CUBAN EXILE How democratic are they?
The first wave
The Cuban "exiles" which have existed since the triumph of the revolution in 1959, have always been, as they are quick to point out victims of the Castro regime. These poor "victims" have been lurking around for more than 40 years in Washington getting political favors, perks and lobbying for their cause. For many years they have been given easy access to credit and grants; and have received 100s of millions of dollars of our tax money to pretty much use as they please - money which they have used to buy off politicians and fund campaigns of those who favor their "cause". They have used this money to buy off politicians as is the case of NJ Sen. Robert Torricelli, and Indiana Sen. Burton, with the latter, for example, receiving twice as much campaign money from the CANF than from his constituents. Of course a great deal of this money has gone into the exile's pockets.
Just as Washington has given them more or less a free reign, so has the U.S. press given them it's full support and a free reign. It is not uncommon to see on television a round table on Cuba consisting of exiles and moderators all puking out the same view points and lines; shows with very little dialogue and with basically little or no dissent ; without exception the deck is usually stacked against the other side of the coin and in favor of the exiles. The media constantly portrays Cuba and it's leaders as evil, while portraying the exile as the good guys, the decent folks, the poor victims. This in spite of the media's and Washington's knowledge of the exile's past dark history of terrorism, graft and corruption. Let me ask you a simple question when was the last time you ever saw anything positive on Cuba in the media?
Even with the positive light given to the Cuban-American "exile", the real awakening for the American public as far as the exiles are concerned came with the Elian saga. For the first time the real exiles were exposed, their real faces were exposed. Their recalcitrance, that is their intolerance and belligerence came into full view of the world. To many and understandably so, the exile reactionary attitude in this cut and dry case of universal father child relations and rights, left a dank stain in the conscience of the American public. This attitude together with defying and extremist actions and the constant ranting of the exiles did not go well with the American public. The public got tired of the hysterics and the ranting of Maryislazy as she was called by some. The public was angered at seeing Lazaro and co. time after time defying the federal government, they were angered at seeing Cuban-American Mayor Corollo of Miami threatening not to enforce the law. In short the public simply got tired of the circus put on by the so called "family" and the CANF.
To understand the mentality of the exiles we must look at the first wave of Cuban immigrants. The first exodus of Cuban exiles came about after the triumph of the revolution on January 1, 1959. This first wave, can be characterized as the elite and semi elite, those well to do families and the upper middle class which were sucking the life out of the average Cuban on the island. They are the most recalcitrant of the exiles being the most ferociously anti Communist and pro American of the groups. Apart from the professional people, the doctors, the engineers which were in the minority - the avg. grade in Cuba was 4th grade - the exodus consisted mainly of Batista's followers, that element which had plundered Cuba and whose life revolved around the corruption and decay of the day, they were the corrupt senators and their sons, the union heads which had sold out the workers, those high priced hookers and their pimps, the casino owners and the gamblers, and those generals and would be generals who had murdered innocent people, and which with the victory of the rebel army knew that their time had run out. They ran out of Cuba, they ran as hyenas run in the presence of a lion - in this case a caballo, a horse named Fidel.
This scum found a new home in Miami, where they were welcomed with open arms, and in the name of freedom were given the liberty to set up shop, to practice what they knew best, corruption and graft, to make Miami what it is today a bankrupt city, a mirror image of yesterday's Cuba. A city where payoffs and political scandals are the order of the day, a city where you can get away with anything, even murder, as long as you are Cuban and anti Castro. How did Jorge Mas Canosa without being a great orator, without being a great thinker - if you ever heard him speak you would be amazed - amass a wealth estimated over 100 million dollars? Was it selling gasoline in a gas station? How did all those pretty banks in Miami come about? Were they built on banana profits? You always hear about the Colombian drug cartel. Did you ever see an article on the Miami Cuban drug trafficking? Don't you think a Cuban-American drug cartel exists? But they are untouchable. The only time I heard about drugs in Miami was when a Cuban-American was indicted for transporting 10 tons of cocaine on his boat. The outcome? He was set free by the Miami courts for "insufficient" evidence.
This first wave and their spawn are the dominant group in the "exile" community; they are the top dogs, they are the ones that unfortunately set U.S. policy against Cuba; and govern with an iron fist the exile community. They are the most recalcitrant, the most racist and the most dangerous in the exile community. They are the ones, who control the press and the local governments as is the case of Miami and Union City, NJ ; they set policies, decide what should be said and who can speak. They hand out contracts and political favors, as well as hand out punishment to those who get in the way of their interest. These people along with the numerous exile groups, among them terrorist organizations such as Alpha 66, Omega 7, not only set policies but make sure that they are enforced. They run local politics and life in general, like organized crime and as such they have been described by some as a mafia.
