Raul Castro
Just What Is Happening in Cuba?
Our own Col. Lawrence Wilkerson reminds us that the transition in Havana from Fidel to Raul Castro is almost complete, that the initial reforms expected by a Raul administration are starting and that United States policy toward the island continues to to relegate Washington to the sidelines. I would take it a step further: by maintaining the embargo, we continue to give Raul the gift we gave his older brother--the perfect excuse for poor economic performance and a ready-made tool for whipping up Cuban nationalism. I look more at this issue in Mind the Gap: How the Miami Generation Gap Could Shape Cuba Policy
Comrade and General Raúl Castro Ruz has now, it seems, taken full control of the reins of government in Cuba and el commandante y jefe, Fidel Castro—who for nearly half a century successfully defied nine (not counting Ike, who knew better) American presidents—has receded more and more into the background noise of a slowly changing Cuba. But what does this successful and now almost complete transition portend for the 11 million Cubans who deserve a better life?
