Would Biden return to cooperation agreements with Cuba? CLIMATE VOTING

Recent statements by Vice Presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris, about re-instituting President Obama’s Cuba policies, should be of concern in South Florida and on Capitol Hill. Among those policies were agreements of cooperation and sharing of information with Cuba’s Ministry of Justice and intelligence agencies.

In a White House statement, released October 14, 2016, the Director of National Intelligence was instructed “to work... to find opportunities of engagement [with Cuba]... through which we could exchange information...”

The Department of Justice also was ordered to expand law enforcement cooperation, “increase information sharing and share best practices [sic] with Cuban counterparts.”

After Cuban immigration officials visited Miami, the Obama administration began legal action to repatriate a prominent Cuban exile — a Castro foe — who had lived in the United States for more than half a century.

Though the case did not proceed, it could be revived, and the threat of deportation of other Cuban exiles could be used to silence critics of the regime in the United States. This is not far-fetched.

Raül Castro obtained many concessions from Obama, including the pardoning of a Cuban spy serving a life sentence for his role in the murder of American citizens in the Florida Straits.

This is not the time to strengthen the hand of Cuba’s tyrannical government.

– Frank Calzon, Center for a Free Cuba,

Falls Church, VA

Those of us who live in Florida can see evidence of climate change all around us. To address the climate crisis, we must set aside the vested interests of any one political party and embrace common goals.

Some conservative voices oppose the programs necessary to combat climate change, saying they are too costly or would slow economic growth. But they ignore the muchgreater economic and human costs to our children and grandchildren. The threats of rising sea levels and increasingly violent hurricanes should be a particular concern.

As proposed by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the need for action based on science, common sense and economic opportunity is clear.

In contrast, President Trump, in the name of economic prosperity, stands for policies that deliberately push the planet past the tipping point, with no chance of preventing catastrophic environmental and economic damage to Florida, our nation and the world.

– John Ganis, Bradenton