Oh please, the US liberated Cuba from Spanish rule and, after giving Cuba independence, leased a tiny naval base for refueling ships in a remote part of the country, 500 miles away from Havana. It's silly to call that oppression.
3
Better to spend 100s of millions of excess taxpayer funds than appear to be bested by commie dinosaurs. Yep. The jokes on American taxpayers ... again.
4
Congress has appropriated $181 million for current fiscal year for operations? We are spending $6.3 million per detainee at the prison. Yet we have to cut public schools, meals on wheels, medicare, and all else that might help average Americans? Who is getting rich on this government military useless spending?
I thought the Republicans were supposed to be about fiscal responsibility?! Unbelievably immoral for the Cuban people and the American people.
I thought the Republicans were supposed to be about fiscal responsibility?! Unbelievably immoral for the Cuban people and the American people.
8
A lot of ink spilled for a tiny remote speck of Cuba. What about the other 99.9% of the country? If it just hadn't been for the US occupation of this tiny speck the communist revolution would have resulted in paradise. Hard to defend sovereignty when a family dictatorship has controlled your country go two generations.
4
This kind of heedless waste is what turns people against government, fuels a refusal to accept higher taxes for the things that actually need to get done. Paying taxes to the government is like giving money to a teenager and saying, "Go. Have fun."
6
We returned the Panama canal to its rightful owners. The world didn't end. Guantanamo is an embarrassment. Get rid of it. And while at it, resolve the issue of any other US territory. Puerto Rico? Either become a US State or go independent but being a "territory" of the US is ridiculous.
7
$66 million for a school? That gives government waste a bad name.
3
The U.S. should not forget what lead to the Castro "Revolution."
I was in Havana, my ship having come to Gitmo in 1955.
I saw the degradation of humanity, 10-11 year old prostitutes
in the streets, slums out side Batista's Florida based, Mafia
hotels and casinos. The Cuban people now have health care
and decent education, though doctors also drive taxis for a
living. The basics of humanity are much better than in free-for-all Cuba before Castro, though the regime was
fairly brutal. Absolute power does corrupt. It's a matter of degree. reasonable opening of relations for the sake of the
Cuban people, the common good, is good for the U.S. Ask
how many of the early migrants from Cuba to Florida were
wealthy associates, one way or the other, of Batista, people
who could afford to escape and set up decent lives. How many of those hate Castro Cuba for the wrong reasons?
Inherited guilty feelings? Fear of new migrants who know their
story? Who they might fear to hire? Interesting, and beyond
the usual black/white decisions and "deals."
I was in Havana, my ship having come to Gitmo in 1955.
I saw the degradation of humanity, 10-11 year old prostitutes
in the streets, slums out side Batista's Florida based, Mafia
hotels and casinos. The Cuban people now have health care
and decent education, though doctors also drive taxis for a
living. The basics of humanity are much better than in free-for-all Cuba before Castro, though the regime was
fairly brutal. Absolute power does corrupt. It's a matter of degree. reasonable opening of relations for the sake of the
Cuban people, the common good, is good for the U.S. Ask
how many of the early migrants from Cuba to Florida were
wealthy associates, one way or the other, of Batista, people
who could afford to escape and set up decent lives. How many of those hate Castro Cuba for the wrong reasons?
Inherited guilty feelings? Fear of new migrants who know their
story? Who they might fear to hire? Interesting, and beyond
the usual black/white decisions and "deals."
9
Obviously Guantanamo is of zero strategic value. It is just a vestige of American colonialism and failed 50 year foreign policy towards Cuba that allows us to flip Cuba the bird.
5
Mr. Londono:
This is a very informative article. I have, however, one big caveat. In the United States you can engage lawyers to argue it is "defensible" to collude with Russia to intervene in our elections. The US Government will find no difficulty arguing that our tenure in Guantanamo is "defensible.
The issue has a legal dimension and Cuba could embarrass us by going to the World Court. But for both countries, Guantanamo is at root a political issue,
In many years of exposure to the Cuba issue in Republican and Democratic administrations, my sense was that the U.S., notwithstanding hard line Congressional opposition, would return Guantanamo on the day, or shortly thereafter, that Cuba held free and honest elections.
Whether we kept a U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo would be a matter for the American and Cuban governments of the day to decide, If we stayed, we would have to pay much more, hopefully in development assistance rather than military hardware of which Cuba has quite enough.
As Admiral Kurt Tidd (disclosure: an acquaintance) says, there are numerous reasons for keeping a U.S. Naval facility at Guantanamo, reasons which might appeal to a democratic Cuban government as well as to the U.S.
I saw the U.S. return Okinawa to Japan and the Canal Zone to Panama for overpowering political reasons. The same logic will apply to Guantanamo whenever the U.S. and Cuban governments become friends.
This is a very informative article. I have, however, one big caveat. In the United States you can engage lawyers to argue it is "defensible" to collude with Russia to intervene in our elections. The US Government will find no difficulty arguing that our tenure in Guantanamo is "defensible.
The issue has a legal dimension and Cuba could embarrass us by going to the World Court. But for both countries, Guantanamo is at root a political issue,
In many years of exposure to the Cuba issue in Republican and Democratic administrations, my sense was that the U.S., notwithstanding hard line Congressional opposition, would return Guantanamo on the day, or shortly thereafter, that Cuba held free and honest elections.
Whether we kept a U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo would be a matter for the American and Cuban governments of the day to decide, If we stayed, we would have to pay much more, hopefully in development assistance rather than military hardware of which Cuba has quite enough.
As Admiral Kurt Tidd (disclosure: an acquaintance) says, there are numerous reasons for keeping a U.S. Naval facility at Guantanamo, reasons which might appeal to a democratic Cuban government as well as to the U.S.
I saw the U.S. return Okinawa to Japan and the Canal Zone to Panama for overpowering political reasons. The same logic will apply to Guantanamo whenever the U.S. and Cuban governments become friends.
3
Cui Bono - who benefits? Trump's reversal of Obama's marginal loosening of Cuban restrictions only benefits one party - Russia. Vnesheconombank is the financing behind three major real estate projects in Cuba. They were being pressed for loan guarantees and security and in danger of being replaced by American financing sources. Now that is all history and Vnesheconombank has the projects all to itself - thanks to Trump. Name sound familiar? It should, it is the Russian bank Jared Kushner met with during the transition. Coincidence? Maybe. Rumor? Maybe. Deserving of study? Yes.
15
We have become a nation of unrepentant torturers. We can't deal. We can't face it. Our political leaders are either cowardly, inhuman pigs who believe savage crimes against humanity are justified or they are cowardly apologists unwilling to hold anyone accountable for those crimes. Our news media could care less. Guantanamo is but one place where the racist savagery occurred. I expect that by the time it is closed, another generation will have passed and defensive amnesia will be all that is left.
