A prisoner swap in Havana, as told by Senator Jeff Flake (ret.)
In 2016 I sat down with then-U.S. Senator Jeff Flake to talk about the many years he spent working to improve U.S.-Cuba relations. Flake spoke candidly about the opportunities and failures on both sides of the diplomatic relationship, and why the future must look different from the past.
I recorded the entire interview and may at some point post the transcript or audio recording. It was a fascinating discussion – Flake has a truly enlightened perspective on this particular diplomatic issue.
“Alan Gross. Back on U.S. soil.” –@JeffFlake (via Twitter, Dec 17, 2014)
In 2016 I sat down with then-U.S. Senator Jeff Flake to talk about the many years he spent working to improve U.S.-Cuba relations. Flake spoke candidly about the opportunities and failures on both sides of the diplomatic relationship, and why the future must look different from the past.
I recorded the entire interview and may at some point post the transcript or audio recording. It was a fascinating discussion – Flake has a truly enlightened perspective on this particular diplomatic issue.
Today I am sharing just an excerpt. In this short, transcribed segment, Flake relates the unbelievable story of a high-stakes prisoner swap that he facilitated on behalf of President Obama on a Cuban airfield. It's something else.
Flake is well known for his impact on U.S.-Cuba relations. Although he is no longer in the Senate, I understand that his work in Cuba is not over. We can be glad about that.
—
Sen. Flake: Let's take it back to November of 2014. I was in Havana and wanted to meet with Alan Gross. Alan Gross was a contractor with USAID. He'd been held by the Cubans for five years after being convicted as a spy for delivering electronic equipment and whatnot to the Jewish community in Cuba.
Question: Do you think there was any validity to that claim?
Sen. Flake: I mean, he certainly was running afoul of Cuban law. Whether or not he was a spy, I don't think so – and he claimed not to know that what he was doing was contrary to the law.
But the Cubans had him for five years and his health was declining. So I went and saw him in a military hospital or Cuban prison. And he was at wit's end by that time. He told the Cubans that he wouldn't spend another year in prison.
He was about 60 years old and had lost about a hundred pounds and was losing some teeth. He missed his mother's funeral and family events he wanted to attend. He had just had enough. So I went back to the White House and said, “I know you're probably negotiating for his release...well you may want to hurry.”
They were already working on that [his release]. I got a call from the White House a few weeks later and they said, "would you like to undertake a sensitive mission?" I said, "Hey, that's why I came to the Senate." So they said to be at the Andrews Air Force Base at 5:00 AM on Wednesday, but you can't tell your wife or your staff where you're going.
So I got to the airport with Patrick Leahy, a Democratic Senator who I've been working on this issue with. Congressman Chris Van Hollen was also there. We boarded one of the President's planes and Judy Gross, Alan's wife, was on the plane. We'd been working with her over the years to try to secure her husband's release.
We took off and another plane took off as well – just after us. That plane was to pick up a Cuban national who had been a spy for us and was caught and had spent 20 years in a Cuban prison.
Another plane took off from Miami carrying three Cubans who had been convicted spies in the U.S. courts.
And so all three planes landed at the same time at separate airfields in Havana. We picked up Alan Gross and I met with the Foreign Minister of Cuba for a minute. We went out to the plane and got the signal and 31 minutes after we landed in Cuba, we took off.
We were in the air for about a half an hour and the pilot announced, "We've now entered U.S. airspace" and Alan Gross stood up – and I'll never forget it – he pumped his fists in the air and then breathed in and out deeply for awhile and said, "Now I know I'm free."
It was just the most incredible experience.
As soon as we landed, President Obama and Raul Castro held separate news conferences where they announced that we would now have diplomatic relations and change our policy.
A failed nuclear power project in Cuba
This past weekend I watched La Obra del Siglo, a 2015 Cuban film that shows the stark contrast between the optimism of yesteryear and the mundane realities of today.
The movie was recommended by Isabelle DeSisto, a friend from Harvard and an expert on Cuban-Soviet history. It checked all my boxes: the Cold War, Cuba and nuclear power. For those who don't know, I am currently helping develop and commercialize tiny nuclear reactors – a source of clean energy designed to help fight the climate crisis.
This past weekend I watched La Obra del Siglo, a 2015 Cuban film that shows the stark contrast between the optimism of yesteryear and the mundane realities of today.
The movie was recommended by Isabelle DeSisto, a friend from Harvard and an expert on Cuban-Soviet history. It checked all my boxes: the Cold War, Cuba and nuclear power. For those who don't know, I am currently helping develop and commercialize tiny nuclear reactors – a source of clean energy designed to help fight the climate crisis.
The movie revolves around the true story of Juragua Nuclear Power Plant, a failed Cuban-Soviet project that now sits unfinished on the coast of Cuba. Although the central plot is fictional, it incorporates a ton of real footage from the construction of the plant.
The construction project, which began in the early 1980s, was a symbol of Cuban-Soviet optimism. The partnership was going to help Cuba develop into a powerful nation. Energy would have been abundant and affordable, enabling rapid economic growth.
Several miles from the plant, the Cuban government built the "Electro-Nuclear City," a communist-style set of apartment buildings designed to house Cuban plant employees and their Soviet supervisors. The movie tells the fictional story of a family that now lives in a flat overlooking the carcass of the unfinished power plant. You can see the community here on Google Maps.
