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CounterPunch
February
19, 2003
Cuba's View of Bush's
War on Terrorism
An
Interview with Cuban Vice President Ricardo Alarcon
by SAUL LANDAU
On January 25, 2003, Cuban Vice President
Ricardo Alarcon granted me an interview.
SAUL LANDAU: You've observed the Bush
war on terrorism. Is it working?
RICARDO ALARCON: Terrorism is a real
problem that has to be effectively answered and the American
strategy since 9/11 is not eliminating terrorism. It's waging
war and killing people. Maybe among some of those killed from
the bombs were terrorists, but it's simply false to pretend that
by promoting more violence and disseminating violence all over
the world you are really attacking the sources of violence and
terrorism. It's a real tragedy.
On the other hand, there's a legal obligation
for every state to cooperate bilaterally, at the sub-regional,
regional, and multilateral level in accordance with UN Security
Council resolutions that were drafted and introduced by the U.S.
delegation. It has to be obeyed by every UN member. Cuba is a
member of the UN. So is the U.S. The resolution adopted on September
28, I think, after 9/11 specifically asked for concerted efforts
by agreement, bilateral, regional, and sub-regional, to fight
terrorism, drug trafficking and to fight other forms of transnational
crimes. The <U.S.-drafted> resolution adopted by the UN
Security Council clearly established the connection between those
phenomenon.
And we know that they are well connected.
We have the Cuban Five. Five Cubans were detained in the U.S.,
condemned and sentenced to very harsh terms. During the judicial
process it was clearly documented, first that terrorist activities
are launched from southern Florida against Cuba. Second, that
some of those active are also connected with drug trafficking.
Third, that those activities not only affect Cuba, but also,
even the U.S. and its citizens and its property. Some of those
Cubans arrested were also cooperating with the FBI and at their
request they tried to verify not only the terrorist activities
in which some of those groups in Miami were involved, but also
their involvement in drug trafficking.
In 1998, a group of people were caught
in Puerto Rico, en route to Margarita Island, where they were
planning to assassinate President Castro who was attending an
international conference there. After they were acquitted, the
owner of the boat was taken back into custody because he was
under investigation for drug trafficking in the same boat, using
the same weapons that they intended to use kill Fidel Castro.
LANDAU: Didn't some Cubans skyjack a
plane and fly it to Florida about a month ago? What happened
to them...and the airplane?
ALARCON: The Cubans are free. I think
that was a clear violation of international law and of the agreement
that we have with the U.S. But it goes beyond that. What actually
happened? Somebody entered into U.S. airspace without authorization,
without flight plans. Suppose that guy would have been an Al
Qaeda terrorist! Is it alright in southern Florida to enter U.S.
airspace without authorization? And because you're a Cuban you
will be not punished but gratified with admission and freedom
to move around? I think that Americans should make an issue of
that and remember that it was also in Florida that a young American
boy took a small plane and crashed it into a tall building in
Tampa; somebody crazy enough to try to imitate what happened
on 9/11. A small plane may also be used as a small weapon, to
kill people and damage property. Can you take a small plane and
fly it over Washington D.C. and New York City now?
But Miami is another country. You can
do whatever you want in southern Florida. Why? Because you have
an area of U.S. territory under the control of a group of terrorists
that have been plotting terrorism against Cuba with official
support from the U.S. for 40 years. The plane was not returned
to Cuba. I think it was auctioned, that's the word, and somebody
bought the plane.
Things in Dade County, Miami, would surprise,
astonish, Americans living in other parts of your country. It's
the only place where you can plot terrorism against Cuba, of
course, and get U.S. government support. These days security
is so important an issue, the leaders of your government are
scaring people all over; yet, at the same time they permit lawlessness
and absence of security in the segregated republic of Dade County
where you can do anything apparently with U.S. government backing
if your effort is aimed at destroying Cuba. The goal of the mafia
living in Miami is to recapture Cuba.