9
I don't care all that much for Trump's about-face. There was a lot I didn't like about the Obama deal, but at least I was willing to give it a shot before going back to the old, failed method. As for Gitmo, it may have outlived its usefulness as a base, but this is diplomacy. And in diplomacy, you don't give away something that big for free. Certainly not to the likes of the Castros, who've broken every last one of their pledges.
3
so, you would support the land annexation of the West Bank. it appears that whoever has the power can do what they want at will.
7
Trump is planning a spectacular resort and casino just as soon as the sublet is in place
10
Curious how leftists are able to ignore costs until it supports their narrative.
3
Ummm. If the Cuban military (they're the ones in charge) really wants Guantanamo Bay back... I suppose they should put their money where their mouth is, (the writer of this piece is 'the mouth' part)... and come try to take it back.
1
Might makes Right? On this theory the US could invade almost any country and keep it.
3
Who cares if our presence is troubling for the Cuban (I take it you mean Raul Castro?) psyche? Guantanamo is the one small patch of Cuba that is free. Let it remain so forever.
3
In what sense is it free? Thousands of soldiers keeping a handful of un-convicted people in custody.
10
The U.S.'s Crimea.
4
Normalize relations with Cuba, and hold out Guantanamo as a carrot. If 50 years of having no ties to the country did nothing to change the political reality in Cuba then it is, by definition, a failed policy.
Try something new, folks.
Ultimately there is no need for us to hang on to Guantanamo any more than we needed the Panama Canal. It is more valuable as a point of negotiation than as a naval base.
Sure it might take another 5 decades. But foreign policy is usually a long game.
Try something new, folks.
Ultimately there is no need for us to hang on to Guantanamo any more than we needed the Panama Canal. It is more valuable as a point of negotiation than as a naval base.
Sure it might take another 5 decades. But foreign policy is usually a long game.
3
Why give up what we have built and used, Cuba still cannot be trusted! We should hold on until all of old guard of the Castro revolution are dead and gone, however long that might be!
2
Guantanamo will be returned as soon as the Cuban government allows the erection of another Trump tower in Havana. Meanwhile, "squatting" is an apt description for what we're doing there and the result smells very bad.
7
Doesn't anyone get it?
It doesn't matter whether the base or relationships with Cuba are important.
The ONLY thing that matters in trumpworld is what was Obama's policy. Whatever Obama's policy was, trump is going to go backwards. It's called vindictiveness. That's what rules trump's "heart" (and "brain".)
It doesn't matter whether the base or relationships with Cuba are important.
The ONLY thing that matters in trumpworld is what was Obama's policy. Whatever Obama's policy was, trump is going to go backwards. It's called vindictiveness. That's what rules trump's "heart" (and "brain".)
19
Usual anti-American swill from the NYT about how wonderful Cuba would be if it wasn't bullied by the United States. Most of the comments are from people who weren't even alive when Castro installed armed nuclear warheads at the United States.
I was ten living in Omaha home of the Strategic air Command (SAC) at the time and I can still remember my horror when the Omaha World-Herald had a bulls-eye map of the U.S. with Omaha at the center of the bulls-eye.
Cuba needs to be free, open and democratic apparently the NYT and its readers support oppressive communist island gulags.
I was ten living in Omaha home of the Strategic air Command (SAC) at the time and I can still remember my horror when the Omaha World-Herald had a bulls-eye map of the U.S. with Omaha at the center of the bulls-eye.
Cuba needs to be free, open and democratic apparently the NYT and its readers support oppressive communist island gulags.
9
I was thirteen years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I have moved ahead in my politics and education since then, as have most Americas and Cubans. There is no reason to prolong this tax-gobbling, anachronistic squat. There is even less reason for us to compound our arrogant appropriation of Cuban land by maintaining a Gulag there in violation of U.S. Constitutional rights and of human rights.
3
"Cuba needs to be free, open and democratic" Yeah, just like our great and loyal ally Saudi Arabia! Anything less would be "anti-American swill!"
7
Another in a string of examples of Trump's Fire! Ready, Aim, executive commands. And yet another example of Pentagon waste. Gotta use those dollars to prove the need for more next year.
I see a day in the future when Guantanamo is a tourist destination in much the same way and for the same reason Dachau is. Only Trump will have a casino there.
I see a day in the future when Guantanamo is a tourist destination in much the same way and for the same reason Dachau is. Only Trump will have a casino there.
8
This whole opinion is biased and anti-military in the way it presents costs and history. I suppose I should expect more from the Times but I no longer do.
7
"... a $66 million contract to a firm owned by a Cuban-American family to build a new school on the base for the children of people posted there for long periods." Is there any other way to present this type of disingenuous, nauseating misappropriation of our tax dollars than by simply stating it?
6
Of course the Trump administration is going to keep Guantanamo open. Where else will the administration put the most dangerous Democrats once all organized opposition to a totalitarian state is complete?
3
Cuba was one of President Obama's brightest moves. After the USSR broke up the US should have been the first knocking at Cuba's front door. Instead, part of our political machine was held hostage by a relatively small part of the electorate - Cuba exiles and their supporters. With Russia gone Cuba posed, and still poses, no existential threat to the US or anyone else for that matter.
Of course many may ask - how could you do such a thing? Look at all of the horrible things they have done. Yes, the Cuban regime has done horrible things. So did China and the USSR. That did not stop Nixon or Regan from engaging with them. The benefits of those efforts are far better than what we have seen with the Cuba isolation.
Once relations are normalized the Cubans will be thrilled to get a decent rental check in USD's every year for Guantanamo. Which, by the way, should stay in US hands.
Of course many may ask - how could you do such a thing? Look at all of the horrible things they have done. Yes, the Cuban regime has done horrible things. So did China and the USSR. That did not stop Nixon or Regan from engaging with them. The benefits of those efforts are far better than what we have seen with the Cuba isolation.
Once relations are normalized the Cubans will be thrilled to get a decent rental check in USD's every year for Guantanamo. Which, by the way, should stay in US hands.
3
I support closing down the base for many of the practical and historical reasons cited. But not without a few counterpoints. Rather than describing it as a paradise, maybe the author could test his hypothesis of popular sovereignty. The Cuban people could vote on a new arrangement leading to recovery of sovereignty in a free and fair election. The exercise would be salutary. Likewise, the author condemns the imperial legacy of the Spanish American War but ignores how the US has addressed these issues in other countries. In Puerto Rico the US closed Roosevelt Roads, Vieques and Ramey Airfield due to arguments over utility. After Mt. Pinatubo, we turned over Clark Airbase and Subic Bay in the Philippines. The Canal Treaty with Panama is also analogous where the process was spread out over time, and, despite dealing with an autocratic leader, the Panamanians ultimately benefitted with regard to their domestic institutions. The negotiation under Londoño's formula is a one way transaction based on an illusion. A more politically viable approach would require certain assurances, particularly that the Cuban government would not turn the base over to our adversaries. Internationally guaranteed de-militarization? Likewise, a negotiated approach would see the process as something that would be part of a broader process of rapprochement in which both sides, but particularly the unrepresented Cuban people, might benefit.
