All Chavez, all the time

President in waiting, Nicolas Maduro: "Chavez, Chavez, Chavez..."

Biggest winners tonight

Cuba dodged a bullet tonight that would have resulted in a major shock to its economy not felt since the Período especial that was dropped on the island like a Steinway piano in 1991.

Panderer

Paul Ryan goes to Little Havana. From the Miami Herald:

"The Republican vice presidential candidate did not mention that he once opposed the U.S. trade embargo against the island, but he pointed to his change of heart — prompted by Miami’s current and former Cuban-American Republicans in Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.

“They’ve given me a great education — lots of us in Congress — about how we need to clamp down on the Castro regime,” Ryan told supporters at the Versailles restaurant. “We will be tough on Castro, tough on Chávez.”

Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, has voted against the embargo at least three times. The Midwest tends to see trade opportunities in agriculture with Cuba."

Only in South Florida...

Miami Marlins (when did they drop 'Florida' from their name?) skipper Ozzie Guillen expresses admiration & 'love' for Fidel Castro to a TIME reporter, gets suspended 5 games.

Hugo Chavez Pulls A Steve Jobs

After an abnormally long stay in Cuba, and plenty of denying and spinning, Hugo Chavez admitted last night that he is being treated for cancer. In his speech, he did not say when he'll be returning to Venezuela or much else of anything specific.

It's important to point out that he plans to stand for reelection next year and that the opposition is desperately attempting to coalesce around the strongest candidate. Because Chavez's "revolution" is so tightly wed to the jefe himself, Venezuela is on a bit of a stand still at present. The word is that nobody seems to know much of anything.

As Venezuela's political culture is incredibly dense, bordering on the surreal, the best I can do here is recommend "Caracas Chronicles." A great blog with a clear opposition stance, but sharp in its analysis and criticism of all sides.

Get this Article to the President

The Economist, of all publications, has suggested a solution to the Posada Carriles issue that would send the admitted terrorist to Venezuela to face trial in exchange for the USAID subcontractor, Alan Gross. Gross was sentenced in Cuba last month to 15 years in prison for delivering video phones to the island's Jewish community. President Jimmy Carter returned from Havana empty-handed shortly after his conviction.

The article doesn't address the all but certain certain fallout in Little Havana, where Elián pt. II could ensue, but does point out that the initial extradition order issued by Venezuela was blocked by a Florida judge for specious reasons. The judge cited fear of torture in Venezuela, which the author claims, despite its many other problems, doesn't have a significant track record of torture.   

The Cubana flight 455 that Posada Carriles has admitted to bombing was headed from Barbados to Jamaica, could President Obama broker a deal where one of these two nations would put him on trial?

A Terrorist's Homecoming: Little Havana & Luis Posada Carriles

Recently acquitted of lying to immigration officials about his admitted role in a string of deadly 1997 bombings targeting Cuba's tourism industry, Luis Posada Carriles, returned victorious to the cradle of anti-Castro hysteria this week, Miami's Little Havana. There, members of the old-guard community feted him and raised money for his legal bills at the Big Five Club, a sort of Cuban social club and banquet hall. He was even congratulated by the latest in a long line of Cuban-American militant members of Congress from South Florida, David Rivera (whose life, by the way, reads like a soap opera).

Posada Carriles has been in the mercenary trade for decades as sort of an ideological mirror image to Che Guevara. He was briefly jailed after the revolution and took up arms against Castro during the Bahia de Cochinos invasion, though he didn't come under fire. Strangely enough, that invasion took place 50 years ago this week. Posada Carriles then spent the next 40 years directing anti-Castro and anti-communist activities across Latin America, including as the mastermind of the Cubana flight 455 bombing, which killed 73. He confessed as much to the excellent Cuba reporter Ann Louise Bardach, who told his story in his own words in Cuba Confidential, her wild ride through Miami's exile community and its sad history with the old man and the island they left behind.

Posada Carriles is a man who has caught plenty of lucky breaks. By his own account, he has survived a couple of assassination attempts and he's escaped justice in Venezuela and Panama. His acquittal last week in El Paso on lying to the feds focuses a glaring light on the fact that the US has never tried him for the bombings themselves. The Justice Dept. shouldn't close the case on Posada Carriles. The man who boasted to Bardach that he sleeps, "like a baby," ought to be held accountable. For the integrity of our own justice system and to show Latin America that we can take steps towards dismantling our double-standard on the rule of law, Posada Carriles shouldn't be allowed to become the elder statesman of Little Havana.

Cuba Travel Deferred

It appeared, for a brief moment, this summer that lifting the travel ban on US citizens to Cuba might just be the legislative dark horse in this feeble Democratic-led Congress and make it through. Not so after all. Howard Berman, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, had this to say:

"For a very long time, I have either led or supported efforts to repeal restrictions on the freedom of Americans to travel. The current prohibition on Americans traveling to Cuba is the last obstacle to the full enjoyment of this right. I strongly support H.R.4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which would eliminate the Cuba travel restrictions.

"The Committee had been scheduled to consider this legislation tomorrow, but it now appears that Wednesday will be the last day that Congress is in session before an extended district work period. That makes it increasingly likely that our discussion of the bill will be disrupted or cut short by votes or other activity on the House floor. Accordingly, I am postponing consideration of H.R. 4645 until a time when the Committee will be able to hold the robust and uninterrupted debate this important issue deserves. I firmly believe that when we debate and vote on the merits of this legislation, and I intend for it to be soon, the right to travel will be restored to all Americans."

