As impoverished Cubans risk their lives to protest a repressive Communist dictatorship that, in the latest of too many humanitarian crimes to count, has bungled COVID vaccines, Joe Biden says, “the U.S. stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights.”
Nice words. How about some action, Joe, before those Cubans join others and attempt the dangerous open ocean boat trip to Florida? Or before President Miguel Díaz-Canel lets rip his goon squads on the enemies of the state before disappearing them in his prisons?
Cubans want protection from COVID, and food, and better economic prospects, and basic human freedoms. Let’s help them. The U.S. has more vaccine than it needs; put doses on planes to Havana and start saving lives. An unraveling of the horrible Cold War-era U.S. embargo, which is ironically what Díaz-Canel himself blames for the unrest, will alleviate hunger and other economic desperation. If Biden can’t get a repeal through Congress yet, then he must use his executive power to loosen the screws that Donald Trump tightened in response to Barack Obama easing up the restrictions.
As for the regime’s near-total chokehold on civic life, ending the embargo may or may not help — trade didn’t depose China’s Politburo, for example — but we do know that decades of isolation didn’t lead to liberation, so there’s little risk in trying something different.
Waiting for Cubans to try to float to Florida isn’t the answer. In the past nine months, the Coast Guard has picked up more than 500 Cubans on the water, exceeding by more than 10-fold the number from the previous full year.
If nothing changes, the dictatorship will persist. Big Brother (we mean it both ways) Fidel handed the reins to little brother Raul when he was 85. Maximum Leader Raul ruled for 10 years and just yielded power right before turning 90. Díaz-Canel, 61, could rule for another generation. Don’t let that happen. Let this be the moment the dam truly began to break.