3
Paradise? Yes, that caught all our eyes.
It's perhaps remarkable that it was more important to Trump to lift his leg on Obama's policy of relaxing restrictions the U.S. has imposed on Cuba for 50 years (restrictions that haven't worked and indeed have been counterproductive) than to further loosen those restrictions in order for Eric and Donnie Jr. to make hotel deals there. Having traveled around to Cuba in 2010, I can say that it is not only beautiful but brimming with enormous potential. If the U.S. restrictions were lifted, Cuba would be a perfect place for Trump to make deals -- big deals.
It is becoming clearer by the day that a very significant part of Trump's animus is trashing Obama's legacy. We should expect Trump to have a list of all of Obama's accomplishments, and we should also expect that he will be going down that list one by one and doing whatever he can to eliminate them.
It is becoming clearer by the day that a very significant part of Trump's animus is trashing Obama's legacy. We should expect Trump to have a list of all of Obama's accomplishments, and we should also expect that he will be going down that list one by one and doing whatever he can to eliminate them.
17
I so wish Obama had carried through and closed Gitmo. So much hope, so little change. This is why some people voted for Trump (to flip the board) after twice voting for Obama.
5
I'm not sure anyone who voted for Trump did so because Obama failed to close Guantanamo. To suggest that is to imply that anyone thought Trump might succeed in this arena-- or even try. But I take the broader point about Obama not fulfilling all of his promises. I'm just not sure why that would result in anyone believe that Trump will make those same promises AND keep them.
5
Obama tried to close Guantanamo, but Congress blocked him with legislation passed by veto-proof majorities. What magic wand do you think he should have waved?
4
Without GOP obstruction and propaganda, Obama would have closed Gitmo. Remember all the fear mongering?
3
There is no good argument for Guantanamo.
1- If you are a fiscal conservative it is an expensive operation that could be replaced strategically elsewhere - like Puerto Rico.
2- If you are concerned with International Law, the lease and the activities there are of questionable legality.
3- If you are concerned with the American image in the world, it smells of imperialism.
1- If you are a fiscal conservative it is an expensive operation that could be replaced strategically elsewhere - like Puerto Rico.
2- If you are concerned with International Law, the lease and the activities there are of questionable legality.
3- If you are concerned with the American image in the world, it smells of imperialism.
43
Keep it. If we gave back all the land rights our forefathers took by throwing their military weight around, we'd be a much smaller, much weaker country. The circumstances of acquisition might not be ideal. On the other hand, when the US spends blood and treasure to throw off an autocratic yoke, it shouldn't always be for free. I'm not an isolationist. The US has a role to play in the world that is often enough on the side of making it or keeping it a better place. I live in Eastern Europe. It's often not appreciated that without a strong, internationally oriented America all of Europe except maybe the UK would long ago have been dominated by a still surviving, world dominant Soviet Union. They could be spending a lot less money on Guantanamo building boondoggles. But let's keep it.
8
"If we gave back all the land rights our forefathers took by throwing their military weight around, we'd be a much smaller, much weaker country."
If the U.S. did that it would cease to exist.
If the U.S. did that it would cease to exist.
3
Perhaps in the next banking crisis we can house Wall Street CEO's in Guantanamo "for their safety" as material witnesses?
30
On a recent trip to Cuba, we heard a talk about the history of Cuban-American relations given by Dr. Louis Rene Fernandez Tabio of the University of Havana . He began with this statement ,“The history of Cuban-American relations did not start in 1959 and did not end in 2014” . Obviously not.
He also said that all Cuban’s ever wanted was to be taken seriously, treated as adults, and as equals. However, the history of America’s treatment of Cuba, and perhaps all of Latin America was as a parent to a disobedient child, unfortunately with lethal ways of punishing the child for disobedience. The influence of racism is also part of this legacy.
This history continues.
He also said that all Cuban’s ever wanted was to be taken seriously, treated as adults, and as equals. However, the history of America’s treatment of Cuba, and perhaps all of Latin America was as a parent to a disobedient child, unfortunately with lethal ways of punishing the child for disobedience. The influence of racism is also part of this legacy.
This history continues.
36
After more than a century we should either give them back their land or negotiate a proper lease and pay an appropriate rent. Personally, I doubt that we really need that piece of land. We should transfer those prisoners state-side. If they are truly dangerous terrorists (so many were not), then we have maximum security prisons. We are wasting money and accomplishing nothing.
36
What would happens if the Cuban government were to invite the Chinese or the Russians to establish a similar naval base in the Port of Mariel UNLESS the U.S. returns the Guantanamo Naval Base to Cuba?
Another missiles crisis?
Another missiles crisis?
10
Neither the Russian nor the Chinese would participate in such a deal, because it would mean war with the US.
1
Not so different from China building/controlling islands in the South China Sea is it?
1
Neither would do it because there is no value in the proposition. Well, other than needling the US. They, especially the Chinese, know it's far more valuable to open these facilities in the African, Middle East, and Asian subcontinent.
The Russian supported military dictatorships of Cuba must be relegated to the dust bin of history. May liberty and justice again be the constitutional birthright of every Cuban. The next generation must release the political prisoners and rejoin their Western brothers and sisters in freedom and solidarity!
7
Your comment reflects the reasoning for the Cuban embargo, force a government into submission by isolation, a program that for 60 years failed to bear fruit.
3
A very important issue, return Guantanamo to Cuba to respect international law. This must be definitely the highest priority of the Cuban people, who have been living for six decades under the law-abiding rule of one Castro or another. They are well known for staying in power for all this time by winning one free election after another. And Fidel Castro's deep love for the Cuba and the Cubans was shown in full during the crisis of '61, when he asked the Soviets to use tactical nukes in Cuba, rather than loose power. It reminds me of Hitler's decision to destroy his country when his end neared, but Castro declared himself a communist and that changes everything, of course.
8
if only the times gave as much attention to the racism of the odious Charles Murray or at least allowed a debate about the lies of white supremacy hiding in its abuse of free speech and cultural appropriation. but it doesn't. so it's just another white outpost for racial oppression. the repeated acquittal of police officers who kill blacks begins here, with the brazen embrace by this paper of repeated attacks on black humanity. oh it may be more subtle than WSJ or fox, but it's a shared spirit
1
"President Trump is once again recasting the relationship between the two neighbors as one of subjugation". "Subjugation"? Is the United States morally obliged to have normal political and economic relations with a government that harbors U.S. cop killers and terrorists? Sorry Ernesto, the only "subjugation" happening in Cuba is being perpetrated by the island's military dictatorship against the long-suffering Cuban people. Interesting that you have nothing to say about that.