The film moves slowly but the aesthetics are interesting. It gives you an idea of what it's like to live in Cuba, a country defined by scarcity. The dialogue highlights the fascinating connection between the Cuban and Soviet cultures – the way the Cubans used to admire the Cold-War ambition and ingenuity of the Soviets.
The electricity output from the two Juragua reactors would have been a boon to productivity and prosperity. Cuba would have enjoyed some sense of energy security. Instead of relying on Soviet (and now Venezuelan) shipments of oil, Cuba could have approached energy independence.
Today, Cuba's power grid largely relies on oil-fired plants, an antiquated type of generator that emits significant amounts of carbon. This oil mostly comes from Venezuela, a country that has steadily become unreliable as an exporter – despite owning the largest oil reserves in the world. As a result, Cuba is beset with constant power outages.
Other generation sources – like renewables and natural gas – make up a small percentage of the island's electricity. Cuba survives on oil. If it is going to escape its long-term economic depression, Cuba is going to need more energy. The current arrangement with Venezuela is too constrained and too volatile.
The unfinished Juragua plant now represents the failures of the Cuban-Soviet partnership. It symbolizes a scarcity of energy and a dearth of optimism.
But there is hope. A new White House may be able to help Cuba once again find a place in world affairs. Trusted foreign advisors may be able to help the Cuban government loosen its grip on its own economy. With more capital and stability, Cuba may be able to produce important resources like electricity on its own turf, like it once hoped to do at Juragua.
A New Year for Cuba
You all have been a big part of my 2020. I can’t thank you enough for reading (or even just skimming!) my humble, little blog and newsletter. I wrote my first 12 posts for The Cuba Reader this year, and in response, I received your kind notes and thoughtful feedback. Thank you. The U.S.-Cuba relationship is fascinating, complicated and sometimes exhausting. And I care deeply about its gradual improvement. It has been a joy to unpack this topic together. Let’s keep it going.
As we step into a new year, there are many unknowns for Cuba. Various political, economic and social factors will continue to shape the island nation and its role in the world. It's no secret that Cuba is going through an unusually hard time right now. The Cuban government's next steps, coupled with Washington's actions could change everything.
Here are the main things you'll want to keep an eye on:
An outgoing administration. In an effort to appease anti-Castro voters in South Florida, the Trump administration has rolled back much of Obama's work in Cuba. Several small but impactful decisions have made it more difficult for foreigners to visit and spend money in Cuba. Trump also increased pressure on the Cuban government in various ways. Perhaps most alarming, he made it difficult for family members in the U.S. to send remittances back to their Cuban relatives, via Western Union and other wire transfer services.
I should note that not all of this was done purely for Florida voters. Some of these decisions were connected to the crisis produced by a corrupt Venezuelan government, a regime that Cuba supports through various means.
However, in Trump's final days in office, Secretary of State Pompeo is reportedly contemplating a proposal to place Cuba back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move was developed as a thank-you to Trump's supporters in Florida and it is still being reviewed. Cuba was formerly on the list, but removed by Obama in 2015. Only North Korea, Syria and Iran currently have this designation. NYT has the full story.
An incoming administration. America's foreign policy in some ways decides the fate of Cuba. In other ways, Cuba itself is responsible for its successes and failures. But there is little doubt that Cuba will breathe easier under the incoming Biden administration. Biden his counterpart President Díaz-Canel have both indicated that relations will warm. The question right now is how quickly changes will happen, and how much of an impact they will have. On the Cuban side, there may be some hesitancy to move too quickly, given the whiplash they experienced between the Obama and Trump administrations. On the U.S. side, Biden will avoid fully embracing Cuba – he will do what we can to help alleviate Cuba's economic situation, but not until he's talked a lot about Cuba's need to respect human rights.
The Biden administration will also have to figure out how to prevent future incidents of Havana Syndrome, and how to move past the whole ordeal in a diplomatic setting. Oddly, I think this will be easier than it sounds for Biden and Díaz-Canel to smooth things over. The U.S. and Cuba have experienced stranger things in their long, tortured relationship.
A new economic strategy. Cuba is in dire straits economically. Many Cubans and observers are comparing the current economic downturn to the special period of the 1990s, after the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuba's subsidies from the communist nation evaporated. COVID-19, a reduction in tourism, Trump's policies, Venezuela's crisis – these have all contributed to Cuba's troubles.
Although still ideologically wed to socialism, President Miguel Díaz-Canel is more practical than his predecessors Fidel and Raul when it comes to economics. Several market liberalization policies are being considered, and one is being implemented tomorrow. Cuba's two-currency system, which was set up in the 1990s to keep Cubans from dumping for pesos for USD, will be abolished. The program kept imports cheap, but Cubans poor. The Economist has the full story.
I think 2021 has a lot in store for Cuba. I look forward to watching it unfold together.
Biden gears up for a new era in US-Cuba relations
Joe Biden will be leading the executive branch in January, and the U.S.-Cuba relationship is set to change (again).
No other foreign ally or enemy has undergone perhaps quite as much geopolitical whiplash as Cuba has in the past five years. Decades of gridlock gave way to the bold openness of the Obama administration, followed by the cold rhetoric of Trump—with a few Cold-War-style political dramas along the way.