Terrorism and violence, crimes against
Cuba, have been part and parcel of U.S. policy for almost half
a century. Now, unfortunately, Americans have learned for the
first time what terrorism is, organized and promoted from abroad.
We condemn that. There's no justification for 9/11. But the only
honest, effective answer would be to have a U.S. policy that
instead of promoting war, instead of tolerating and promoting
terrorism right now against Cuba, that actually and consistently
opposes all forms and manifestations of terrorism from any where
in the world, including the U.S. territory.
Turning back to the case of the 5 Cubans,
that was a disgrace. They were condemned for trying to fight
terrorism in your country. It's a disgrace that nobody in the
big media in the U.S. even mentioned what happened on 12/14/01
and repeated on 12/27/01, when a court in Dade County sentenced
2 of those Cubans, U.S. citizens by birth. The judge imposed
on 3 of them the harshest sentence possible and he added additional
special conditions, and I quote, "for their supervised release
the day they serve their sentence."
They were prohibited from visiting places
in Miami where it's known that real terrorists frequent. Look
at the contradiction, just three months after 9/11, the Attorney
General and Federal Judge recognized that there are terrorists
in your country. And it's known where they are. No one arrests
them. On the contrary, at the request of the government federal
courts are prohibiting U.S. citizens not to dare pretend to be
around or do anything against those terrorists.
The U.S. does not fulfill its obligations
to fight terrorism. It's protecting terrorists. The most quoted
phrase by President Bush or ever repeated by him refers to the
same idea every time he speaks.
"Those who harbor a terrorist are
as guilty as the terrorist himself." Agreed! Is the U.S.
government innocent or guilty of protecting terrorists? Can you
at the same time be effective in fighting terrorism in this war?
LANDAU: Do you think if the anti-Castro
terrorists had an "Abu" or "Bin" in their
name it might have made a difference?
ALARCON: (laughs) Maybe.
LANDAU: I remember, more than 30 years
ago when planes were being hijacked to Cuba from the U.S. and
the Cuban government said we won't accept anymore of this and
that stopped the hijackings. I can't recall any planes that have
been hijacked to Cuba recently, but there are regularly Cubans
who hijack planes to the U.S. Do you think that the U.S. doesn't
understand that this sets a precedent?
ALARCON: 30 years ago we kept telling
Americans that you're playing with fire. The hijackings began,
from Cuba to U.S. The first hijacking was on January 1, 1959.
The Batista people that escaped and landed in your country by
plane or boat without visas, passports and authorization, yet
all of them were warmly received by U.S. authorities. That was
the beginning of this whole story. Then commercial planes were
hijacked from Cuba to the U.S., using violence. We always said
this was creating a new form of international crime and that
was the case.
So, Americans started doing the same
thing the other way. We stopped that. We said this is wrong and
we won't admit anyone and we will punish you. On one occasion,
a plane was hijacked by 2 Cuban Americans and we returned the
plane to the U.S. as we always did.
Since that moment, no more planes came
from the United States to Cuba. Lately, we have a series of hijackings
of small planes and boats from Cuba and the US fails to return
them, the perpetrators or planes. They are repeating history.
That was the way the hijackings began in the 60s. Probably, there
aren't many people in the administration who read books and who
would find the facts of how that terrorism was developed in the
60s and 70s. They are again playing with fire, using double standards
and displaying irresponsibility, a lack of maturity and rational
approach to the way an official should behave.
We have a different ideology, different
political perceptions, but people in government must have a sense
of responsibility. If not, go into private life. Nobody has the
obligation to be president, the secretary of something or attorney
general. You must pledge allegiance to respect certain principles
of the constitution and law. If you can't, go manage your own
business. But you should not be a person with responsibilities.
And that's a big problem with the U.S. government.
LANDAU: Are you suggesting that Washington
officials have memorized only the first three words of the old
Christian adage: do unto others?