14
SM:
This history is much more complex than you allow: http://www.npr.org/2017/01/24/511387528/the-history-of-u-s-intervention-... . As Mr. Londoño describes, the USA has hardly been a consistent supporter of the rights of the people of Cuba--whatever our gripes with its revolution and the deceased Fidel Castro.
This history is much more complex than you allow: http://www.npr.org/2017/01/24/511387528/the-history-of-u-s-intervention-... . As Mr. Londoño describes, the USA has hardly been a consistent supporter of the rights of the people of Cuba--whatever our gripes with its revolution and the deceased Fidel Castro.
2
The US has Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, suitable for any military base, fleet support, listening post or eye on Caribbean shipping between the Panama Canal and the east coast. Roosevelt Roads in Fajardo, PR, closed for years, used to be a very active and vital post in the Caribbean with a good fleet, good logistics support and deep waters. There is no excuse for the Gitmo base EXCEPT colonialism. The US was 'awarded' Guam, the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico after the Spanish American War in the late 19th Century and has been unable to figure out what 'empire' means in the 21st. Cuba, after hundreds of years of occupation, has a right to its sovereignty and it is high time the US took the thorn from Cuba's side and cleared out. If the Trump Administration is so worried about commies on our doorstep he should be more circumspect about his relationship with Putin and modern day Russia, not the Castro family.
17
One suspects that as soon as the building permits for Trump Towers Havana are issued, Guantanamo will be returned to the Cubans.
32
As I see it, the question is if a successor government is obligated to honor a treaty signed by the predecessor government. In general, international law seems to generally favor the affirmative.
Otherwise, Russia in 1991 would have had no obligations to honor the treaties signed under Communist rule, like the SALT and Nuclear Test Ban just for one example.
Otherwise, Russia in 1991 would have had no obligations to honor the treaties signed under Communist rule, like the SALT and Nuclear Test Ban just for one example.
6
Other than use as a facility to engage in activities which no fair-minded American condones, Guantanamo serves no useful purpose for the United States.
Unfortunately, given the present need to tread lightly in the normalization of relations with Cuba and the wariness we all should feel about making what could appear as strategic concessions to the Russians, a significant change in the base is unlikely in the immediate future.
Guantanamo for Americans plays the same role as Devil's Island played historically for the French. It's not something of which we should be proud.
Unfortunately, given the present need to tread lightly in the normalization of relations with Cuba and the wariness we all should feel about making what could appear as strategic concessions to the Russians, a significant change in the base is unlikely in the immediate future.
Guantanamo for Americans plays the same role as Devil's Island played historically for the French. It's not something of which we should be proud.
6
I wish the US would do what is right with regard to Cuba sovereignty and leave Guantanamo, no strings attached. In doing this, the US would admit is hegemony and perhaps take new steps in foreign policy that might affect our reputation in many other regions in the world.
19
There are many important issues about Cuba.
But to this President, it's only about his idea of 'winning' ie. undoing something great that was accomplished under Obama.
But to this President, it's only about his idea of 'winning' ie. undoing something great that was accomplished under Obama.
39
Isn't there a song... "Here am I, a squatter in Paradise...!"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_Paradise_(song)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_Paradise_(song)
3
I'm guessing trump will make Cuba miserable with trade for as long as it takes to get his and co slimy fingers on hotel business.
Has nothing to do with human rights. They see a real estate deal. Is an invasion of cheesy gold buildings and triple sheets considered an actual act of war.
Cuba can't compete with the level of human rights chopped in pieces or poison by Trump's BFFs Putin and Saud.
Don't impeach him. Throw him in jail or better yet one of Jareds slum rentals.
Has nothing to do with human rights. They see a real estate deal. Is an invasion of cheesy gold buildings and triple sheets considered an actual act of war.
Cuba can't compete with the level of human rights chopped in pieces or poison by Trump's BFFs Putin and Saud.
Don't impeach him. Throw him in jail or better yet one of Jareds slum rentals.
5
Perhaps Trump wants to make Cuba great again, like it was when Batista was dictator and the Mafia ran the country.
29
Ridiculous, anti-Ameircan diatribe. Cubans should grow up and take control of their own country. Stop blaming the US and stop being so passive about the injustices inflicted by the cartoonish regime of the Castros. What chromosome are they missing that they cannot take control of their own lives and their own country? They should man up and stop whining.
9
You would be whining to if Cuba or Russia had a base in key west.
1
One of the best ways to accomplish what you suggest is to drop the embargo and all travel restrictions for Americans into Cuba. The only real result of the US trying to isolate Cuba is to give the Castro regime a free ticket to blame all of the ills of their failed tenure on the evil Americans.
Your argument is severely under cut because of the injustices inflicted by the cartoonish regime of the current occupant of the American White House
Not only has our President failed to make any head way on the domestic front ,excepting the obliteration of the regulations that combat the thievery on Wall St., he has managed to alienate each and every one of our long established allies in Europe. At the same time , Trump has cozied up to such stellar protectors of human rights as Saudi Arabia , Egypt , the Phillipines , and Russia
The US does plenty of business with such countries and has made it clear to them that money , not human rights , is the new agenda
As for penalizing Cuba for being a Communist Regime , why is it that we do huge amounts of business with Communist China and Communist Vietnam ?
The Soviet Socialist Republic disappeared circa. 1990 and Cuba is now just a neighboring island. The Castro regime is now completely gone with the resignation of Raul
Speaking of human rights , what about the dungeons of Guantanamo and the illegally and shamefully detained prisoners against whom there are no charges ?
Our President is unhappy about Cuba's refusal to entertain his overtures to build his private hotels which would compete with the government resorts already available
So he makes up nonsense about the human rights of which he clearly does not give a tinker's dam
No sir , Captain Navigator , Cuba is but a tiny island. The real scary cartoon lives right here
Not only has our President failed to make any head way on the domestic front ,excepting the obliteration of the regulations that combat the thievery on Wall St., he has managed to alienate each and every one of our long established allies in Europe. At the same time , Trump has cozied up to such stellar protectors of human rights as Saudi Arabia , Egypt , the Phillipines , and Russia
The US does plenty of business with such countries and has made it clear to them that money , not human rights , is the new agenda
As for penalizing Cuba for being a Communist Regime , why is it that we do huge amounts of business with Communist China and Communist Vietnam ?
The Soviet Socialist Republic disappeared circa. 1990 and Cuba is now just a neighboring island. The Castro regime is now completely gone with the resignation of Raul
Speaking of human rights , what about the dungeons of Guantanamo and the illegally and shamefully detained prisoners against whom there are no charges ?
