Trying to burnish his virtually nonexistent creds just before ignominiously departing the White House, Joe Biden has agreed to a pathetic deal brokered by the Catholic Church to again ease the burden on Cuba’s repressive totalitarian regime.
Biden also waited till he was a lame duck to do it because he knew he would get horrible electoral backlash for it.
So, what did Biden get us in exchange? Cuban prisoners.
The possible release of an unknown number of Cuban political prisoners who should never have been imprisoned and are being used as bargaining chips for concessions, just like Iran and Russia have received concessions from Biden by releasing prisoners they should never have placed in jail.
By repeatedly doing so, he paid Iran billions for a handful of illegally detained Americans, Biden consistently encouraged our enemies to take hostages so they can then ransom them at an extremely high price.
The political prisoners in this case are Cuban protesters jailed during a sweeping 2021 crackdown on dissent by the communist government.
“We view this as an opportune moment to do so, given the important dialogue that is taking place between Cuba and the Catholic Church with respect to political prisoners,” a Biden administration official told reporters.
But we all know this is just another sop to Cuban communists that every Democrat president since Jimmy Carter has done.
Among the outrageous concessions to the communist terror regime given by Biden was removing Cuba from the State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism. This enraged both Democrats and Republicans who wanted the tougher measures to remain in effect.
The state sponsor of terrorism designation carries one of the harshest possible sanctions regimes. Three other countries are designated as state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, North Korea and Syria.
The status was reapplied almost exactly four years ago by outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the final days of Trump’s first term.
Pompeo cited Cuba’s status as a longtime safe haven for violent left-wing fugitives and revolutionaries.
The State Department noted at the time that Cuba has refused Colombia’s requests to extradite 10 National Liberation Army (Spanish: Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) communist terror leaders “living in Havana after the group claimed responsibility for the January 2019 bombing of a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people and injured more than 87 others.”
It added: “Cuba also harbors several U.S. [sic] fugitives from justice wanted on or convicted of charges of political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades. For example, the Cuban regime has refused to return Joanne Chesimard, on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List for executing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973; Ishmael LaBeet, convicted of killing eight people in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1972; Charles Lee Hill, charged with killing New Mexico state policeman Robert Rosenbloom in 1971; and others.”
Republicans were obviously outraged and vocal about it.
South Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez, tweeted, “President Biden is a pathetic coward. Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State [Rubio] will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s Republican Cuban American nominee for secretary of state, will likely reimpose the designation after assuming office. He is refraining from commenting as he undergoes his Senate confirmation hearings.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, who Trump’ recently named envoy for Latin America, scoffed at the announcement. “Whether Venezuela last year or now Cuba, the Biden administration seems to love fake deals that favor authoritarian anti-American regimes,” he said, referring to a 2023 prisoner swap with Venezuela.
Asked whether Team Trump would immediately repeal the Biden decision, he said, “There’s a process, so it will take time, but in the meantime we can take other measures that will have even greater impact.”
But, it’s not just Republicans, many Democrats, especially in Florida, were also furious.
The Florida Democratic Party released a statement slamming Biden.
“We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba’s removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately,” said party chair Nikki Fried.
“While any return of political prisoners from the clutches of Communist Cuba is cause for celebration, the regime’s treatment of the Cuban people continues to be one of the biggest human rights violations of the last century,” Fried said.
“It would be naive to think that this negotiated exchange would signal a change in treatment for the Cuban people.”
Democrat U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York bashed Biden’s decision.
“Do the majority of Cuban Americans support the removal of Cuba, an adversary of the US, from the list of state sponsors of terrorism? If the answer is ‘no,’ then why is the Biden Administration unnecessarily alienating Cuban Americans? I agree with the Florida Democratic Party here,” the congressman tweeted.
One of the few Democrats openly applauding Biden’s move was no other than far-left, pro-terrorist, anti-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota: “I welcome the Biden administration’s steps to remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list – a long overdue action that will help normalize relations with our neighbor,” she spouted in a statement.
Just as badly, Biden’s announcement included other measures that would greatly ease huge economic penalties facing Cuba.
Among them, waiving a provision of a 1996 Helms-Burton law that allowed people to file lawsuits in U.S. courts over property stolen by the Castro regime.
Biden is also lifting the Trump national security memorandum that imposed sanctions on Cuban military commercial entities—which own and control the majority of the Cuban economy for the military’s economic benefit.
They especially control Cuba’s biggest source of foreign income, via the hotel industry. Trump’s memo made it very difficult for U.S. tour group operators to help fund the regime.
Trump and Rubio and the rest of their team must also reverse these outrageous moves as soon as possible.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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What next to foul us up in the future?
Biden set Cuba Free
Let us go back to CUBA where it began as a problem: US MAFIOSI -and US Government- ESTABLISHED:
A DICTATORSHIP AND USED IT AS THEIR HOLIDAY HOME: Fun for Rich US Exploiters and MISERY FOR ALL CUBANS!
THAT WAS QUITE COMMONPLACE ALL OVER THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA:
– US INSTALLED DICTATORS, MILITARY AND SECRET SERVICE OPPRESSION, CHEAP FRUIT FOR USA – AND CHEAP DRUGS, TOO!
Don’t hide all this shameful US past in the region! IT WAS THE REASON WHY PEOPLE IN THE LAND STOOD UP:
– TO BATISTA, PAPA and BABY DOC, AND LOTS OF OTHER US INSTALLED AND SUPPORTED DICTATORS!
So, WHAT FIDEL CASTRO DID WAS A LIBERATION! And many who had been willing helpers of Batista were given refuge “as victims” in Miami and other Southern US regions. It is like with the oppressors and torturers from every freed country: Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Vietnam, Iran, etc. We should stop always blaming others for bad things we are World-Masters in!
After its revolution, the question was only: Can Cuba live as free country now? And practically all US Governments since then declared “NO! – OBEY US OR SUFFER!”
And thus, Cuba has been under an Embargo since 1957 – cut off all international trade and progress, only depending on its own food and resources.
BUT ITS LIFE EXPECTANCY IN HIGH – HIGHER THAN IN THE USA – AND ITS MEDICAL SERVICES OFTEN ASKED TO HELP WORLDWIDE!
Is that why our leaders are so determined to get the country stumped down to the ground? Because it achieves much more than ‘Big Brother’ with much less?
WHY NOT TREATING CUBA LIKE OTHER COUNTRIES – AND LET A RELATIONSHIP EVOLVE? – NOT THROUGH OPPRESSION BUT PARTNERSHIP!
We got to learn that PARTNERSHIP MUST NOT MEAN “WITH US AS BOSS”!
That was also what got Obama into his IDEA OF A WAR IN EUROPE TO PREVENT THE EU FROM GROWING BIG!
The target was NOT Russia! It was the GROWING EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP WITH IT – AND EUROPE’S GROWING INDEPENDENCE!
A GOOD COUNTRY WITH A GOOD ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT DOES NOT NEED HUGE FORCES THREATENING OTHERS!
IT HAS STRENGTH AND HUMANITY, RECOGNIZES OTHERS AS EQUAL – AND IN NEED OF HELP TO IMPROVE – BUT NEVER WITH FORCE!
FORCE MAKES NO FRIENDS – AND EVERYONE IN WASHINGTON SHOULD KNOW WHAT THE PRACTICED ‘MONROE DOCTRINE’ MEANT:
IT WAS KEEPING AWAY EUROPEAN COLONIALISTS SO THAT US ONES COULD DO ALL THEY HAD DONE!
WE MUST COME OFF THAT!