The Kennedy administration considered airstrikes and other military actions because of the outrage caused by the missiles on an island roughly 90 miles from Florida, but instead, it decided to form a naval blockade to prevent the Soviets from entering or departing the island. A close call occurred when an American airplane was shot down, and although a military invasion was being prepared, a deal was finally struck that saw the removal of missiles from both Cuba and Turkey and a promise that the United States would not use force to oust the Castro regime.
In more recent years and besides the attempt to harm Cubans through an embargo, the preferred method of undermining the Cuban government has been through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID is supposed to be used to provide foreign aid, but it is often used for other purposes). In 2009, President Obama sent some Latin American operatives under the guidance of USAID to Cuba to identify potential dissidents and spark protests against Raul Castro in the hopes that it would turn into rebellion; and later that year and into 2010, the agency developed an underground social media platform (called ZunZuneo) to mobilize “smart mobs” without the Cuban government being aware. Is it possible that the Biden administration utilized USAID or some other covert group to get the Cubans to rise up like what has been done in the past?
As a side note, it is perhaps ironic and hypocritical that the Biden administration is spewing harsh rhetoric against Cuban immigrants seeking asylum by sea (though most Cubans actually arrive at the Mexican border) when Democrats constantly harassed President Trump for his statements on immigration.
The covert attempts to destabilize Castro ultimately failed like all of the other coup and assassination attempts, but will the Biden administration get lucky and find a method that works with Diaz-Canel? Let us hope that a prolonged military conflict does not ensue in Cuba, but either way, it is clear that the sights are set on ending the dictatorship on the island. It is just a matter of time before an American president of either party finally accomplishes what every other president could not. Long-term socialism held together with an iron fist will not ultimately prevail, and at some point, an opportunity for regime change will present itself. When that day comes, the United States will no longer have to rely on economic and covert terrorism to accomplish what it wants for that nation.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.
While progressives and conservatives bicker over whether or not the Cubans are protesting the COVID-19 pandemic, communism, economic sanctions, or the dictatorship, the truth is probably that all of these things have contributed in some way to the plight of the Cuban people. The United States began its strangling of the Cuban economy in 1962 under the Kennedy administration, and it conspired with Latin American countries in the Organization of American States (OAS) and allies in NATO to prohibit almost all trade with that country (Americans were also banned from traveling there, which has been relaxed at certain times) in order to make life so miserable there that the people would want to overthrow Fidel Castro. In 1975, OAS lifted sanctions and began trading with Cuba. Eventually, other countries followed suit, and the embargo on Cuba has since been weakened. However, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 signed by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, respectively, prohibited foreign ships from utilizing American ports, blocked foreign subsidiaries owned by American companies from entering the island, limited medical supplies from the United States, and imposed sanctions against foreign companies that engaged with Cuba.
It is a myth that countries like Spain, Canada, China, Mexico, and the Netherlands cannot engage in business or trade with the island, and the reason that progressives like to use this type of misinformation is so that it does not weaken the concept of socialism and how it fails (progressives have given praise to the Castro regime and its state-managed programs that they view as a model for the United States). When BLM and other progressive groups solely blame the United States, they fail to understand the mismanagement of the economy brought on by socialism (again, this tactic is by design). The people of Cuba are also protesting the human rights abuses committed by a police state that has censored information and arrested dissidents, which has also been described as a reason for sanctions. It is absolutely true that the outdated embargo against Cuba should be ended (the UN has been requesting that the United States end it for years) and that the economic terrorism has contributed towards hardship for the people with little effect on the ruling class, but there are multiple factors involved.
After the United States failed at keeping a corrupt dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in power in Cuba in 1959, there were hundreds of assassinations and coup plots against the new leader, Fidel Castro, and the most infamous was the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which involved the CIA training a Cuban army of 1,400 to topple the regime. However, the Cuban military was able to quell the rebellion easily, and the next failed coup attempt, Operation Mongoose, involved sabotage and espionage.
It was so clear the United States wanted to oust Fidel Castro from power that the American military (with the approval going all the way through the Joint Chiefs of Staff to President Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara) planned terrorist attacks against American civilians (including hijacking airplanes, destroying a ship, and harming citizens throughout various cities) in order to justify war. Americans would not have accepted war with Castro otherwise, and Operation Northwoods remains another reason why some people do not trust the government.
The United States and the Soviet Union almost went to war over the events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, which began when the former decided to place missiles in Turkey (and other countries in Europe) pointing them at the latter. The Soviets responded (why would they not?) with missiles in Cuba to act as a balance and deter another Bay of Pigs incident. The Kennedy administration considered airstrikes and other military actions because of the outrage caused by the missiles on an island roughly 90 miles from Florida, but instead, it decided to form a naval blockade to prevent the Soviets from entering or departing the island. A close call occurred when an American airplane was shot down, and although a military invasion was being prepared, a deal was finally struck that saw the removal of missiles from both Cuba and Turkey and a promise that the United States would not use force to oust the Castro regime.
In more recent years and besides the attempt to harm Cubans through an embargo, the preferred method of undermining the Cuban government has been through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID is supposed to be used to provide foreign aid, but it is often used for other purposes). In 2009, President Obama sent some Latin American operatives under the guidance of USAID to Cuba to identify potential dissidents and spark protests against Raul Castro in the hopes that it would turn into rebellion; and later that year and into 2010, the agency developed an underground social media platform (called ZunZuneo) to mobilize “smart mobs” without the Cuban government being aware. Is it possible that the Biden administration utilized USAID or some other covert group to get the Cubans to rise up like what has been done in the past?
As a side note, it is perhaps ironic and hypocritical that the Biden administration is spewing harsh rhetoric against Cuban immigrants seeking asylum by sea (though most Cubans actually arrive at the Mexican border) when Democrats constantly harassed President Trump for his statements on immigration.
The covert attempts to destabilize Castro ultimately failed like all of the other coup and assassination attempts, but will the Biden administration get lucky and find a method that works with Diaz-Canel? Let us hope that a prolonged military conflict does not ensue in Cuba, but either way, it is clear that the sights are set on ending the dictatorship on the island. It is just a matter of time before an American president of either party finally accomplishes what every other president could not. Long-term socialism held together with an iron fist will not ultimately prevail, and at some point, an opportunity for regime change will present itself. When that day comes, the United States will no longer have to rely on economic and covert terrorism to accomplish what it wants for that nation.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.
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