The Biden-Harris victory is welcome news for our weather-beaten Caribbean neighbor. On Sunday Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted, "We recognize that through its presidential elections, the people of the United States have opted for a new path. We believe in the possibility of a bilateral relationship that is both constructive and respectful of each other’s differences."
Diaz-Canel offered only a restrained congratulations, but he is certainly feeling good about a Biden win. Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez was less subtle about his enthusiasm, retweeting the President and adding “#BidenHarris2020.”
The Cuban government appears ready to start a new chapter with its American counterpart. Is America ready, too?
A new era for U.S.-Cuba relations
Biden has made it clear that he plans to break from Trump's strategy of maximum pressure on the Cuban government. In a visit to Miami in October, the President-elect declared, “The administration’s approach is not working. Cuba is no closer to democracy than it was four years ago. In fact, there are more political prisoners. The secret police are as brutal as ever. And Russia is once again a major presence in Cuba and Havana.”
In a March interview in American Quarterly, Biden stated, "Americans—and especially Cuban-Americans—can be our best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba. Therefore, as president, I will promptly reverse the failed Trump policies that have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights."
More recently, a top Biden foreign policy adviser told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Biden plans to “reverse the decisions that are separating families, limitations on family travel and remittances.”
What would change?
The Obama administration made it easier or Americans to travel to and spend money in Cuba. Many commercial and government partnerships sprung up, with many others in the pipeline.
The Trump administration tightened things back up. Americans are now banned from most types of lodging, most types of activities, and bringing back the most popular types of souvenirs (cigars and rum). Family members in the U.S. face heavy restrictions on sending money to their relatives in Cuba.
It appears Biden is ready to do away with much of the political micromanagement, while keeping the broader embargo in place. These small changes will be marketed as helping the Cuban people—not the government. Biden has made it clear that he disapproves of the Cuban government's record on human rights.
To support these changes, we're likely to see a re-staffing of the U.S. embassy in Havana. We'll see broader diplomatic engagement and a more friendly immigration policy for Cubans.
We may also see a number of U.S. commercial entities—ranging from Google to Marriott—renew their interest in doing business in Cuba.
Tourism, the lifeblood of the Cuban economy, is likely to see an uptick if both countries can get the pandemic under control.
Cuba is locked down due to COVID-19 (in fact, its main airport is still closed), so I suspect a bilateral relationship will be slow in coming. Biden also has a long list of priorities, and Cuba will fall below the pandemic, climate change and race matters.
But many changes to Cuba policy can be made easily with the stroke of a pen. Such unilateral gestures of goodwill from the U.S. will help set the stage for later negotiations.
These changes will not be popular with everyone in the U.S., especially the hardline Cuban-American community in South Florida. Biden has stated many times, however, that he believes that most Americans will stand with him on a new Cuba policy.
A cry for help in The Washington Post
The U.S.-Cuba relationship is fraught with partisan politics. In the U.S., Cuban-American hardliners seek to hold the Castro government accountable for old grievances. Meanwhile, pro-engagement groups are ready to put the Cold War in the past. Hardliners want voting rights immediately, while the other side is willing to patiently walk with Cuba on a journey towards democracy. The list of differences goes on.
Amidst these clashing political views, there is one policy area where both sides tend to see eye-to-eye: human rights.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, "the Cuban government continues to repress and punish dissent and public criticism," holding over 100 political prisoners while denying independent human rights groups access to prisons. Protestors, artists, independent journalists and other government critics on the island are often imprisoned and "re-educated." And this is only what recent history looks like – the picture is often bleaker the farther you go back in time towards the Revolution.
This week, a prominent Cuban journalist loudly criticized the Cuban government in an opinion piece for the Washington Post. Reading it feels like hearing a cry for help. In what appears to be his first English-language op-ed in the Post (he has published extensively in Post Opinión), Abraham Jiménez Enoa warns readers that "If this is my last column here, it’s because I’ve been imprisoned in Cuba."
Jiménez claims that getting roughed up by Cuban intelligence is part of his job, but the harassment has escalated in recent months. After getting strip searched, handcuffed and forced into a car by agents wearing civilian attire, he was offered an ultimatum:
"...they warned me that if I wrote one more column — meaning this one — they would take me to prison."
Yes, Jiménez balked and wrote another column. And his new piece seems to be getting international attention. The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement this week:
"Cuban authorities must immediately cease harassing and threatening journalist Abraham Jiménez Enoa, and allow him and all journalists in the country to work freely."
Although the two U.S. presidential candidates have not made a statement in relation to this particular article, they have both condemned Cuba for its human rights record in the past. Vice President Joe Biden tweeted earlier this year:
The Trump administration has repeatedly used human rights as a reason to expand the decades-old embargo. Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted out new sanctions:
But these are the same words we've heard from U.S. politicians since the Cuban Revolution. In response, Cuba has done little to change. It’s possible that things in Cuba are worse than usual right now, driven in part by enormous political and economic pressure on the Cuban government. The COVID-19 recession and a colder-than-usual relationship with the U.S. and its allies are likely making the Cuban government skittish and heavy-handed.
The U.S. and other countries flying the flag of human rights should do whatever they can to help Jiménez. I'm not sure, however, that the same, old rhetoric will do. A different approach is in order, and it should look less like unilateral sanctions and more like bilateral negotiation.