Our President is unhappy about Cuba's refusal to entertain his overtures to build his private hotels which would compete with the government resorts already available
So he makes up nonsense about the human rights of which he clearly does not give a tinker's dam
No sir , Captain Navigator , Cuba is but a tiny island. The real scary cartoon lives right here
1
Cuba should consider re possessing Guantanamo! Why not. Take it to the IMF and the.... well everywhere and demand the return of their land. Or perhaps raise the rent to $5 billion per year to help defray losses during America's Imperialistic occupation.
9
Scary that such anti American sentiment originates from within the US, unless this post is by a Russian bot, which is plausible given its tone.
It's not often you hear of a totalitarian, dictatorial, communist state referred to as paradise.
10
There was a time when Fidel Castro had a shinning cover on Time magazine if you can archive Time for the period of the Revolution he was seen as a native hero overthrowing a vicious criminal regime then not too much later he appears with snakes and hammer and sickle and all that for he had decided to nationalize the sugar industry then control by an famous American firm. I had those two covers once but lost over the years as was Cuba as it struggled to survive the net we cast around it that lingers on and on.
4
I don't get the connection between our occupation of Guantanmo, and Fidel Castro slaughtering thousands of people, and outlawing private property when he took over the country in 1959. Or what it has to do with the complete lack of freedom of religion, thought, speech and the press. Or the lack of elections. Or the complete lack of freedom of movement, which includes baseball players defecting so they can play in the US.
It would seem to me that had we turned Guantanamo over to Castro in 1959, he would have been the same brutal tyrant.
It would seem to me that had we turned Guantanamo over to Castro in 1959, he would have been the same brutal tyrant.
10
Joseph, for your information, the adherents of many religions and sects are free to worship in Cuba, as told to my group during a visit in 2014 by a former Catholic nun who married a Jew.
2
Handing over Guantanamo in '59 alone would have had little effect, but if we had provided the nacent revolutionary government with our support instead of fomenting and financing counterrevolutions, attemped assassinatiolns, terrorism via small plane bombings, and restrictions and embargoes, Castro might not have been driven so firmly into the Communist camp. The hands of the US are not clean, but I'd have liked to think both sides could start to improve the situation. Until Trump, of course.
3
Trump attempts to reverse whatever Obama achieved,
and we can only hope that when Trump's era is over,
we will reverse his many petulant policies.
As for Guantanamo, the military doesn't need the facility
any more. Giving it back would be a good decision.
The detainees are political prisoners.......due to the political infighting in Washington. What a costly argument.
and we can only hope that when Trump's era is over,
we will reverse his many petulant policies.
As for Guantanamo, the military doesn't need the facility
any more. Giving it back would be a good decision.
The detainees are political prisoners.......due to the political infighting in Washington. What a costly argument.
21
The western democracies can ALWAYS use that base for naval support. We lost the huge base in the Philippines and the navy has never really replaced it. Now that China is begging for a war in the Spratlys, that base could have been pure gold.
Obama got a quarter-million Arabs killed and spent trillions reversing the things that President Bush thought were worth doing.
With the political wars that will be fought against all future non-progressive elected leaders, the turn-around expenses of Presidents succeeding Presidents will be MUCH more than they used to be.
Obama got a quarter-million Arabs killed and spent trillions reversing the things that President Bush thought were worth doing.
With the political wars that will be fought against all future non-progressive elected leaders, the turn-around expenses of Presidents succeeding Presidents will be MUCH more than they used to be.
4
Two words are enough: American Imperialism.
43
John--Same goes for Puerto Rico, which deserves to be an fully fledged state.
5
Not until they are debt-free. Besides, it would only lock in two more hopelessly politicized progressive Senators. We made that mistake with Hawai'i, we know better today.
1
Not until they are debt free?
What about Illinois and other states deeply in debt?
What about Illinois and other states deeply in debt?
3
Enough already. Close this international embarsement.
5
Squatters in Paradise? Either the NYTimes headline writers are unaware Cuba is a repressive one-party regime with a backward economy by any measure, or they have a perverse idea of paradise. That said, it is long past time for us to leave.
5
Prior to Castro, Cuba was already a repressive, a brutally repressive one-party regime with the full backing of the CIA and the Mafia which controlled much of the country and also held in its pocket Batista. Revolutions, be they in the Thirteen Colonies or Cuba, do not arise out of nowhere. They do not succeed for no reason.
1
Not that complex. Obama did it. Trump is automatically against it. Besides, he has no hotel or golf course in Cuba unlike the Arab tyrants he recently visited.
3
The US should remove ALL archaic, fringe, oppressive, expensive, imperialistic monuments at home and abroad.
1
Why was this article allowed in our interventionist liberal newspaper?Where is Senator McCarthy now that we need him? Hurrah for Pres. Trump!
1
The sun never sets on the American empire.
5
This imbecilic president is fine with suppression and denigration of women in Saudi Arabia but cites "human rights" violations in Cuba as his rationale for gutting Obama's opening. Nixon went to China, for Christ's sake. Would somebody PLEASE this imbecile in a locked padded room?
22
I'm sure the American Indians feel the same way.
5
While the U government is currenly a pack of vile and lying scoundrels- it hasn't always been disgrace while castroland has always been a police state. i feel comfortable despising the trump-ryan-mcconnell triune and the dictatorship that runs cuba. even if i had sympathy left it would go for anything but strong-man dictators.
Not Squatters, Settler Colonials. It's just more Manifest Destiny and entitlement that comes with having committed murder and meyhem in other countries since the Mayflower landed and found people who would save their lives that first Winter. We could blame it on the Caste System of Europe with most of these people being lower Caste Serfs, poorly trained and sent over the borders of the Indigenous Nations as human waves of misery entering Paradise. Later called Settlers and recently in the Historical Literature "Settler Colonials" that turns out to be an English strategy used not only in the US but in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa with the murder rate against the Indigenous Peoples roughly equivelent. Blood for Soil. The title of that book on Genocide [Blood and Soil] and the history by Ben Kiernen from Yale University. Will America ever 'fess up"? Or will they just continue to harass others to divert attention from their own sins and need for redemption?
19
This is not quite fake new but close enough, and so, illegitimate
These purported colonial impositions were in effect for EIGHT Obama years with nary a peep. During those years the US had a POTUS friendlier to Cuba, than any since Mr Castro, senior, came to power, and nary a peep
Likewise in effect, since Jan 20, 2017, and silence
In effect for 100+ years, nary a peep
NOW, when Cubans have gotten what? a taste of US dollars, maybe to be cut off, over our various dissatisfactions with that regime, NOW there is colonialism outrage.