ALARCON: (laughs) It's important not
to rewrite history. 9/11 was when Allende was overthrown and
killed. Airplanes also attacked buildings in Santiago, including
La Moneda palace. And from that moment, thousands of Chileans
were killed, tortured, disappeared and so on. And it was well
known that the U.S. was not innocent in that. The U.S. was very
committed and guilty of that big crime.
It's an insult to Latin Americans to
talk about 9/11 like it never happened before. 9/11 was a terrible
crime against a people. Neither 9/11 1973 or 2001 could be justified.
9/11/80 was also the day when a friend of mine, Felix Garcia,
was assassinated in Queens, New York by a Cuban American terrorist.
The assassin is living in Miami today, probably walking around
having some Cuban coffee. I can give you his address.
It's simply shocking that in your country
right now in its big war against terrorism, you have convicted
terrorists who have killed Americans in downtown D.C. [referring
to Virgilio Paz and Jose Dionisio Suarez who pled guilty to conspiring
to assassinate by a car bomb Orlando Letelier. Letelier's American
colleague, Ronni Moffitt, also died in the blast, organized by
the Chilean secret police] or NYC or Miami that are free. Those
people were freed by Attorney General Ashcroft in July and August
2001. They watched TV on 9/11 as free men and didn't have any
concern that they could be taken into custody for questioning
because they know that they belong to terrorist activities that
will continue to have support from the same government.
LANDAU: I believe even the FBI opposed
the release of Dionioso Suarez and Virgilio Paz.
ALARCON: Weren't they invited to the
Bush speech on May 20 in Miami? I don't know. I read a story
that Orlando Bosch was among the guests of honor that appeared
very close to President Bush on the front row. Apparently, some
White House advisor realized that it would be a little too much
if he smiled and shook hands with the most notorious terrorist
according to the FBI. Mr. Bosch was not in the front row, but
was transferred to the front row of the gallery and could be
seen in the media coverage. And I understand that Mr. Aquit [refers
to Reynaldo Sixto Aquit Manrique, aka El Chino Aquit, arrested
while pouring gasoline on a Miami warehouse in 1994] was on then
platform with Bush, a man with a terrible history of terrorist
actions, just two rows behind the President. Some of those people
had not only committed crimes against Cuba but also against Americans
on U.S. soil.
These perpetrators have special connections.
Not everybody can attend the special gathering or drink with
the President. Those who harbor the terrorists are as guilty
as the terrorist himself? What about those who harbor and embrace
and get together and have dinner together and have drinks with
the terrorists?
LANDAU: Aren't these also the people
who continue to support the embargo?
ALARCON: The embargo has consequences
for Cubans and also affects Americans who are denied their right
to travel to Cuba. They can travel to North Korea, not to Havana,
because there's a travel ban against Cuba. Americans are denied
their right to trade with Cuba. It's in the interest of American
farmers and others to have normal commercial relations with Cuba,
as is the right of American students to go to Cuba, those who
love movies, to come to the Latin Film Festival, or those who
love jazz to attend one of best jazz festivals or book fairs
in Latin America. Why should Americans be deprived of certain
rights because the government wants to serve the interests of
a small, aggressive mafia that wants to recover Cuba and their
property?
LANDAU: The justification for the embargo
and travel ban is to punish Fidel. Has he missed a meal?
ALARCON: (laughs) No. Those who suffer
are the elderly, children, and women about to deliver babies.
But many Cuban Americans know that, that's why tens of thousands
of them travel to Cuba and send remittances to help their families.
The only group that is narrow and small minded and that don't
care are the rich Cuban Americans who don't care if an old lady
dies for lack of a particular medicine or if a little boy suffers
from malnutrition in Havana or in Miami, where by the way, people
also suffer for other reasons. They want to go back to the good
old days for them when they lived well in Cuba while our population
were starving and suffering at that time.
Saul Landau
is the Director of Digital Media and International Outreach Programs
for the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, California
State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His new film, IRAQ: VOICES
FROM THE STREETS, is available through The Cinema Guild. 1-800-723-5522.
He can be reached at: landau@counterpunch.org.
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