Will Cuban-American Barbara Lagoa be the Supreme Court nominee?
Tomorrow, Trump plans to announce his Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week.
Near the top of the short list is Barbara Lagoa, a federal judge whose parents fled Cuba when Castro came to power in the late 1950s.
A Miami native, Lagoa was appointed by the Trump administration to serve on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just last year. Her earlier career includes many years on Florida's Third District Court of Appeals (appointed by then-Governor Jeb Bush) and a brief stint on the Supreme Court of Florida. She was the first Hispanic woman and first Cuban American woman to serve on the court.
In her early career, Lagoa went head to head with the U.S. government to keep Elian Gonzalez in the U.S. Gonzalez was five years old when he fled Cuba with his mother. His mother drowned and he was found by fisherman off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Although her team lost the case and Gonzalez was sent back to Cuba, her opposition to the Castro regime resonates with "hardliner" Cuban-Americans who tend to vote Republican.
There are several things that make Lagoa a good pick in the eyes of the Trump administration:
Lagoa is politically aligned with conservatives on her textualist interpretation of the Constitution. She is a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
Nominating Lagoa would send a strong signal to Florida voters that Trump has their back. A critical battleground state, Trump needs every vote he can get in Florida this November.
The nomination would send an even stronger signal of support to Cuban-Americans, a powerful voting group in Florida.
If nominated, Lagoa will face quite a bit of trouble with her record on voting rights. This summer, Lagoa joined the 6-4 majority to uphold a law that keeps former felons from voting unless they have paid their court fees in full. Opponents to the decision have characterized the law as an illegal poll tax.
This decision may be an important factor in the November election. The Washington Post reported that it would keep many of the 85,000 felons in the swing state from voting. In 2016, Trump won the state by about 113,000 votes.
Other reading
Trump announces new sanctions on Cuba. More hotels, rum and cigars are on the list. (The Hill)
Trump registered his trademark in Cuba in 2008 to build hotels, casinos and golf courses (Tampa Bay Times)
Cuba’s Economy Was Hurting. The Pandemic Brought a Food Crisis. (NYT)
Cuban sonic attacks: What happened?
Beginning in 2016, a number of U.S. officials stationed in Cuba experienced severe health incidents with unknown causes. As the cases became public, they took on a variety of names: acoustic attacks, sonic attacks or "Havana Syndrome."
Here's exactly how it happened to career foreign service officer Audrey Lee, as described in a long-form article in The New Yorker:
At around eight o’clock, Lee washed the dishes. The kitchen lights made it hard to see out the window, but she knew that there was a wooden booth outside where Cuban police kept watch. As Lee was cleaning, she felt a sudden burst of pressure in her head, then a stabbing pain worse than any she had ever experienced. Her breath quickened and she was overcome by panic. Lee had heard rumors around the Embassy of colleagues falling victim to mysterious “sonic attacks,” but no one knew what they were or what had caused them.
At first, there were only a handful of reported cases like this, but the number steadily grew. By the end of 2017, the phenomenon wasn't just affecting American diplomats, but Canadians too. The geography soon expanded outside of Cuba: American diplomats in China were reporting similar incidents.
The health effects were not minor. MRI scans revealed brain trauma with lasting effects.
I had been traveling back and forth to Cuba throughout 2016 and 2017. Once the news broke, I wondered if I, too, had been affected. At one point I found myself alone in a government building, waiting to meet with a Cuban official. As I looked around the room, I heard a loud ringing in my ear. For a moment, I was terrified. But then the ringing went away. Was I losing my mind or was I under attack?
As many parties looked for a smoking gun, several explanations surfaced:
A deliberate attack. Politically interested parties have repeatedly suggested that a bad actor may have used an acoustic or microwave weapon of unknown design or origin. To date, no weapon seems to exist that can carry out the described attacks. Primary suspects include the Cuban government, a rogue Cuban faction, Chinese intelligence or Russian intelligence.
Singing Crickets. After embassy workers recorded what they believed to be a sonic attack, two scientists presented evidence that it was nothing more than a loud cricket of the Indies short-tailed variety.
Insecticide. Some experts suggested that the illness was caused by an extensive mosquito-spraying program for the Zika virus, producing a neurotoxic effect in those who came in contact with the insecticide.
Malfunctioning intelligence equipment. A team of computer scientists at the University of Michigan suggested that the sound and damage may have come from improperly placed or malfunctioning intelligence equipment.
Mass psychogenic illness. At least one study suggested that Havana Syndrome can be explained as a mass psychogenic illness, triggered by psychosocial stress and communicable in a specific sociocultural context.
So, what exactly happened? No one is sure. The U.S. blamed Cuba for either being the source of the attacks, or at least knowing about it. Cuba denied knowing anything, questioning whether they really even happened.
What we do know is that U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba are worse than usual. The U.S. embassy dismissed almost all of its staff in Havana and expelled two Cuban diplomats stationed in the U.S.
Three years after the first report, the case has gone cold. The Cuban and American press has lost interest. When the topic comes up in a diplomatic setting, fingers are pointed without any real sense of who is to blame. It seems there is a missing piece to the puzzle. Someone – somewhere – knows the truth...and I hope that one day they choose to speak up.
For further reading, check out The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome in The New Yorker.
Kamala Harris on Cuba, a new podcast, etc.
