I am all for encouraging the Cuban people to fight for their freedom. No foreign power can bring about an end to the Castro tyranny except for the Cubans themselves. The only thing those outside can do is to help and support the Cubans on the island to bring about this change. As you mentioned, computers and cell phones can give these freedom fighters, such as Yoani Sanchez and Jose Luis Garcia Perez Antunez, the tools to battle the dictatorship. But here is the rub: how do you help the dissidents without helping the regime that oppresses them?

A unilateral lifting of the embargo without any concessions from the Cuban dictatorship would in the short and long run, hurt the dissidents on the island by providing the regime with more resources and political clout to carry on their repression. We have seen this time and time again as the regime has used the deals they make with other nations to strengthen their hold on power.

I believe that the US should change its policy towards Cuba, but on its own terms, not the terms demanded by the regime. The US should seek ways to help Cubans on the island without providing resources to their slave masters to keep them in chains.

The embargo is the only leverage the US has in any negotiations with Castro, Inc. It is the only tool the US has to negotiate more freedoms for the Cuban people so they can rise up against their oppressors. If you give that up with nothing in return, as all the other nations who deal with the regime have done, there is nothing left to negotiate. The saddest part is that in such a scenario, the real losers are the Cuban people who once again find themselves being sold like chattel to the highest bidder.

In regards to Cubans telling Cubans about freedom, there is no shortage of that. Every Cuban who has friends or family outside the island is aware of the freedom that exists outside their island hell. The problem is that they live in a totalitarian society that is being fed and supported by the rest of the world.

Let me ask you this: How well can you expect Cuban dissidents to fare against the repressive machinery of the Castro regime when they have no support from the world? How strong can they become in their smothering environment when all the support–financially and politically–is being directed to their oppressors?

I appreciate your reply, but unfortunately, I am still not convinced. Here are the reasons why in order of your points.

1) You are right, the US embargo has not ended the regime, but that was never the intention behind the embargo. It was put in place when the communist regime in Cuba expropriated billions of dollars worth of private property owned by US interests without any compensation. It is an issue that only the Cuban dictatorship can solve and to this day, has no interest in doing so.

Nevertheless, if you consider the embargo a failure on the premise that it has not brought down the regime, then logically, you must consider engagement an even bigger failure. All of the business being conducted by other nations with Cuba has only served to strengthen the hold the slave masters in Cuba have on power. And if we want to talk dollars and cents, America is practically the only nation in the world that has not been stiffed by the Castro brothers who have defaulted on and reneged on almost every single loan they have ever acquired. France, Spain, Italy, the UK, and countless other countries have been left holding the bag with billions of dollars in loans made to Cuba that realistically speaking, will never be paid back. In that sense, the US embargo has saved American tax payers possibly billions of dollars.

And regarding your last point about the regime using the US embargo as a rallying point, I must ask you this question: Has a totalitarian dictatorship ever had a shortage of fictitious bogeymen to blame their shortcomings on? Do you really think that the communist propaganda machine would be left clueless and speechless if the embargo would suddenly be lifted?

Think about that one.

2) You are right, tourists are segregated and kept apart from the general population for obvious reasons. American tourists, just like Canadian and European tourists, would certainly be kept away from the population, too. Cuban-Americans, on the other hand, do have family and friends there and would have much more interaction. The problem is that Cuban-Americans have been visiting the island regularly for thirty years, so lifting the restrictions on American tourists does not really change that dynamic.

3) Yes, the American tourist is different, but if they are segregated from the general population–which they will be–their effect will be nullified.

4) I, too, am an unabashed believer in the power of the freedom of ideas and free markets. But as I explained in my response to your points above, with the extreme control over the daily lives of all Cubans practiced by the dictatorship those ideas will have little effect when they are kept inside a gated, all-inclusive resort.

There is one last point I would like to add, which I believe is the most important point to consider when one examines the issue of the US embargo:

Just like it is unacceptable to Americans–and all freedom loving people throughout the world–for a corporation to manufacture consumer goods in a far-off country using pre-adolescent children working 18 hours a day for 50-cents a week, so should it be unacceptable for all freedom loving people to do business with a Cuban dictatorship that treats the citizens of the island like slaves. Cuban workers are nothing but chattel to be sold and rented to the highest bidder. Unless you find nothing wrong with doing business with a slave master who owns a plantation with 11-million slaves (which I highly doubt you would not find that offensive), I have trouble understanding how anyone who believes in freedom and liberty could justify doing business with a slave master.

Thank you.

1) The U.S. boycott has not ended the communist regime because that evil mode of thought plays on, and actually enjoys hardships placed on the people. They can easily use the U.S. boycott to rally the people against the evil other; in this case the U.S.A.
2) U.S. trade and tourism will be different. My understanding, please correct me if I am wrong, is that the Cuban people are for the most part kept apart from the tourists. U.S. tourists will include a lot of family and friends that will actively seek contact with their families and friends. There will be much more contact and therefore much more chance to influence the people.
3) The U.S. visitor will be different. Our brand of capitalism is much more vigorous the economies of most of the rest of the world. Our people tend to be bolder, more forceful (remember the ‘ugly American?’). And Americans both of Cuban descent and all others are going to be, by our nature, far more disdainful of the Cuban regime; setting an example.
4) Finally, I hope you will forgive me for this last point; I am a unabashed believer in the power of freedom of ideas and free markets and I believe that a true taste of these freedoms, something the above points will aide in providing, is the best way to inspire the Cuban people to say, enough. This last point while not a hard fact is nonetheless important.

I hope to see you as a regular reader and commentor.

I applaud the fact that you desire freedom for the Cuban people, but I am a little confused as to how you propose achieving that goal.

The Cuban regime has been freely trading with practically every “free” nation in the world (except the US, obviously) and not only has there been no letup on the repression of the Cuban people, it has gotten worse in some aspects. In addition, more than 2-million foreign tourists visit the island on a yearly basis bringing with them their ideals and notions of freedom and yet there has been no letup on the brutal repression of the Cuban people by the dictatorship that enslaves them. Consumer goods such as computers, cell phones, appliances, etc., are all available on the island as long as you have the connections and the foreign currency to purchase them, yet the beatings and incarcerations continue.

For two decades the Cuban dictatorship has traded with free countries and private entities, they have embarked on joint ventures, and by conservative estimates, have made billions of dollars in the process making the Castro brothers one of the richest families in the world according to Forbes magazine. Yet, for all the interaction with “free” countries and the millions of tourists from free nations that have visited the island for decades now, the regime maintains a firm grip on Cuban society, strangling anyone who dares step out of line.

With all of these historical facts, I fail to see how trading with one more free country (the U.S.) would have any benefit for the Cuban people. Sure, there will be plenty of benefits for American companies and the Castro brothers will have the opportunity to move a few notches up Forbes’ list of the richest people in the world. But what benefit is there for the Cuban people other than seeing some new faces coming in to enjoy the amenities their island offers that they are not allowed to enjoy?