They'll get another chance after the midterms, but don't hold your breath. Until then, most of us will have to observe from afar how "privatization" or as it's known in Granma, "the great victory of socialism", plays out on the island.

The Castro Brothers Losing Their Religion

Perestroika or the Chinese model, wherein capital markets are stoked but democratization is staunched? And can the microscopic private sector absorb half a million people anyway?

Musica para animarse

It's been a difficult couple of months across the Americas. Chile confronts bouts of social breakdown that it believed its economic progress had inoculated it from, Cuban dissidents suffer stepped up repression, and Bogota endured a major transit strike. It's a really good time for some music. All week long, Armar una Bronca will feature music from across the region. Hope you enjoy.

First up is Beken from Haiti.

As Haitians tries to imagine a way forward, one of its most beloved troubadours recently picked up his guitar for the first time since the earthquake. “Beken usually sold best after a hurricane,” an admirer said, referring to the singer. “But since the earthquake, demand for his music is the strongest in years, the customers love the way he sings about suffering.”

His music can be heard here, courtesy of the NYT.

WOLA and LAWG call Zapata's death "a tragedy", "indefensible"

The Washington Office on Latin America and the Latin American Working Group have now each issued statements criticizing the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo at the hands of the Cuban state on February 23. From WOLA:

"The death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo is a horrible tragedy. Mr. Zapata should not have been in prison. The Cuban government should not criminalize peaceful political activity or those who defend human rights. Prison authorities should have recognized his deteriorating health, and responded." 

and LAWG:

"This tragic death, and the continuing practice of detaining opposition voices in Cuba, calls us even more strongly to change U.S. policy toward Cuba. We look forward to a time when U.S. citizens and Cuban citizens may freely associate, traveling to one another’s countries without restriction from either government."

It is good for policy organizations who advocate for an end to the travel ban and el bloqueo, as does Armar una Bronca, to forcefully, frequently and publicly call on the Cuban regime to respect human rights, democratize, and free prisoners of conscience. This robs parties opposed to US-Cuban dialogue the space to criticize steps taken towards closer relations.

Dolor de la madre del fallecido

From Generacion Y:

This afternoon, hours after the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Reinaldo and I were able to approach the Department of Legal Medicine, where autopsies are performed, in Boyeros Street.

A cordon of men from State Security were watching the place, but we managed to approach Reina, the mother of the deceased, and ask her the questions in the recording posted here.

Pain, indignation in our case…sadness and fortitude in hers.  Here is the recording, amateur and in very low light, but the heartbreaking testimony of an anguished mother.

English transcript of Yoani Sanchez video interview of Reina Tamayo, mother of Orlando Zapata Tamayo

Yoani Sanchez: We are here to express our condolences. We would like to know at what time did he pass away, what do you know about his last minutes, what are your feelings right now, and what is going to happen after he is released by the coroner?

Reina Luisa Tamayo Dangier: I am Reina Luisa Tamayo Dangier, the mother of prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo who was interned in the hospital of the Habana del Este Prison. Last night he was moved to the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital where he passed away at 3:00 PM.

I can tell you I feel a horrible pain, but I am holding on, enduring through this pain. I was able to be at his side until he passed away and now hope to have the courage to dress my son Orlando Zapata Tamayo.

We will leave for Banes, Holguin Province, Embarcadero road, house number six, where we will hold the wake before our family altar, at my home, for as long as required.

I want to tell the world about my pain. I think my son’s death was a premeditated murder. My son was tortured throughout his incarceration. His plight has brought me great pain and has been excruciating for the entire family. Even, as he was transferred to this prison, he was first held in Camaguey without drinking water for 18 days. My son dies after an 86-day hunger strike. He is another Pedro Boitel for Cuba. [Pedro Luis Boitel died in 1972 during a hunger strike while serving a 10-year prison sentence in Cuba]

In the midst of deep pain, I call on the world to demand the freedom of the other prisoners and brothers unfairly sentenced so that what happened to my boy, my second child, who leaves behind no physical legacy, no child or wife, does not happen again. Thank you!

Cuban Dissident, Orlando Zapata, Dies in Jail

A Cuban dissident has died after a hunger strike lasting 86 days. Orlando Zapata had been imprisoned since the so-called Black Spring of March 2003 when over 75 dissidents were rounded up and given lengthy sentences under summary trials. Raul Castro called the death lamentable and uttered some unintelligible accusations against the US while his security forces surrounded the home of the fallen activist threatening to arrest anyone attempting to visit the family. Government officials who transported the body to his hometown of Banes insisted that he be buried immediately but his family refused. His funeral will occur on Thursday.

Particularly galling was the response from pro-government lackey, Enrique Ubieta, who wrote on Cubadebate that Zapata was a, "common prisoner-with a long rap sheet not at all connected to politics," and that Zapata's cadaver is "now cynically exhibited as a trophy."

Tristeza: Ernesto Bazan's Images of Cuba

No old Buicks here.

Lost for 47 Years, Cuba's Postal Service Finally Delivers Invitation to OAS Bash

President Obama was largely unsuccessful in convincing Republicans to vote for the stimulus and Europeans turned down his request for more boots on the ground in Afghanistan but it appears he's inspired the OAS to reach a comprise on Cuba's membership into the organization. Hey, if they were going to do it anyway, why not try to make sure it doesn't stymie his trickiest policy initiative in the hemisphere, right?

...Had Ortega dozed off?

The ball is now in the Castro brothers court.