Just a few updates for your Thursday morning:
Worth a listen
My friends at Google Cuba started a fascinating new podcast called 90 Miles. Hosted by Susannah Kohly, episodes feature interviews with Cubans working in the arts and technology. Former Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis provides political and social commentary, guiding listeners through complex political history. I've been listening on Spotify – join me!
Senator Harris on the embargo
Where does Kamala Harris stand on Cuba? Here is what her former presidential campaign team had to say: "Senator Harris believes we should end the failed trade embargo and take a smarter approach that empowers Cuban civil society and the Cuban American community to spur progress and freely determine their own future."
The dollar is back in Cuba
Many Cubans keep USD under the mattress – and the government needs it. In an effort to replenish dwindling government funds for purchasing goods abroad, Cuba has legalized the dollar and opened dozens of stores where Cubans can trade USD for premium goods. For those with cash, the stores are a welcome source of food and supplies in a difficult economic time. More here (The Guardian).
China donates medical supplies to Cuba
It seems Cuba is getting quite a bit of help from China with medical supplies to fight COVID-19. More here (OnCuba News).
From one crisis to another
As Cubans celebrate victory over COVID-19, another crisis looms.
On Sunday, the head of epidemiology at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health reported no new COVID-19 cases for the first time in 130 days. The good news comes amid a phased reopening of the island. Residents are now freer to move around the island without fear of being fined or imprisoned.
But the celebratory shouts will be muted. The Cuban economy appears to be in worse shape than any point in recent history, reminding many of the "special period" of the 1990s. Journalists on the island report that it is difficult or impossible to find basic goods. Long lines for fuel and food are the new norm.
This economic downturn in Cuba is both familiar and new.
Familiar because Cuba never really recovered from the fall of the Soviet Union. In the past 30 years, times have rarely – if ever – been "good."
New because recent events are causing trouble in Havana. A downturn in tourism due to COVID-19 has gutted Cuba's largest industry. The Trump administration has tightened the U.S. embargo. Venezuela, Cuba's largest trading partner, is going through its own political and economic crises.
The re-dollarization of Cuba
To help boost the economy, the Cuban government is making a major policy change. In an effort to increase revenue for the government and make common goods available to more Cubans, the U.S. dollar is now an acceptable currency on the island. On Monday, the Cuban government eliminated a 10% tax on converting USD to Cuban currency, a levy which has been in effect since 2004. As part of the new policy, 62 "dollar stores" are opening on the island, allowing Cubans to use USD to purchase everything from chicken to detergent.
Interestingly, purchases must be made with a dollar-backed credit card, not cash. I'm not sure, but it seems the government is trying to avoid the bad optics of letting Cubans use greenbacks on the famously anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist island.
Justifying the new policy
Economist Arturo López-Levy, professor at Holy Names University in California, believes the Cuban government is taking advantage of its success in fighting COVID-19 to move forward with some overdue reforms:
“In the midst of an economic crisis of very uncertain scope and duration, the Diaz-Canel administration is using the political credit of its successful management of the pandemic to implement economic reforms postponed for more than a decade.”
I agree that if minor market liberalization is the goal, there's no time like the present. But the dollarization of certain sectors in Cuba will not be welcomed by all. Here are some of the reactions we're likely to see:
Government hardliners won’t like it. They will see dollarization as a retreat from socialist values.
Government progressives will cautiously embrace the new policy, hoping it will alleviate the current economic situation.
Cubans that don’t have access to USD won’t like it. For those who don’t have family in Miami to send remittances, this new policy will feel exclusionary and classist. Especially since dollar store appear to have full shelves – while the regular, Cuban currency stores are largely empty.
Cubans who have access to dollars will be very happy. Remittances from the US constitute Cuba's second largest source of income, so many Cubans will enjoy their newfound abundance.
Although the results may be unequal, the situation is dire enough to merit nearly any good faith effort to provide Cubans with food and fuel. President Diaz-Canel is spending valuable political capital to make this happen, so let’s hope it helps.
The balancing act of diplomacy
The U.S. has sanctioned Cuba longer than any other country in American diplomatic history. Despite a decades-long blockade, measurable results are scant. The U.S. has expended an incredible amount of resources to change Cuba, but Cuba has hardly budged.
There are many motives behind the U.S. embargo of Cuba. Some are ideological, others simply emotional. But none of them are practical. After 60 years of little success, it may be time to give practicality a chance.
That's what the Obama administration thought anyway. Five years ago this month, the U.S. began to restore diplomatic relations with the Cuban government. But the détente was cut short: the Trump administration rolled back nearly every policy from the Obama era.
In a recent op-ed in the Miami Herald, former Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis reviews his time leading the U.S. embassy in Cuba. He recounts the victories of diplomatic engagement and warns against the perils of hostility. I am a fan of DeLaurentis because he carefully threads the needle on U.S.-Cuban diplomacy. He is both highly principled and refreshingly practical, which requires balancing many competing interests. From my point of view, some of those competing interests include:
Challenging the U.S. approach without weakening its bold call for basic human rights in Cuba.
Supporting the Cuban people in their unique political culture without overlooking the failings and abuses of the Cuban system of government.
Engaging willingly while maintaining high expectations for the other side.
Looking to the future without condoning the past.
