Cuba policy should empower the people

Roberto Martinez’s Nov. 10 op-ed, “Obama threw Cuba a lifeline. Biden shouldn’t do the same thing,” makes some good points, but ultimately repeats a narrative based on a false premise and fails to consider the human element. No one can dispute Cuba’s record on human and labor rights is appalling. The United States must continue to advocate for those who seek the right to speak their conscience.

During the 60-odd years of the Castro government, America has maintained a tough embargo. Even during President Obama’s opening, the embargo’s fundamental legal structure remained intact. The miserable state of the Cuban economy is directly and principally attributable to the failure of the Marxist economic model.

Under the Trump administration, the embargo virtually eliminated authorized travel, severely limiting family remittances, and sucked the oxygen out of the nascent Cuban private sector by depriving it of its lifeblood. While undoubtedly depriving the Cuban government of some revenues, the failed isolationist policy has had the most profound impact on ordinary Cubans.

Food and medicine, at the height of the pandemic, are harder to come by and more expensive. This suffering is not borne by the ruling elite; it is felt by grandmothers in Jatibonico and children in Guanabacoa. Interestingly, there has been no reduction in government repression.

The fundamental difference between the hard-line approach and engagement is that the first is willing to accept inflicting pain on the people in order to hurt the government, while the other is willing to accept a collateral benefit for the government in order to help the people.

Obama’s approach was to empower the people, tell them we are not the enemy and that they have their own future in their hands. – Pedro A. Freyre,

Miami

GREATER NUMBERS

Re the Nov. 13 letter “Big ruse:” Millions of people may think, as does the writer, that a Russian campaign of disinformation to help President Trump was nothing but a ruse. Their great president, however, generated enough misinformation on his own. After all, he learned from the best.

Even though record numbers of voters sought to extend his reign of terror, enough reasonable people, able to engage in critical thinking, sought change and defeated the president despite the antiquated and undemocratic Electoral College by more than 5 million votes and counting.

Majority rule prevailed. – Alex Jimenez,

Winter Park

REPTILES IN FEAR

With President Trump’s defeat, I worried the Everglades python population would multiply because of the decreased demand for snake oil.

But, not to fear! The accusations of election fraud — combined with Gov. DeSantis’ proposal to expand Stand Your Ground, his hiring of conspiracy theorist Kyle Lamb, his worship of Trump coronavirus guru Scott Atlas and the herd immunity mantra — will terrorize the snakes anew.

Add that Florida Sens.

Marco Rubio and Rick Scott are campaigning in Georgia with our tax dollars, and those pythons will cower in fear.

– Jeff Spiero, Hollywood

NEW GEORGIA PEACHES

What business could Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio possibly have in going to Georgia?

Are they perhaps planning on forming a cover band to play Florida Georgia Line music?

Maybe they’re going to negotiate new trade deals between our citrus growers and Georgia’s peach growers?

– Christine Karelas, Miami

SLUSH FUND

The longer Donald Trump continues to claim that the election was rigged, the longer he is able to raise money under the guise of his “election defense fund” efforts.

The fine print, however, says that a big chunk of these donations will go toward retiring his campaign debt and other nonrelated purposes. Wake up, people!

– Rebeca Ramos, Pinecrest

BE CAREFUL

Medicare patients should exercise caution when considering the barrage of TV, print and mail ads urging them to join a Medicare Advantage Program.

These programs are

HMOs, which limit patient access to physicians, hospitals, tests performed and drugs approved. Medicare will not pay any expense incurred outside the program.

Patients should consider if they want to be limited in their choice of healthcare providers and treatments. – Charles A. Dunn,

Coral Gables

WINNING GEORGIA

On May 15, the U.S. House passed The Heroes Act, which provides additional financial relief to millions of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to thousands of businesses that have been forced to close or are in financial peril.

Sen. Mitch McConnell has refused to let the Senate vote on this legislation, so Americans are still suffering.

The upcoming runoffs in Georgia for two Senate seats give us an opportunity to fulfill our responsibility to the people in need. If both Democrats win, the Senate will be controlled by Democrats, and they can pass this desperately needed legislation. Government at last will have answered to the people.

Both candidates must make this a central theme of their campaign, and President-elect Biden must pledge it as a priority. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.

– Daniel Klein, Hollywood

PEER PRESSURE

When many knew that President Nixon had erred and should resign, Barry Goldwater went to the president and said he must resign from the presidency. Nixon did.

Perhaps now, with a contentious President Trump, a group of former presidents — Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama — should go to current president and tell him that he lost the election and he must leave. – Alene Fishbein,

Golden Beach

OFF BALANCE

Re Andres Oppenheimer’s Nov. 12 column, “Trump’s refusal to accept that he lost is a gift to dictators around the world:”

A claim of fraud will not diminish American prestige. However, a proven claim of fraud undoubtedly will. If President Trump’s claims ultimately are disproved in the Supreme Court, he will lose face, but not the GOP, which has only said that Trump is exercising his legal rights.

However, if fraud is proven in the Supreme Court, American prestige will have a good side and a bad side. The good is that the Supreme Court is the top court of the land and will add to its prestige here and abroad. The bad is that it will cause a cataclysm within the Democratic Party and its leadership, brought about by moderate and decent Democrats, along with a huge loss of prestige.

This is how Oppenheimer should have balanced his column.

– Fernando Gallo, Miami

IMPROVING ELECTION

The United States should create national standards for conducting elections. Standardizing could eliminate most of the fake issues we are facing. Also, it could provide a simple way for individual states to opt out in whole or in part if they so choose.

Of course, it would need to include Congress and the legislative process to develop and adopt — so it would never get done. – Richard Pober,

Palmetto Bay

MOVING FORWARD

In January, opportunity awaits to refocus the nation’s attention on the vital work that lays ahead. I truly hope the media will move in this direction and resist the temptations to cover the provocative attempts by the former administration to keep the spotlight on itself.

Starve the beast, and let the American people detox.

– Marianne Pantin, Miami

BUCKLE UP, FAM. IF YOU’VE NEVER BROKEN UP WITH A NARCISSIST, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW ROUGH THE NEXT 74 DAYS ARE GONNA BE. Sarah, @thetigersez