Barack Obama is making history this week by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the island of Cuba in nearly nine decades. This despite the fact that when Obama ran for president in 2008, he insistedthat normalizing relations with Cuba would require the “liberation of all political prisoners and some basic steps toward freedom, including freedom of the press, political parties, labor unions, etc.”
Sadly, none of this happened. Yet normalization efforts with the Communist island continue apace.
The White House is portraying the visit as a way to bolster freedom, prosperity and democracy on the island. But here are five reasons why the president’s visit are not our country’s best interests:
1
Cuba Provides Safe Refuge to American Fugitives
Cuba Provides Safe Refuge to American Fugitives
Precise numbers are scarce, but there is no denying that Cuba has been providing refuge to American fugitives for decades. According to Ana Quintana, Policy Analyst for Latin America at the Heritage Foundation, among the fugitives living on the island include Guillermo Morales, a member of a Puerto Rican separatist group who tried to bomb a U.S. military installation, and JoAnne Chesimard, a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who was convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper.
2
Cuba’s Chummy Relationship with North Korea
Cuba’s Chummy Relationship with North Korea
A few years ago, a routine inspection at the Panama Canal uncovered a Cuban Hellfire missile bound for North Korea. The Cuban government later tried to play down the discovery, saying that the missile wasobsolete and was headed to North Korea for routine repairs. It’s more likely that Cuba was trying to help the Hermit Kingdom evade U.N. sanctions. During a recent visit to Havana, North Korea’s foreign minister conveyed a message from Kim Jong-Un that he looks forward “to expand[ing] and strengthen [ing]” the excellent relations between the two countries.
By the way, North Korea is the same country that celebrates “Hate America” month.
3
Cuba is BFFs with Iran
Cuba is BFFs with Iran
As if being close to North Korea weren’t bad enough, Cuba is also friendly with Iran — the same country that does not recognize the state of Israel and whose supreme leader recently took to Twitter to call for itsannihilation.. There are reports that Iran is working with Venezuela to export its vicious ideology to the Western Hemisphere by strengthening ties with Cuba.
4
Turning a Blind Eye to Attacks on Religious Freedom
Turning a Blind Eye to Attacks on Religious Freedom
According to Cato Institute senior fellow Doug Bandow, Cuba has been ramping up its attacks on churches and believers of all faiths and denominations. Citing a report by the Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Bandow recounts how “there were 220 specific violations of religious liberties in 2014, but 2,300 last year,” many of which “involved entire churches or, in the cases of arrests, dozens of victims.”
By visiting the communist island, Obama is legitimizing the same Communist regime that is systematically persecuting people of faith and terrorizing places of worship.
5
Cuba’s Human Rights Abuses Are Absolutely Awful
Cuba’s Human Rights Abuses Are Absolutely Awful
Like the attacks on religious freedom, independent observers, including Human Rights Watch portray a vicious picture when it comes to human rights on the Communist island. According to a recent report: “The Cuban government continues to repress dissent and discourage public criticism. While in recent years it has relied less on long-term prison sentences to punish its critics, short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and other critics have increased dramatically.”
In fact, just a few short months ago, the Castro regime imprisoned around 100 peaceful protesters in the island on Human Rights Day. The imagesare chilling.
It is sad that one of the lasting legacies of the Obama administration will be to help prop up a Communist regime that embodies the opposite of all America holds dear, including human rights, religious freedom, democracy and economic freedom.
***Israel Ortega is a Senior Writer for Opportunity Lives. You can follow him on Twitter @IzzyOrtega.
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