Piffle
The Gitmo use as 'safe space' for Islamic psychopaths for god, is irrelevant, the base is lawful or it is not
AND!! - the issue is between the GOVERNMENT of Cuba, and the Government of US, not this author's random ranting logorrhea
The constriction of access is wonderful to the politically still-powerful anti-Castro Cubans in the important US electoral State Florida, AND is Mr Trump's undoing of Mr Obama's 'legacy' which was written in beach sand, at low tide, near the water, and WHY Mr Trump was elected, to undo the Obama years
And this strengthens Mr Trump et al political stance reelection or coat tails,
As for international law, well you have sat on your rights for 100 years or maybe merely since 1948 when the UN was created
When did international law ever affect anything? And you have your own human rights dirty hands petition.
Piffle.
Give us back Elian Gonzales, and stand trial for all the boat people who died fleeing
These purported colonial impositions were in effect for EIGHT Obama years with nary a peep. During those years the US had a POTUS friendlier to Cuba, than any since Mr Castro, senior, came to power, and nary a peep
Likewise in effect, since Jan 20, 2017, and silence
In effect for 100+ years, nary a peep
NOW, when Cubans have gotten what? a taste of US dollars, maybe to be cut off, over our various dissatisfactions with that regime, NOW there is colonialism outrage.
Piffle
The Gitmo use as 'safe space' for Islamic psychopaths for god, is irrelevant, the base is lawful or it is not
AND!! - the issue is between the GOVERNMENT of Cuba, and the Government of US, not this author's random ranting logorrhea
The constriction of access is wonderful to the politically still-powerful anti-Castro Cubans in the important US electoral State Florida, AND is Mr Trump's undoing of Mr Obama's 'legacy' which was written in beach sand, at low tide, near the water, and WHY Mr Trump was elected, to undo the Obama years
And this strengthens Mr Trump et al political stance reelection or coat tails,
As for international law, well you have sat on your rights for 100 years or maybe merely since 1948 when the UN was created
When did international law ever affect anything? And you have your own human rights dirty hands petition.
Piffle.
Give us back Elian Gonzales, and stand trial for all the boat people who died fleeing
1
paradise? A living hell for the souls that live under the bootheel of Castro.
Yet another example of folks with broken moral compasses painting the US as the bad guy.
Cuba is one of a long list of socialist experiments ending in human subjugation, misery, economic collapse and a disappearance of human rights.
Yet another example of folks with broken moral compasses painting the US as the bad guy.
Cuba is one of a long list of socialist experiments ending in human subjugation, misery, economic collapse and a disappearance of human rights.
6
You clearly know little of Cuba today.
4
That doesn't give the US the right to colonize another country.
2
Oh well... at least we got a little piece of it! (Too bad not all.)
Since U.S. law apparently does not apply in Guantanamo - nor Cuban law for that matter - Trump could effectively use it as his off-shore piggy-bank to send his illicitly gained emoluments, bribes, infrastructure kickbacks, ... since the IRS and treasury likely has no constitutional enforcement powers there. He can also "disappear" his adversaries, journalists and witch hunters without consequence to the ready made isolation cells there. Indeed, it is almost a ready made concentration camp for Trump's convenience.
6
It's not the human rights violations that bothers the US right wing; it's the Cuban government's support for redistribution of wealth. Billionaires like Trump are not usually receptive to this sentiment.
3
It's false to lay the blame on Communism alone. The embargo and influence on other nations by the US to not engage in commerce with Cuba did not give their economy a fighting chance. Which was the point, namely to make sure a socialist oriented government cannot be seen to succeed.
2
The article is an excellent descriptor of federal welfare.
1
Guantánamo is a state necessity for keeping dangerous elements away from the Mainland, where their isolation may be challenged by the radical leftists and all attached to their coattails. England found the same solution for Napoléon after his capture by not letting him set foot on English soil and transporting him to the Island of Saint Helena.
As far as the business interactions and commerce with Cuba are concerned, the most unfair rule is the privation imposed on those US citizens who want to smoke Cuban cigars by forbidding their direct importation to the US. Oh, well, one can buy and legally bring to the US Cuban cigars bought in other countries, but the prices are to a great disadvantage of the cigar smoker.
As far as the business interactions and commerce with Cuba are concerned, the most unfair rule is the privation imposed on those US citizens who want to smoke Cuban cigars by forbidding their direct importation to the US. Oh, well, one can buy and legally bring to the US Cuban cigars bought in other countries, but the prices are to a great disadvantage of the cigar smoker.
1
Guantánamo is a national disgrace on several levels as this column notes. It is exorbitantly expensive, and violates human rights agreements.
Moreover, Trump's policy of returning to hardlining Cuba may well have been one of the policies designed by Flynn and Putin. Putin visited the island around 2014, Russia has forgiven several billion in debt to Cuba, it may work on off shore oil facilities, and there has been talk that it would reactivate its military bases in Cuba -- 90 miles away from the U.S. Obviously, President Obama's policies were to balance the influence of Russia so close to our shores, and once again Trump has weakened the U.S. and left a vacuum for Russia.
The sheer stupidity of Trump policies - whether they are 50 years out of date or sheer spite against President Obama - damages the United States badly.
His end cannot come quickly enough. Our neighbors to the South should be treated with respect and friendship, and that should apply to our closest neighbor Mexico as well as to other nations. The president of the United States should be cultivating policies and allies for the future, not reactivating past hostilities as though octogenarian dictators about to step down are still powerful. Oh, wait. Trump piñata anyone?
Moreover, Trump's policy of returning to hardlining Cuba may well have been one of the policies designed by Flynn and Putin. Putin visited the island around 2014, Russia has forgiven several billion in debt to Cuba, it may work on off shore oil facilities, and there has been talk that it would reactivate its military bases in Cuba -- 90 miles away from the U.S. Obviously, President Obama's policies were to balance the influence of Russia so close to our shores, and once again Trump has weakened the U.S. and left a vacuum for Russia.
The sheer stupidity of Trump policies - whether they are 50 years out of date or sheer spite against President Obama - damages the United States badly.
His end cannot come quickly enough. Our neighbors to the South should be treated with respect and friendship, and that should apply to our closest neighbor Mexico as well as to other nations. The president of the United States should be cultivating policies and allies for the future, not reactivating past hostilities as though octogenarian dictators about to step down are still powerful. Oh, wait. Trump piñata anyone?
35
Reversing the Obama policies only strengthens Russia's hand in Cuba. Cuba allows Putin and his billionaire cronies offshore banking havens and other perks. This is just another "return the favor" Trump is doing on behalf of Putin.
3
Cuba has a "human rights problem" says the US who keeps an offshore prison in Cuba so that US laws about human rights can be ignored. Cuba has long wanted the US to leave.
In other words we call Cuba bad because we do bad things there... like extraordinary rendition, torture, and ignore habeas corpus.
