US political ‘checkmate’ against Cuba is doomed to fail

IF HISTORY has taught us anything, it  is that when an empire is about to lose all power, the more reckless and violent it becomes, especially towards those who they believe to be enemies. 

It’s happening now with the US and its aggression, pressures and illogical attacks on Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and any other country that “represents a threat” in the eyes of the empire. What they are doing is not diplomacy, at least not in the conventional terms.

It is what the world is now calling “Trump´s diplomacy”, but they can´t keep selling illusions to us. This is not a fairy tale nor do we live in the XVIII century. We, as progressive peoples living in the XXI century, must denounce what the empire is doing. It is our task to open the eyes of those who are still blinded by the “American dream and way of living”.

For instance, let's look at what they are doing in Cuba. What Trump and his administration are putting together is without any doubt  a political war operation against the island and its people, particularly after the aggression on Venezuela. 

Let's break down the truth, point by point.

First things first, the “dialogue” with Cuba that Trump has referred to is a poisoned lure. Why? He announced that “they are talking to Cuba”, in order to create an illusion of a way out and spread a very poisonous question: “why isn't the Cuban government talking, given Cuba's response that they are in no talks with the US government?”.

It's all a theatre, but the truth lies in the ultimatum Trump issued on the same day: “negotiate before it's too late. There will be no more oil.” 

That’s what they want, to cut out all ties between Cuba and its trade partners, then “go in and save/destroy the country”. 

It’s the same old tactic: first, to threaten with total ruin, then to offer to “talk” so that the people will surrender. That's not dialogue, it's old fashioned blackmail, with a megaphone aimed at Cuba’s morale.

On the other hand, the so-called protection they are “willing to offer” is nothing but a conviction for the Cuban people. Trump has said he wants to “protect” Cubans who “were forced to leave.” What  cynicism! This is the same administration that has massively deported Cubans and closed its doors to them when it was inconvenient. Now they are “great citizens” to be protected, note the sarcasm. 

Truth be told, the US has turned them into victims' statistics to justify their aggression against the ones who are still in Cuba. They don´t want to protect them; they want to use them as narrative cannon fodder against the rest of Cubans. That's the American old time strategy to divide and conquer.

In third place, we find the ultimate goal: to sow controlled chaos among Cubans, inside the island and abroad. That´s not foreign policy. It is a destabilisation manual with a clear formula, divided by steps:

• first, to announce a terminal economic crisis (oil cut-off, financing) to sow fear in Cuban homes; 
• second, to direct a “saviour” message to a specific and vulnerable sector (the recent diaspora, the people with the most hardships in Cuba) to create division; 
• third, to wait for the combination of material despair and external hope to generate social fracture, protest and chaos in the neighbourhoods and communities and finally, 
• to present themselves as the only solution, intervening to “protect civilians” from the “repressive regime”.

It's the script they've used elsewhere. They think it will work with Cuba too.

However, they haven´t taken into account Cubans longstanding tradition of standing tall in the face of adversity, of not surrendering nor giving in to foreign pressure. Haven't they learned from 60 plus years of a failed blockade, which hasn't achieved its main goal: to overthrow the revolutionary process led by Fidel Castro?

Fidel made an analogy that when facing a barracuda fish that wants to attack you, one must look straight in its eyes and show no fear, face it bravely, as if your life depends on it. 

That’s what Cuba has been doing for 67 years. Being so close to the US, it can’t show fear and it hasn´t. Cuba has looked them in the eye and said: “This is a Revolution, only 90 miles away from you and here we will stay”. Resolution to defend the country’s sovereignty is the backbone of Cuban DNA, forged throughout centuries of struggles to achieve independence and self-determination.

We can’t be blind about what is happening. What we are seeing is not a gesture of peace. We are seeing the opening moves of a political checkmate against Cuban lives. One can’t be fooled by the language of “dialogue”, one must listen to the sound of sabres rattling behind it.

Cuba has never backed away from dialogue with the US, in fact, Cuba’s stance is that they are always willing to engage in serious and responsible dialogue, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of international law, mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs and full respect for independence, something obviously impossible for the US to do.

Cuba’s firm response has been quick and unequivocal: they will not surrender. Their strength does not lie in the oil they cut off, but in the dignity they have in abundance there, in the land they defend. Cuba is not a laboratory for their failed experiments. Cuba is a people who, in the face of hybrid warfare, respond with the strongest unity. That is the only “agreement” the Americans will know and that´s why they will not break Cuba.

Swartz is Friends of Cuba Society (FOCUS) activist