God forbid anyone who goes against them on any issue relating to Cuba. Even a small comment can cause you harm, as was the case when a member of the Bay of Pigs, in a Miami reunion in remembrance of those who lost their life in the invasion got his teeth knocked out because he suggested also a few seconds of silence for those Cubans who died on the other side. If someone in their own ranks can be punched out for an act of kindness, then this small incident reveals that they are capable of anything, and they are. Their obsessions and hatreds is such that it has led them to despicable acts of terrorism and violence, ranging from intimidation to outright murder.
The second wave, are those that Cuban immigrants that came after the wealthy, corrupt first wave - I would say more or less those who left in the 80's. These were not as well educated as the first wave people and for the most part came over for economic reasons, not for political reasons. This second wave who have little knowledge of Cuban history and past U.S. Cuban relations are easily persuaded and led on by the more savvy and politically corrupt first wave exiles. They are the ones who week after week go to meetings of exiles and cough up the little they earn for the "cause". Week after week the con artists of the exile take them for every penny they have, with the usual line that the day is finally coming, that Cuba will once again be according to their definition "free". Some of these second wave immigrants live from paycheck to paycheck. My family and I with all honesty belonged to this group. This group thinks that it has political power but in reality within the "exile" community they have very little.
Finally, the third wave, or the recent influx of Cuban immigrants, also came over for economic reasons. This group tends to be younger and having been born and raised under the revolution tends not to be so anticommunist as the other two groups. They are slightly more opened minded when it comes to U.S. - Cuba relations; some of them for example, favor a dialogue with Cuba. Unlike the earlier immigrants, which because of their hates do not travel to Cuba, they often travel to Cuba to see their loved ones. Most of the boat people in this group tend to be in the lower end of the social scale; they tend to be those who don't represent the best of Cuban society.
I had the opportunity in 95, on the coast of Havana, during the mass exodus of boat people to see and to speak with Cubans who were preparing their rafts to embark to the US. What was my reaction to this? My reaction was that the majority of the people leaving were mostly from the lower end of the social spectrum of Cuban society. The vulgarity, the choice of words and vocabulary used by this group of boat people convinced me of this. Men and women speaking and shouting obscenities at each other; and their children in their teens, some of them with tattoos, some of them puking out vulgarities, convinced me that those leaving were neither professionals nor the cream of Cuba. Furthermore, in the Havana neighborhood of my in-laws most of those that constructed the rafts and left were riffraff; those that had criminal records or were vagrants and/or local burglars.
Another thing that made me aware of the lowlife element that was leaving Cuba at that time was when I had an opportunity to speak, through an interpreter, to a mute. This mute who had worked at odd jobs had left Cuba illegally, and had been picked up and interned at the US base in Guantanamo. After a short time he decided to return to Cuba voluntarily. When I asked him why he had returned, he made motions which were indicated fighting and motions like smoking Marihuana and drug use. They were all confirmed by the interpreter - who by the way was his brother. In essence here is someone who could not take the conditions or what he saw in Guantanamo base, and decided to return voluntarily. By the way all the misinformation by the Cuban American Foundation, and specially the spokesperson Ninoska Perez that the Cuban govt. takes reprisal, is utterly false as no type of reprisal was taken against this individual.
Now, I'm not saying that all the boat people who left Cuba in 95 were delinquents, the worse of society - for I'm sure that some good people and some professional people left. What I am saying that most of them were not the best. Let me ask you the following: why did uncle Sam revise it's immigration laws at that time? Why were the laws changed so that any Cuban caught by the US coast guard would be sent back to Cuba? Why did the US intern this group in Guantanamo base? Why didn't uncle Sam welcome them with open arms? Don't you think if the majority of the boat people were professionals, doctors and engineers, they wouldn't have been welcomed with open arms? I would suspect that Washington knew exactly what type of people they were.
I've known a few in this group that came over to taste "paradise" as they have called it; and because of the hardship they have had to endure, regretted coming over. I've known a few that have asked to return. I know of one who sleeps on the stairs of our building. I met one who came on a raft in 83 then relocated to Detroit, where he worked for the automobile industry. Things were good until he was laid off because of a slow down in car sales. As he explained it after the benefits ran out he became desperate and as he put it, "I started to sell drugs so I could eat."
Finally, I would not hesitate to say that most the last wave of immigrants, from '90 to the present - with the exception of the '95 exodus - differ from the other groups in important issues concerning the island. They tend to be more flexible on issues concerning US-Cuba relations, that is, in such matters as the embargo and family visitations to Cuba. It keeps itself in the closet politically because they are afraid of harassment by those in power -the first wave, dominant group. A few from this group that I have spoken described the other exile Cubans as "locos" and chusmas - crazies and vulgar. As one told me, when I have asked why he didn't express his opinions against the embargo more freely, "Are you crazy? Those people are nuts." - referring to Miami Cubans, " As soon as I got to Miami I had problems because I had tapes of Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes" (Cuban musicians)..."What would happen if I said something (positive) about Cuba?"