In other words we call Cuba bad because we do bad things there... like extraordinary rendition, torture, and ignore habeas corpus.
71
Cooler heads will prevail. Trump can huff and puff and try to blow the house down. But airlines, tour operators, cruise ship companies, hotel chains, financial services, banks, insurance, healthcare companies and others have all had a taste of the Cuban market in the past two years, not to mention German, French, Australian, Japanese and others who are pursuing business opportunities in Cuba. It's not likely that Trump will ignore all of toese U.S. parties who have a vested interest in continued access to the Cuban market. Trump will come around once he realizes what is at stake.
4
The paradigm of injustice is to be strong with the weak and weak with the strong. I traveled to Cuba last year and felt, first hand, how US bullying continues to inflict pain or regular Cubans. This inflicting of pain is totally gratuitous and those responsible will eventually and somehow pay the price.
10
There has been some "badness" to our Cuba policy dating back to the Eisenhower administration. While Trump has been so awful in so many policies in addition to being utterly incompetent, his Cuba policy oddly doesn't stand out.
Sure, he said some incoherent things about Cuba policy today and GITMO is no exception but over the last 50 years, his Cuba policies seem somewhat average for a U.S. President.
Sure, he said some incoherent things about Cuba policy today and GITMO is no exception but over the last 50 years, his Cuba policies seem somewhat average for a U.S. President.
1
Today was a very sad day for America relationships in the Americas. He did this just because it was a great deal made by President Obama. When he was in the Middle East his deal was it did not matter how a government treated it's people, it's just about commerce. Why is it that when it comes to Cuba it's about how it treats it's people, commerce means nothing. The man is really unbalanced and makes me ashamed
17
By re-instating Cuban sanctions this harms Trump’s business competitors from getting an early foot hold in Cuba while he is in office. Will Starwood Hotels & Resorts, among others, bring an Emoluments suit from direct harm and pursue possible blockage by the courts?
3
If Panama was able to regain sovereignty over it's territory, so should Cuba, as it;s people are clearly against the American occupation of Guantanamo, an ongoing neo-colonial move our current 'ugly american' in chief could solve with ease, while denouncing, with blistering hypocrisy, against a Cuban regimen trampling on the same human rights that Trump's tyrant friends do, not only with impunity but with Trump's apparent consent.
4
For the life of me, I can't believe how random and reckless is Trump's foreign policy ...going backwards on the opening policy set by Obama is incredibly petty and makes the US looks quite ridiculous and isolated of reality.
Oh well, at least something good comes from this: less waiting time for margaritas and more space for me at the splendid cuban beaches!!!
Oh well, at least something good comes from this: less waiting time for margaritas and more space for me at the splendid cuban beaches!!!
20
A convenient way to toss another bone to the "Cuban Exile" community and this one is part of a whopper.
Schools right here in Philadelphia along with our teachers and students will never partake in this sort of largesse which if viewed with a clear eye is simply another legal payoff to a voting bloc both parties covet.
It becomes more difficult to consider those who purport to represent us will ever think beyond the impact their laws will have on anyone, but themselves and their donors.
News of this sort may also be why people such as Mr Dylan are wrong about Mr Jones.
Schools right here in Philadelphia along with our teachers and students will never partake in this sort of largesse which if viewed with a clear eye is simply another legal payoff to a voting bloc both parties covet.
It becomes more difficult to consider those who purport to represent us will ever think beyond the impact their laws will have on anyone, but themselves and their donors.
News of this sort may also be why people such as Mr Dylan are wrong about Mr Jones.
We basically stole Guantanamo the same way we stole Texas. If we had been in the same position would we now object to getting a check every year for lower Manhattan? This is a blot on our honor and integrity as a nation. Give it back!-with an apology.
5
Here is a radical idea - when Cuba begins treating its own citizens like first world participants, then we can talk exiting our "squat".
Here is how we can test that idea - when any where near a majority of Cuban citizens would rather stay in Cuba as opposed to risk their lives emigrating to the USA - we'll know it is time.
Here is how we can test that idea - when any where near a majority of Cuban citizens would rather stay in Cuba as opposed to risk their lives emigrating to the USA - we'll know it is time.
6
If you truly knew anything about Cuba (except the propaganda narrative that has been perpetuated), you would realize that Cuba his far more advanced than we are...free education from elementary school through medical school, fre healthcare and drugs, free housing (although they have a housing shortage), food grown organically, and an average life span greater than ours. Cuba is a vibrant country which promotes the arts, music and education. They elect representatives on the local and national level, and over 50% of representatives are women. They may have one party but the people have full input into the planning and progress of the country. What do we have? Two parties both bought and sold by proporate interests and supporting the interests of the 2%.
12
Ernesto Londoño report is a well reasoned coverage of Guantánamo before now but no after, for that would require policy makers to take the issue seriously and they will not as there is no pressing reason to consider it – certainly not tax payers money as it falls in the ‘peanut range’for them.
Cuba should take it to any relevant International body to at least over time raise it as a News item where it might have some impact. America does not have a high regard for International Law but can be embarrassed by it.
Cuba should take it to any relevant International body to at least over time raise it as a News item where it might have some impact. America does not have a high regard for International Law but can be embarrassed by it.
4
It’s a waste of taxpayer’s hard earned dollars. During the 60’s the Naval Base at Gitmo might have been necessary as it was used to maintain a battalion of Marines and the accompanying Amphibious Naval Vessels to strike out against any potential threats in the area, i.e. Panama’s Noriega. The Caribbean had a number of threats during my deployments there and as a young officer saw the need for a forward base at the time. And of course the Cold War was in full swing during that timeframe.
However, today the U.S. Naval Base at San Juan is more than sufficient to accommodate the Amphibious Force and Marines and is “much friendlier” to the U.S. And we just don’t need Gitmo. It’s sad that we ended up with placing the prison camp there. Seems we’re stuck.
However, today the U.S. Naval Base at San Juan is more than sufficient to accommodate the Amphibious Force and Marines and is “much friendlier” to the U.S. And we just don’t need Gitmo. It’s sad that we ended up with placing the prison camp there. Seems we’re stuck.
4
I liked visiting Cuba when there were no Americans there. I will like visiting Cuba when there are no Americans there.
56
@ Frank Montreal
Well, you may like Chinese, Russians, and other Latin Americans there.
Well, you may like Chinese, Russians, and other Latin Americans there.
This is just staggering.
Trump can claim that President Obama's changed Cuba policy has not made seismic shifts in a couple of years, when decades of the earlier, adversarial policy did not even move the dial.
Trump can cite human rights as a problem for Cuba, but he admires strongmen the world over, from Turkey to Egypt, Russia to China, and showed a particular affinity for the Saudi royals, whom he declared we share many commonalities with, and whom he assured we would not tell how to run their country.
