How they see us: The U.S. seeks allies against Cuba

The Americans aren’t content merely to enact their own embargo against Cuba, said Nidia Diaz in Cuba’s Granma. Now they’re trying to enlist other countries in this war of economic aggression. Last week, President Bush called on the international community to join him in contributing to a multi-billion-dollar freedom fund that would help rebuild Cuba—according to Bush’s ideas, naturally, not those of the Cuban people. Of course, it wasn’t the first time the U.S. has tried to press other countries into its anti-Cuban crusade. Cuba has been facing enormous difficulties in its negotiations with third countries because of U.S. legislation that punishes international firms for doing business with us. Fortunately, most countries in the world cherish independence—and at the U.N., they consistently condemn the U.S. for its illegal economic blockade.

Mexico, at least, won’t submit to U.S. pressure, said Mexico’s La Jornada in an editorial. Bush’s request to the international community is completely unacceptable, because it invites nations to support the archaic interventionism of the United States against the island. The Cuban people have suffered enough from the pointless embargo. Some people believed that American enmity was aimed at Fidel Castro alone, and that when he relinquished power the Americans would see reason. But Cuba has been ruled by Castro’s brother, Raul, for a full year now, and the U.S. rhetoric has only become more hateful. Mexican society must remain alert and ready for any U.S. attempt to coerce government authorities into any moves against Cuba. And if they are unable or unwilling to reject Washington’s demands, then the Mexican people must.

To other countries in this hemisphere, the U.S. obsession with Cuba is baffling, said Hugo Alconada in Argentina’s La Nacion. Why such toughness with the Cubans but such flexibility with, for example, the Chinese communists? One of our reporters asked the U.S. State Department that very question, only to hear the snippy and evasive reply, The differences are quite obvious. Perhaps they are. The Chinese, you see, don’t have an enormously influential voting bloc in Florida, whereas Cuban exiles do.

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Still, it’s important to stand up for human rights in Cuba, said Andrés Oppenheimer in Mexico’s Diario de Yucat