By Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, Red DH
Much has been said and will be said about the grotesque show that took place in Miami on June 16 and the lies and threats against Cuba there pronounced. Trump’s speech, incoherent and clumsy like all of his, made at least two things clear: he will do all he can to harden US policy toward Cuba, canceling the timid steps that his predecessor had taken and [the fact that] the current President is an irremediable liar.
It is customary there in the North to mix politics with spectacle, information with entertainment, even if, as in this case, in terrible taste. For those who look at it from the outside, a good dose of Cartesian doubt is advisable and prudence is necessary to avoid being confused. Especially if it’s about what someone says like the quirky occupant of the White House.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a tireless fighter for justice and civil rights, was right to reject Trump’s speech. She stressed the importance of fighting to prevent specific regulations which would translate the presidential directive into mandatory rules that are even more damaging to peoples of the two countries. There, on that very day, there was evident proof of the correctness of her concern.
In his speech, Trump announced that he would issue a new executive order to replace the one already repealed that had guided Obama’s policy in its last two years. There in front of everyone, he added his signature to the document that appears on the official site of the White House, but which nobody read.
What he said does not correspond exactly with what he signed and the latter is what counts, because it has legal force and will guide the conduct of his administration. The contrast is evident, for example, in the case of remittances many Cubans on the island receive from their relatives residing in the United States. According to the speaker in Miami, such remittances would continue and would not be affected.
But right there, in the same act, without hiding, he signed an order that says exactly the opposite. On this issue of remittances, the document entitled “Presidential Memorandum for the Strengthening of The United States Policy towards Cuba,” which Trump signed and which was publicized by the White House. The fine print states that there would be millions of Cubans living on the island who would not be allowed to receive remittances.
In Section III, subsection (D), the definition of “prohibited officials of the Government of Cuba” is now extended to cover not only the leaders of the Cuban State and Government, but its officers and employees, the military and civilian workers of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the cadres of the CTC, of the trade unions, and the Defense Committees of the Revolution. Professor William M. Leogrande estimates that this would be more than one million families.
Trump boasted that he would drop all Obama’s moves and he probably intends to do so.
But he knows that this contradicts the interests and opinions of some business sectors linked to the Republican Party and that is why he hides behind aggressive rhetoric and often undecipherable jargon. With regard to the issue of Cubans and remittances he had no choice but to use his favorite weapon: the lie.
We must now see how they write and apply this new order that seeks to punish the Cuban population as a whole.
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann.
The Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) expresses its strongest condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Tuesday, June 27, against Venezuelan government facilities such as the Supreme Court of Justice and the Ministry of Popular Power for Internal Relations, Justice and Peace.
This hostile act against democratic institutionality could have very unfortunate consequences for the physical integrity of the people who were inside both headquarters and puts the lives of innocent people at risk.
How is it possible that, in the face of such arrogance and terrorist plans, in collusion with the American intelligence services and the sick Venezuelan opposition, the main means of communication at the service of the interests of imperialism are not now speaking up? Why is it that now, organizations such as the OAS do not raise a concern and remain in absolute silence? How can we understand the double standards of some governments that condemn terrorist acts that take place in the world and do not speak out at this moment?
Every terrorist demonstration deserves the strongest condemnation on the part of the international community struggling for a world of peace. Our region has had this imprint since the Second Summit of CELAC in Havana, and we can not allow any reason to jeopardize the sovereignty, peaceful coexistence between our states and much less to break democratic institutionality in our region. The defense of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace must be a permanent commitment.
This extremist act, as well as all counterrevolutionary actions against Simón Bolívar’s homeland and its eternal leader Hugo Chávez Frías, including the cruelest crimes against sympathizers of the Bolivarian Government. It’s part of the escalation that the most reactionary groups of the Venezuelan opposition to frustrate the Latin American emancipatory process and to force down a government that was anointed by the sovereign will of its people in elections also validated also by international organizations.
The Bolivarian Government has gone through all manner of economic, political, media, conspiracy and diplomatic actions, now faces terrorist actions that constitute a serious danger to the security of the country. It tries, by all means, to provoke military intervention. This is certainly one of the main objectives of the effort to overthrow the constitutional government.
This new escalation, aimed at violating citizen security, has cost the lives of 79 children of the brave Venezuelan people.