Cuba is low-hanging fruit whom Trump finds it convenient to pick on.
Trump can claim that President Obama's changed Cuba policy has not made seismic shifts in a couple of years, when decades of the earlier, adversarial policy did not even move the dial.
Trump can cite human rights as a problem for Cuba, but he admires strongmen the world over, from Turkey to Egypt, Russia to China, and showed a particular affinity for the Saudi royals, whom he declared we share many commonalities with, and whom he assured we would not tell how to run their country.
Cuba is low-hanging fruit whom Trump finds it convenient to pick on.
86
Every dollar spent is well worth it. No one forced the Cuban Government to sign the treaty to lease Guantánamo. The UK like most other nations have bases around the world under binding lease agreements and live to the terms of those agreements in full. It is a shame when people assume any binding agreement be it for political or financial needs is vulnerable to reinterpretation simply because one side eventually disagrees with its terms.
5
"In 1901, the United States forced newly independent Cuba to agree to a set of conditions before withdrawing American troops from the island... "
Sounds like they were forced to me.
Sounds like they were forced to me.
87
Not sure it is a good use of my taxes.
1
Still disgruntled after the loss of so many territories around the world, eh Mac? And becoming yet tinier through Brexit.
With Trump complaining and justifications for his actions today of Obama's so called one-sided-deal, the 1901 "deal" seems totally one sided to me with the US having the right to intervene in Cuba whenever it sees fit. What country with equal rights and an ally at the time would agree to that?
With Trump complaining and justifications for his actions today of Obama's so called one-sided-deal, the 1901 "deal" seems totally one sided to me with the US having the right to intervene in Cuba whenever it sees fit. What country with equal rights and an ally at the time would agree to that?
11
Poor Cuba is what came to mind last night when I heard the news. We can be "friends" with so many bad players around the globe but not Cuba because of human rights issues? That just screams absurdity. Did they refuse to allow Trumps' Enterprise to build hotels and casinos there?
Why on earth would we undo the progress that the Obama administration promised the Cubans? I was looking forward to travelling to Cuba and meeting the people there. The Cubans were looking forward to being able to obtain scarce supplies and building their economy. Why would we make an enemy in a country where we have a military base?
What country will trust us in the future after we show them that our word means nothing because in four years someone else can come along and renege on our deals? We are a mean, hypocritical country and our word and our handshake has been downgraded to F minus.
Why on earth would we undo the progress that the Obama administration promised the Cubans? I was looking forward to travelling to Cuba and meeting the people there. The Cubans were looking forward to being able to obtain scarce supplies and building their economy. Why would we make an enemy in a country where we have a military base?
What country will trust us in the future after we show them that our word means nothing because in four years someone else can come along and renege on our deals? We are a mean, hypocritical country and our word and our handshake has been downgraded to F minus.
163
Your post suggests a possible resolution of the situation: get Cuba to let Trump build a new luxury hotel in Havana.
It's time we got out of Guantanamo. We condemn Russia for taking over Crimea, but there's absolute silence on the American illegal occupation of a chunk of Cuba's territory.
The days when a superpower could abuse smaller nations without taking a hit to their reputation is over. Like the embargo, this occupation is a relic from an era whose time has past.
The days when a superpower could abuse smaller nations without taking a hit to their reputation is over. Like the embargo, this occupation is a relic from an era whose time has past.
129
RM: "We condemn Russia for taking over Crimea ..."
That's the wrong analogy. Russia had been LEGALLY LEASING its naval base in Crimea from Ukraine:
"The accord reached Wednesday, which Mr. Yanukovich negotiated with Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, will add 25 years to the lease on the base, which is in the city of Sevastopol. In return, Russia said it would cut the price of natural gas that it sold to Ukraine by roughly 30 percent, helping to bolster Ukraine’s shaky finances."
Ukraine Woos Russia With Lease Deal
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
APRIL 21, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/world/europe/22ukraine.html
That's the wrong analogy. Russia had been LEGALLY LEASING its naval base in Crimea from Ukraine:
"The accord reached Wednesday, which Mr. Yanukovich negotiated with Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, will add 25 years to the lease on the base, which is in the city of Sevastopol. In return, Russia said it would cut the price of natural gas that it sold to Ukraine by roughly 30 percent, helping to bolster Ukraine’s shaky finances."
Ukraine Woos Russia With Lease Deal
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
APRIL 21, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/world/europe/22ukraine.html
1
We own it fair and square.
So if we just pulled out 50 years ago, Fidel would have been a nice guy running a new democracy, instead of becoming the brutal murderer he turned out to be?
This establishes the US as an unreliable partner, for all the world to see. Congratulations.
100
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
15
A shame that President Trump didn't speak about the occupation of Guantanamo Bay "naval refueling station" in eastern Cuba, today, when he
rolled back President Obama's Cuba initiative Trump praised his erstwhile and terrible competitor for the Presidential nod, Marco Rubio (whom he called "Little Marco" only a year ago). He called Obama's Cuban legacy a very "bad deal", and as he promised his knuckle-dragging loyalists, he would disappear Obama's deal with Cuba. Colonialism is the name of Trump's game in Cuba, no matter the white wash he is applying to his fenced-in
American base in Gitmo. Trump can't handle the truth.
rolled back President Obama's Cuba initiative Trump praised his erstwhile and terrible competitor for the Presidential nod, Marco Rubio (whom he called "Little Marco" only a year ago). He called Obama's Cuban legacy a very "bad deal", and as he promised his knuckle-dragging loyalists, he would disappear Obama's deal with Cuba. Colonialism is the name of Trump's game in Cuba, no matter the white wash he is applying to his fenced-in
American base in Gitmo. Trump can't handle the truth.
47
I will continue to travel to Cuba on on beach vacations and enjoy drinking Cuban rum here at home no matter what Trumpus says or demands. I visit Cuba anytime I want.
The U.S. boycott is against U.S. tourists, U.S. business interests and Cuban expats. 60% of Cuba's tourism is Canadian and Canadians were extremely upset about Cuba's opening to U.S. tourists. Hopefully we'll be safe again from the possibility of a U.S. tourist invasion plague.
See "Cuba’s Fans in Canada Anxiously Picture an Island Awash in Americans"
The New York Times, by Ian Austen, Dec. 18, 2014
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/world/americas/cubas-fans-in-canada-a...
And yes, unfortunately I am still a U.S. citizen, though, hopefully, not much longer. I'm due to become fully Canadian shortly.
The failed draconian U.S Cuban embargo works against U.S. travelers and investors, more so than against Cuba, which has prospered immensely in spite of it over the last 10 to 15 years.
The Art of the Deal, Mr. Trump? Go see. You lose!
"I have no further use for America. I wouldn't go back there if Jesus Christ was President." ~ CHARLIE CHAPLIN