I am writing this quickly and a little late. I
should do this because of the strong emphasis I have placed
in the analysis of this matter.
Besides, the news is not disheartening. The wire
services announced that the two boxers who had defected in
Rio de Janeiro had been found and arrested by the
authorities on a beach close to that city. Remember that
they had been given up for missing. They were there without
any documents.
They were not sent to prison. They remained in the
same hotel where they were staying, under the surveillance
of the Federal Police. The boxers told the police that they
had made a mistake and regretted it. They refused to see a
German citizen who very promptly took interest in them,
following instructions from a mafia company. We learned
about this later.
The authorities asked us for their documents, and the
Cuban consular representatives, following our Ambassador’s
instructions, proceeded up to complete all relevant
arrangements.
The news stating that the boxers were in Turkey while
immigration matters were being looked after had obviously
been released by the mafia as a smoke screen. There was
even a German Member of Parliament who attempted to hit a
home-run with a fake ball. The company that had invested
more than two million dollars in this grotesque business was
talking about the "human rights" of the athletes' families.
What will the United Nations say about this unfair
competition?
This is where sports and politics get together in the
search for concrete and principled solutions, over and above
fondness and bitterness.
Those citizens will not be submitted to any sort of arrest,
much less the kinds of methods being used by the United
States Government in Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, which we
have never used in this country. They will be temporarily
transferred to a guest house and allowed family visits. The
press will also be able to contact them if they so wish.
They will be offered decent jobs for the benefit of
sports, given their knowledge and experience.
The Brazilian authorities should not be worried in the
face of the inevitable campaigns being launched by our
adversaries. Cuba’s behaviour will rise to the occasion. I,
for one, shall have a good sleep.
Fidel Castro Ruz
August 4, 2007
10:56 p.m.
