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Cuba our wonderful tropical neighbor to the south has become a popular topic of conversation because of the US congressional visitors that they have recently hosted. It was the long awaited opening that Cuba has been waiting for to push for the end of the US trade embargo that has been over them for decades, and a chance at some more American dollars to prop up their communist regime through American tourism and Cuban family relations.
I think that if we get guarantees from the Cuban government that the income they gain from trade with the US and US tourists be used to improve the quality of life for its citizens that it might not be a bad idea at all to lift travel and trade restrictions with the little communist regime just 90 miles to south of our sovereign waters.
The question to ask at that point is would Cuba actually live up to those guarantees. I think one way to look at the Cuban government to see if we can trust them is to look at their history since Castro regime came into power in 1959.
1) Once Fidel Castro had successfully defeated President Fulgencio Batista and became Prime Minister he had most of those who had followed him faithfully either incarcerated or executed.
2) Most of those who supported President Batista during his Presidency and the revolution were incarcerated or executed as well.
3) After that he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and led the transformation of Cuba into a one party socialist republic.
4) There was of also the Cuban missile crisis, which ultimately forced a showdown between the US and USSR and prompted the removal of the soviet missiles.
5) The Mariel boatlift, which was meant to give law abiding good people an opportunity to come to the US was instead populated by with criminals by Castro and turned lose on our soil.
6) The Castro regime uses all foreign hard currency to support its military, security, and apparatchik apparatus while paying its citizens in worthless Cuban pesos.
7) Since Fidel Castro’s retirement in 2008 his brother Raul Castro ahs taken over the government and has the very same beliefs and aspirations for the little island nation that his brother had throughout his entire political career.
Now with that kind of information I can only assume that there would be little if any benefit to the citizens of a Castro Cuba than those benefits they already enjoy, if I can use the term enjoy in their case. It appears that the only group that would prosper under the lack of a trade embargo and tourism restrictions is the government of Cuba alone.
That is all I have for you guys today, but it is all true except my opinion, which is of course an educated opinion, I hope you all have a terrific day and I will be back again tomorrow, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
T.G.I.F. my friends I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to a great weekend, because I am. I am also sorry this post is coming to all of you so late today, but as the saying goes “life Happens”, and it happened to me today. Today’s blog is going to be on Mexico and the War on Drugs. Anyway let’s get started what do you say?
As I am sure you are all aware we have been fighting the war on drugs for decades. We have not always been successful in our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country, but we have had our victories to. The war on drugs has lasted longer than the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan combined. It has also cost more money than all three of those wars put together, and when you count the lives lost on all sides of the drug war the loss of life is immensely greater also.
This war has also been fought on many fields and fronts from Europe, the Far and Middle East, to central and South America, and now Mexico. Although for the record Mexico has always been a port of entry for smuggling drugs into the US the four Mexican cartels that are currently vying for supremacy as the reigning exporter of drugs to the states control the Mexican side of the border now and no one smuggles drugs into the US unless one of them gets paid.
The war on drugs in Mexico has really gotten bad on their side of the border in recent years. Many of the cartel members either have prior military or law enforcement experience. Some of these guys are even still serving in the Mexican military or as law enforcement officers inside of Mexico. Their training in weapons and technology make them far superior to other criminal organizations around the world.
The results of their expertise are immediately obvious to even the most casual observer. Their willingness to bring death to their adversaries with cool, calculated, efficiency is just one trademark of their talents demonstrated to their countrymen and the world on a near daily basis. Their expertise in exporting drugs to the US and importing weapons back into Mexico speaks to their talent for avoiding capture and arrest.
Now I am going to say something that most of you will find surprising, and that is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right. She was right about the hunger and desire for the drugs that these cartels supply by many of our citizens, which makes us partially responsible for the drug trade that flourishes in Mexico. She was right about US weapons and money going to Mexico as partially our responsibility as well.
However I am quite sure that Mexico is at least as much responsible for these things as we are, after all it is their side of the border that US weapons and cash are smuggled across by these very cartels, in order for them to finance and wage their war on terror against the Mexican people. It is also across their side of the border that the trafficking in illegal narcotics begins.
For the record though I don’t think that it is necessary for our Secretary of State to apologize to the Mexican government for their criminal elements and their lack of ability to police those criminals. It is not our fault that their government officials, law enforcement officers, and military personnel are corrupt. We are not responsible for their current economic instability either.
In one way or another, American dollars are Mexico’s biggest import, whether it is by illegal immigrants sending a portion of the money they earn here back to Mexico, or the profits from drugs that get smuggled back into their country by the drug cartels. Mexico is responsible for their own economic problems by utilizing a de-facto caste system where the few rule the rich like the royals and the serfs in 15th century Europe.
The truth is that the major export from Mexico to the US is Cannabis Sativa although they do import cocaine and heroin into the US as well. However if we were to not only decriminalize marijuana, but legalize it as well most of the problems on the border would disappear overnight. Well that and actually do something on our side of the line with a real border security plan like building the fence, increasing border agents, and applying 21st century technology to the task.
Well that is all I have to rant about here at Simple Man Politics for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend and I will be back again next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