The Trump administration has made its stance clear: it will increase sanctions and decrease diplomatic engagement until certain conditions are met. Cuba will respond to ultimatums as it always has—with intransigence. I hope that in the future, perhaps after November, we see a return to practicality in America's diplomatic approach to Cuba. Meanwhile, I highly recommend giving Ambassador DeLaurentis' op-ed a read:
Five years later, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba are a mess
By Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Five years ago, on July 1, I walked into the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs and exchanged letters with my Cuban counterpart from our respective heads of state, setting in motion the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington. A heavy page was turned, weighted down by 55 years of pain, suffering, regrets and recriminations.
A new chapter in relations had begun — or so I thought. Read more...
Hundreds of Cuban doctors arrive in Mexico
This week in the Wall Street Journal, I came across another article condemning Cuba’s practice of “medical diplomacy.” In an opinion column, Editor Mary O’Grady expressed her concerns over the recent influx of Cuban doctors in Mexico:
One reason Cuban medical “brigades” are raising Mexican eyebrows is that Cuba has a reputation for sending medical personnel abroad to do work for which they are not trained. At the same time, Havana also has a record of using teaching, social work and medical care as cover to spread Castroism and build intelligence networks in democratic countries. (link)
Although the medical personnel were reportedly sent to treat COVID-19 patients, O’Grady and others suspect more sinister motives. Knowing that Mexican President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has a penchant for the kind of leftist politics championed in Cuba, some observers fear that the medical arrangement signals a diplomatic and ideological warming between the two countries, a friendship that Washington would go to great lengths to break up.
The Mexico dilemma is only a small part of the U.S.’s ongoing frustration with Cuban medical internationalism. We'll see why after a bit of context.
Cuba has for decades sent brigades of doctors and nurses overseas to help host countries with their medical industries, often arriving in response to a crisis. In 2015, for example, thousands of Cuban medical professionals and volunteers arrived in West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak. And thousands more Cuban medics have worked in Africa since the 1960s.
Perhaps Cuba's largest contingent of medical staff works in Venezuela, where doctors are traded for oil in a unique international agreement. Venezuela has helped Cuba keep the lights on while Cuba has provided free healthcare to Venezuela's most impoverished communities.
The Cuban government has sent a significant number of medical professionals abroad to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of personnel are deployed in Italy where the pandemic has taken a severe toll.
What's so bad about all this? For starters, evidence suggests that Cubans are often paid very little in these arrangements, while their government cashes out on their hard work. It is reported that Cuban medical professionals do not have much say in whether or not they are sent abroad; declining a mandate would effectively end their careers at home. And the reports of political and intelligence work – these are not unfounded.
To Cuba’s foes, medical internationalism is seen as a a realpolitik strategy to gain political influence abroad. Cubans are often portrayed as the victims of a human trafficking campaign to satisfy political motives. To Cuba's allies, the medical personnel are viewed as generous, altruistic and brave.
So, which is it? Below are two stories that paint Cuba's medical internationalism in two entirely different lights. Both happened in Venezuela, but several years apart. The first story is an excerpt from a 2004 Financial Times article, when the Cuban-Venezuela relationship was just getting started. The second story is from a 2019 New York Times, as both Venezuela and Cuba suffer domestic economic crises.
Story #1
Vilma Gonzalez, a single mother from Petare, a poor barrio of Caracas, is as thankful to Fidel Castro as she is to Hugo Chavez that her daughter Yulacey no longer cries with pain in the middle of the night.
Yulacey's broken tooth was fixed for free by a Cuban dentist, one of thousands dispatched from the island to work in Venezuela's poorest neighbourhoods under a programme backed by the Chavez government.
"What Chavez, and I suppose Castro too, has done is very positive," says Ms Gonzalez. "We never had a doctor visit the barrio before and I've never had the money to go to take the kids to a private clinic."
Story #2
Yansnier Arias knew it was wrong. It violated the Constitution, not to mention the oath he took as a doctor in Cuba.
He had been sent to Venezuela by the Cuban government, one of thousands of doctors deployed to shore up ties between the two allies and alleviate Venezuela’s collapsing medical system.
But with President Nicolás Maduro’s re-election on the line, not everyone was allowed to be treated, Dr. Arias said.
A 65-year-old patient with heart failure entered his clinic — and urgently needed oxygen, he said. The tanks sat in another room at the ready, he recalled.
But he said his Cuban and Venezuelan superiors told him to use the oxygen as a political weapon instead: Not for medical emergencies that day, but to be doled out closer to the election, part of a national strategy to compel patients to vote for the government.
American companies do business in Cuba?
Yes, but maybe not for much longer. One of the last remaining commercial agreements between a U.S. company and the Cuban government is reaching the end of its life. Marriott International's license to operate on the island will soon expire, and the Trump administration is making a point not to renew it. Reuters reported last week:
A company spokeswoman [at Marriott] said the U.S. Treasury Department had ordered the company to wind down its operation of the Four Points Sheraton in Havana by Aug. 31. It would also not be allowed to open other hotels it had been preparing to run. (full article)
Starwood Hotels, which was later acquired by Marriott, was a darling of the U.S.-Cuba relationship under President Obama. A global name in hospitality, Starwood signed three hotel management deals with the Cuban government in March 2016. At the time, The Washington Post optimistically placed Starwood on a path toward rapprochement:
Coinciding with the arrival of President Obama for his historic visit to Cuba, the Starwood agreements mark the further erosion of the U.S. trade embargo and a step toward normalizing relations between the two longtime foes.
