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The
Untold Story of the Cuban Five (Part XI)
By Ricardo Alarcón, president of the
National Assembly of People's Power
When the Supreme Court
decided not to hear the Cuban Five petition, the
Justices acted exactly as requested by President
Obama’s Solicitor General, showing that on this
issue, there has been no change, certainly not a
change we can believe in.
The Supreme Court last June 14 simply joined the
other two branches of Government in demonstrating
their hostility towards the Cuban people. During the
1990s this official animus, had among its main
features their connivance with a terrorist campaign
that has cost lives, caused human suffering and
material damages, which the US instead of preventing
– as was its obligation – tolerated or promoted.
Immediately after the break up of the Soviet Union,
Cuba entered an extremely severe economic crisis,
worst for us than the Big Depression of 1929. It was
precisely the time chosen by the US to strengthen
its economic blockade as reflected in the Torricelli
Amendment (1992) and the Helms-Burton Act (1996).
The trio – Torricelli, Helms and Burton –replying to
those objecting the illegal extraterritorial
legislations assured their colleagues that it was
the last year of the Government led by Fidel Castro.
Others made easy money in those days publishing
cheap texts, announcing with specific datelines the
inevitable end of the Cuban Revolution. It became an
uncontested dogma for many scholars, politicians and
journalists and a source of encouragement for those
who have actively sought revenge for decades.
Some, unsatisfied with what they perceived as
Washington’s insufficient aggressiveness, tried to
make a final assault on the abandoned, isolated
island.
Paradoxically in September 1994 and May 1995, Cuba
and the US succeeded in negotiating new migration
accords in an exercise of quiet private diplomacy
that involved the commitment to move towards the
lifting of the embargo and a promise to curb
terrorist actions against Cuba.
It was then that Mr. Basulto and his cohorts ramped
up their airborne incursions. Basulto was very open
in explaining his intentions. The alleged
“humanitarian” nature of their previous flights – to
help undocumented Cubans to enter the US – had
disappeared with the new US policy, since May 2,
1995 to send them back to the Island. From that day
on, as recognized by Basulto, the flights would
continue and be multiplied with a subversive
purpose. Almost daily he was on the media announcing
the next provocation and proclaiming that Cuba was
so weakened by the economic crisis that it could not
protect its borders or even impede him to overfly
downtown Havana as he did on more than one occasion.
The US authorities knew what he and his group were
doing, as it was known by anybody having a TV set
because the provocations were filmed and reported
live by the Miami local stations of national TV
networks.
In 1995 and early 1996 we made our outmost to
persuade Washington to prevent those completely
illicit air provocations. We were just asking the US
Administration to respect international law and
abide by its own domestic laws and regulations.
A rather intense wave of official communications
took place between the authorities of both countries
through which the US side explicitly recognized the
illegal character of the flights and initiated, with
Cuban cooperation, administrative proceedings
against the transgressors. Or so they reiterated in
diplomatic notes.
Apart from the open channel we warned time and
again, at the highest level, both US civilian and
military authorities.
Fidel Castro was personally involved in those
efforts. He spent many hours with more that one US
important visitor, some with clear White House
endorsement. And we succeeded in getting a very
specific commitment by President Clinton that those
provocations will never happened again. (Indictment
À la Carte, Counterpunch, September 3, 2009; Annals
of Diplomacy, Backfire, The New Yorker, January 26,
1998).
Something rather strange happened on the road from
Washington to Miami. It appears that President
Clinton gave specific instructions to fulfill his
commitment. But in that peculiar town (Remember
Elian?) the US Commander in Chief’s orders are not
always obeyed. As soon as the Miami mafia learned of
the President’s instructions, the provocateurs
organized their last violation. That was the real
conspiracy, the only one, leading to the tragic
events of February 24, 1996.
President Clinton astonishingly reacted as if he
never knew anything and rushed to sign the
Helms-Burton Act in a deplorable ceremony at the
White House, joyfully surrounded by some of the true
culprits, the very individuals who defied him. It
was a presidential election year and Clinton won
easily in Miami.
That experience would have been more than enough to
anybody in terms of believing in the possibility of
serious talks and engagement with such frivolous
partners, some kind of mission impossible.
But we tried it again. We didn’t have a choice.
Taken from
Counterpunch |