OSPAAAL reaffirms the strongest solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution, its leaders and its people who remain in the struggle and at the same time reject the armed attacks perpetrated against government institutions. Also, there repeated calls for military coups, looting, and violence by opposition sectors with the objective of undermining the civic-military unity in the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Once again we reaffirm the commitment that the sister Bolivarian nation will be able to count on us at this difficult stage, convinced that peace and reason will be imposed against the hatred and destabilizing plans of the fascist right.
Stop the pressures!
Stop interfering in the internal affairs of Venezuela!
Long live the civic-military unit!
Long live Peace!
Venezuela is not alone!
For a decisive victory in the National Constituent Assembly, WE WILL WIN!
International Executive Secretariat
Havana, June 30, 2017
CubaNews translation and editing by Walter Lippmann.
La Organización de Solidaridad de los Pueblos de África, Asia y América Latina (OSPAAAL) manifiesta su más enérgica condena ante los atentados terroristas del pasado martes 27 de junio contra instalaciones gubernamentales venezolanas como el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia y el Ministerio del Poder Popular para las Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz.
Este acto hostil contra la institucionalidad democrática pudo tener consecuencias muy lamentables para la integridad física de las personas que se encontraban en el interior de ambas sedes y pone en riesgo la vida de personas inocentes.
¿Cómo es posible que ante tal arrogancia y planes terroristas, en contubernio con los servicios de inteligencia norteamericanos y la enfermiza oposición venezolana, no se pronuncien ahora los principales medios de comunicación al servicio de los intereses del imperialismo? ¿Por qué ahora, organismos como la OEA no levantan una vos condenatoria y se quedan en el más absoluto silencio? ¿Cómo entender la doble moral de algunos gobiernos que condenan actos terroristas que tienen lugar en el mundo y no se pronuncien en estos momentos?
Toda manifestación terrorista merece la más enérgica condena por parte de la comunidad internacional que lucha denodadamente por un mundo de paz. Nuestra región tiene ese sello desde la II Cumbre de la CELAC de La Habana y no podemos permitir por ninguna razón que se ponga en peligro la soberanía, la coexistencia pacífica entre nuestros Estados y mucho menos se quebrante la institucionalidad democrática en nuestra región. La defensa de América Latina y el Caribe como región de Paz debe ser un compromiso permanente.
Este acto extremista, así como todas las acciones contrarrevolucionarias contra la Patria de Simón Bolívar y del líder eterno Hugo Chávez Frías, incluso los más crueles crímenes contra simpatizantes del Gobierno Bolivariano, forman parte de la escalada que los grupos más reaccionarios de la oposición venezolana llevan adelante para frustrar el proceso emancipador latinoamericano y derribar por la fuerza a un gobierno que fue ungido por la voluntad soberana de su pueblo en elecciones validadas también por organismos internacionales.
El Gobierno Bolivariano ha pasado por todo, acciones económicas, políticas, mediáticas, conspirativas y diplomáticas, ahora, enfrenta acciones terroristas que constituyen un serio peligro para la seguridad del país y que trata por todos los medios de que se produzca una intervención militar, que es a ciencia cierta uno de los principales objetivos para derrocar al Gobierno constitucional.
Esta nueva escalada dirigida a quebrantar la seguridad ciudadana ha costado la vida de 79 hijos del bravo pueblo venezolano.
La OSPAAAL reitera la más firme solidaridad con la Revolución Bolivariana, sus líderes y su pueblo que se mantienen en pie de lucha y al propio tiempo rechaza los ataques armados perpetrados contra las instituciones gubernamentales, así como los reiterados llamados a golpes militares, saqueos y violencia por parte de sectores opositores con el objetivo de socavar la unidad cívico-militar en la hermana República Bolivariana de Venezuela.
Una vez más reafirmamos el compromiso de que la hermana nación bolivariana podrá contar con nosotros en esta etapa difícil, convencidos de que la paz y la razón se impondrán contra el odio y los planes desestabilizadores de la derecha fascista.
¡Cesen las presiones!
¡Cesen las intromisiones en los asuntos internos de Venezuela!
¡Viva la unidad cívico-militar!
¡Viva la Paz!
¡Venezuela no está sola!
¡Por una victoria contundente en la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, VENCEREMOS!
Secretariado Ejecutivo Internacional
La Habana, 30 de junio de 2017
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