The next day, Arne Sorenson, CEO of the hospitality company, wrote in a LinkedIn blog post:
This is a country poised for more opportunity. The entrepreneurial spirit—as Americans know it—is in a nascent stage in Cuba. The potential for economic growth – and therefore job creation – is tremendous.
Four years later, the picture isn't quite so rosy. Marriott is one of the many major U.S. companies that have either slowed or halted their work in Cuba. In 2016, the titans of the U.S. economy were clamoring to get in. In 2020, almost all of them are gone. The closure of Marriott is a win for the Trump administration, and an indication of how Trump will continue to approach Cuba if he wins the U.S. presidential election in November.
If Biden wins in November, however, many of these sanctions will be reversed. It's possible – even likely – that the U.S. will return to its Obama-era posture towards Cuba. Whether companies would seek to once again establish a presence in Cuba is unclear. I suspect many of them would be hesitant to jump back in, knowing that in four years more they could once again be kicked out under a different administration.
What's in the news
Strict social and political measures have helped Cuba get COVID-19 under control. Read last week's post to learn more about how they did it. Here are the impressive COVID-19 figures the government reported yesterday.
What I'm reading
Check out my reading list here.
Interested in visiting?
If you or your friends have any interest in joining me on a visit to Cuba in the future, I plan to lead an educational group to the island once travel becomes more accessible. It has been a privilege to run these trips at cost i.e., not for profit. If you're interested, shoot me an email.
How is Cuba coping with COVID-19?
This week, The Cuba Reader remembers George Floyd and stands in solidarity with all those who seek a world of justice, equality and humanity.
Dear readers,
Cuba stands out among the world’s nations scrambling to manage their domestic COVID-19 outbreaks. Not only has the island nation performed better than others on coronavirus cases and deaths, Cuba has simultaneously ramped up its program of exporting doctors to other countries to aid in their pandemic response.
Despite this good news, Cubans are suffering more than usual under the weight of poor economic conditions. Struggling with their own crises, Cuba’s allies aren’t showing up to help.
Let’s take a look at what this all means in context.
What do the numbers say?
Through social distancing, contact tracing and widely available medical services, Cuba has been able to flatten the curve of national COVID-19 deaths. This week’s reports indicate that Cuba has sustained several days in a row of zero deaths. In terms of confirmed deaths, here is how Cuba stacks up against the U.S., its neighbor to the north, and the Dominican Republic, its more demographically similar neighbor to the east. Notice that the data is plotted on a log scale because the figures are so drastically different.
Now let’s adjust for population size. Per million people, Cuba has seen far fewer deaths relative to both the United States and the Dominican Republic. I threw in Brazil to show how a much larger Latin American country is coping with the pandemic. This data is plotted on a linear scale because the figures aren’t quite so drastically different, although you’ll see how many fewer deaths per million people Cubans are experiencing.
How reliable is the data?
From the earliest signs of the virus’ spread in Cuba, the government sent thousands of young people – predominantly medical students – door to door to survey the health conditions of individuals. Cubans were getting one visit a day in which they were asked about medical conditions, measured for their temperature, and instructed how to recognize symptoms.
Although now less frequent, these door to door visits have grown to include exhaustive contact tracing questions. This type of national program is only possible in a place like Cuba, where the government can mandate widespread compliance.
The Cuban government is not known for transparency, so it’s natural to question the validity of the data it reports. However, more than one expert I spoke to said the reports were likely accurate. Many Cubans are skeptical of their government, but on this issue, they seem to believe what they’re hearing. Out of all the things we can expect Cuba do well, it’s healthcare.
What is the pandemic like for Cubans?
Despite the positive news on Cuba’s crisis management, the picture for regular Cubans is decidedly more bleak.
While medical care is freely available, the conditions for doctors and patients are poor. Doctors have limited supplies and patients are largely sharing rooms without air conditioning.
Basic human rights – already ignored on issues like freedom of speech – have been further flouted in the name of flattening the curve. Masks are required for Cubans whenever they are outside of their homes, and the government has made a point to arrest and imprison those who are not complying. State media has made an example of perpetrators by broadcasting their court sentencings, which can include up to one year in prison.
Quality of life is dismal. Before COVID-19 started spreading on the island, Cubans were already struggling. Beset with electricity blackouts, fuel scarcity and food shortages, long lines for necessities continue to be fixtures of everyday life.
Why send doctors overseas?
Cuba has one of the highest rates of doctors per capita in the world. For decades, the Cuban government has sent doctors to other countries to aid in crisis response, provide service to rural communities, or simply become part of the host country’s healthcare industry. Cuba usually charges fees for these doctors, but sometimes they get creative: medical services may be part of a debt repayment package or in the case of the Cuba-Venezuela relationships, doctors are traded for much-needed oil.
Italy and several other countries have benefitted from Cuba’s medical aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cuba has gained international goodwill for its generosity. Unfortunately for regular Cubans, the global attention has not resulted in local support. Revenue from international medical aid may be up, but the pandemic has all but killed the tourism industry, an enormous piece of Cuban GDP.
-Robert
What’s in the news
Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added seven Cuban companies and hotels to the U.S. list of restricted entities. One of these companies is Fincimex, a remittance service that helps Americans send cash to their Cuban friends or relatives via Western Union. Pompeo claims the new restrictions are supposed to restrain the Cuban government and further help Cubans, but most people believe that this move will directly harm Cubans who rely on remittances.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded on twitter:
I strongly reject the sanctions announced by #US Secretary of State Pompeo against 7 #Cuban entities, aimed at harming Cuban families. Tightening the blockade during #COVID19 is both shameful and criminal. (link)
What I’m reading
Check out my reading list! I picked some of my favorite books on Cuba. I'd love to hear what you think – feel free to email me your thoughts.
Cuba credits two drugs with slashing coronavirus death toll | Reuters
Mercy and Money - Cuba's doctors are in high demand | The Economist
The United States sanctions Cuban company handling remittances | Miami Herald
A new way to look at Cuba.
Dear friend,
Welcome to The Cuba Reader. If you are reading this email, you are someone I care about who may also be interested in Cuba. You might be one of the 40 or so grad students that were about to fly to Havana with me in March – a trip postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. You may be someone with whom I traveled to Cuba in the past. Or maybe at some point we simply found ourselves deep in a conversation about U.S.-Cuba relations.
Whatever the reason, I'm grateful that you made it to the second paragraph of this email. You are in no way obligated to remain a subscriber (the button is below) but let me first tell you why you might consider staying.
My journey to Cuba
I discovered Cuba in 2016, just a few months before U.S. airlines would resume their first regularly scheduled flights to the island since 1961. My trip happened on a whim – my brother and a few of his friends were going and I tagged along. We stopped in Mexico to buy a “People to People” visa and then jumped over to Havana. I had no idea that after only a few days in Cuba, my life would be very different. I would spend the next several years working in Cuba for Google/Alphabet, and today, I continue to study the island, its people, and its government.
Cuba's complexity
Cuba means something different to everyone. To some, a triumph of socialism, to others, a repressive regime. But to all, Cuba is a mystery. It is a tiny nation of contradictions that has, for decades, puzzled and frustrated students of geopolitics. Some pundits, ignoring the island's nuanced past and present, often portray Cuba as a caricature of its true identity. Much like the people we know best, Cuba is not simple; it is more than just one side of a political narrative. There are no easy answers. After spending much of the past five years traveling to and from Havana, I am still confronted with uniquely Cuban riddles every day.
Cuba is more relevant than ever
Understanding Cuba in its own enigmatic way is more important than ever. In the U.S., Cuba is once again a key narrative in our presidential elections. Within the past two weeks, both President Trump and Vice President Joe Biden have made sure to pander to voters on the issue of U.S.-Cuba relations:
On May 15, VP Biden tweeted, "Trump's international failures have cleared a path for Cuba to join the UN Human Rights Council," which would, "betray Cuba's political prisoners and further undermine U.S. diplomacy." Biden assured voters that, as president, he would focus on "empowering the Cuban people and defending human rights." This is the rhetoric that anti-Castro Cuban-Americans want to hear. Biden's critics quickly pointed out, however, that Cuba was part of the Human Rights Council during the Obama administration. Biden finds himself threading the needle on a difficult foreign policy issue in order to satisfy a small (but powerful) group of American voters in Florida who typically vote Republican. If elected President, I suspect Biden would take a friendlier position towards Cuba than his tweet indicates.
Five days after Biden's tweet, the White House tweeted a video and released a statement addressed to the Cuban people, citing "the many sacrifices of Cuba's freedom fighters," and Trump's commitment to "stand with the people of Cuba as they seek democracy, peace, and freedom." Like Biden's tweet, Trump's messages are triggering for the Cuban government. It's the type of language formerly retired during the Obama administration. Unlike Biden, however, Trump is in familiar territory here, comfortably pandering to a group to which he has shown consistent loyalty.
The outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election will decide much of the future for U.S.-Cuba relations. Each side will do as much as possible to secure the votes of Cuban Americans while trying to maintain some flexibility for how they approach the Cuban relationship after November.
For this reason and so many more, we should keep our eye on Cuba. This weekly newsletter will do its best to unpack the island's social, geopolitical and economic realities, guiding us through murky politics towards a clearer picture of Cuba. It will be a journey, and I hope you'll join me. We have a lot to cover.
If there are any topics you would like for me to touch on in future issues of the newsletter, please don't hesitate to email me at rob@thecubareader.com.
What I’ve been reading
We Are Cuba!: How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World. Helen Yaffe’s new, highly researched book shows how Cuba survived after the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped providing everything on the island, from oil to food to basic home goods. She celebrates Cuba's revolutionary successes in a way you don't often find in Western literature.
Anthony DePalma's opinion piece in the New York Times: How Cubans Lost Faith in Revolution. While certainly not all Cubans have lost faith in Castro's revolutionary ideas, many have. Today's food, medical and energy shortages on the island are driving more and more Cubans away from Fidel's ideologies. A veteran foreign correspondent, DePalma approaches this sensitive topic with humanity.
Interested in visiting?
If you or your friends have any interest in joining me on a visit to Cuba in the future, I plan to lead an educational group to the island once travel becomes more accessible. It has been a privilege to run these trips at cost i.e., not for profit. If you're interested, shoot me an email.