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(Part Two)
One of
the most hostile U.S. newspapers when it comes to Cuba,
headquartered in Florida, offers the following report:
“Taking
advantage of the negotiations to free the Bay of Pigs’
prisoners, the CIA tried to use a key person in the talks,
American lawyer James B. Donovan, to deliver a lethal gift
to Fidel Castro: a wetsuit contaminated with a fungus that
lacerates the skin and an underwater breathing device
infected with tuberculosis...the gear in fact was given to
the Cuban leader in November 1962.
“The revelation is one of many anecdotes in After the Bay
of Pigs, a book on the negotiations held between the
Committee of Relatives for the Liberation of Prisoners and
Havana from April to December 1962.
“The 238-page book, published late last year, was written by
Cuban exile Pablo Pérez-Cisneros with businessman John B.
Donovan, son of the late negotiator, and Jeff Koenreich, a
veteran member of the Red Cross who has promoted
humanitarian missions between the United States and Cuba.
“Pérez-Cisneros is the son of Berta Barreto de los Heros,
who was coordinator in Cuba of the Families Committee and
interceded with Castro to trade off the 1,113 prisoners from
the failed April 1961 invasion.
“Barreto de los Heros started the book but died in March of
1993. Her son, who spent eight years researching and
finishing the book, was the person who bought the wetsuit
and scuba gear at the end of 1962, not knowing that both
were destined for Castro.
“In June 1962, Pérez-Cisneros visited James B. Donovan's
office in Brooklyn for the first time to request his
intervention in the negotiations with Cuba. The meeting was
arranged by Robert W. Kean, son of a former congressman and
brother-in-law of Joaquín Silverio, a jailed member of
Brigade 2506. Donovan agreed to work for the Families
Committee at no charge.
“Two months later, Donovan made the first of 11 trips to
Havana for mediation with the Cuban government.
''When Donovan returns to Cuba in October 1962, Castro tells
him he wants to have an aqualung (scuba gear) and wetsuit
for diving,'' Pérez-Cisneros told El Nuevo Herald in an
interview to expand on the case. “So, Donovan tells me he
wants to get quality equipment for a person, but without
telling me they are for Castro.''
“Pérez-Cisneros, who had been a champion underwater
spearfisherman in Cuba, bought a $130 wetsuit and scuba
equipment for $215 in a well-known store in Times Square,
New York.
“Castro received them in November 1962, and some weeks
later, on another one of Donovan's trips, the Cuban
President told the lawyer that he had used them.
“Only months after the negotiations had concluded did Pérez-Cisneros
learn all the details about the real story.
“During World War II, James Donovan had worked for the
Office of Strategic Services, which preceded the CIA. He was
later named one of the prosecutors in the Nazi war-crimes
trials in Nuremberg. In February 1962, he was the chief
mediator in the most spectacular spy trade of the Cold War:
the trade of Russian Col. Rudolf Abel for Americans
Frederick Prior and captured U-2 pilot Gary F. Powers.
“When Donovan informed the CIA that Castro had requested
diving equipment, the U.S. agency said it would take care of
it. But the lawyer rejected any involvement in the proposal
to contaminate the wetsuit and scuba equipment and preferred
to give Castro the equipment bought in Times Square.
“In May of 1963, Castro invited Donovan and lawyer John E.
Nolan, who represented then-Justice Secretary Robert
Kennedy, to a day of diving in the Bay of Pigs area and
again used the U.S. equipment.
“In late 1963, ''Donovan told me that the idea of an attempt
against Castro gave him goose bumps, and he refused to take
the equipment from the CIA, thinking that if Cuba detected
the operation, all the negotiations could be ruined and that
he could be executed,'' …
“The book, sprinkled with curious and unexpected events, is
a tense story of how love, determination and cleverness made
possible the exchange of the Brigade 2506 prisoners for $53
million in food, medicine and medical equipment.
“The efforts of Donovan and the Families Committee came at a
moment of uncertainty over the prisoners' fates…
“The committee's first meeting with Castro took place in
Barreto de los Heros' house in Miramar on April 10, 1962.
Four days later, 60 wounded Brigade members were flown to
Miami.
“Donovan's entry into the negotiations accelerated the
release process.
“Knowing that Barreto de los Heros' telephone was tapped,
Donovan arranged a secret code for communications.
“In mid-December, Castro agreed to an exchange and handed
over a 29-page list of food and medicine that was to be sent
to Cuba by the American Red Cross. The last 10 days of
negotiations were very intense because Donovan brought in a
group of 60 lawyers in order to ensure all of the donations
promised by 157 American companies.
“On
Dec. 23, 1962, the first five planes left for Miami,
carrying 484 members of the brigade. A day later, the 719
prisoners that remained flew in nine more flights.”
I have
literally transcribed the article’s words. I wasn’t aware of
some of the specific information. Nothing that I remember
is far from the truth.
My
relationship with the Cienaga de Zapata (Zapata Marsh) began
very early. I learned about the place thanks to some
American visitors who would talk to me about the “black
fish", a very dark trout that was very abundant in the
Laguna del Tesoro, at the heart of the marsh, at a maximum
depth of 6 meters. In those days we were considering the
development of tourism and possibly ‘polders’ like the land
reclaimed from the sea by the Dutch.
The
spot was famous from my days as a high school student, when
the marsh was populated by tens of thousands of crocodiles.
Indiscriminate catch had almost exterminated the species. It
was necessary to protect it.
We were
impelled above all by the desire to do something for the
charcoal burners of the marsh. That was how my relationship
with the Bay of Pigs began, a bay that is so deep it reaches
almost a thousand meters. There I met old Finalé and his son
Quique, who were my teachers in underwater fishing. I used
to go all over those keys. I came to know that area like the
back of my hand.
When
the invaders landed there, three roads crossed the marsh,
some facilities had already been built and others were being
built for tourism, even an airport in the vicinity of Giron
Beach, the last stronghold of the enemy forces which our
combatants took by assault on the evening of April 19, 1961.
I have told that story before. We were at the point of
recovering it in less than 30 hours. Diversion maneuvers by
the U.S. Marines delayed our crushing tank attack in the
early morning of the 18th.
In
order to deal with the issue of captured prisoners, I met
Donovan, who seemed to me –and I am pleased to confirm it
with his son’s testimony– to be an honorable man; I indeed
once invited him to go fishing, and without a doubt I talked
to him about a wetsuit and diving equipment. I cannot
remember the other details too clearly; I would have to make
some inquiries. I was never concerned with writing my
memoirs, and today I understand that was a mistake.
For
example, I was not able to remember the exact number of
wounded so precisely. What stayed in my mind was the memory
of those hundreds of our wounded; quite a few died because
of a shortage of equipment, medicines, specialists and the
lack of suitable facilities in those days. The wounded men
who were sent earlier surely required rehab or better care,
but that was not available to us.
From
our first victorious battle, on January 17, 1957, it became
our tradition to look after the enemy’s wounded. The history
of our Revolution records that fact.
In the
book of memoirs called “Faith of my Fathers”, written
by McCain with the omnipresent help of Mark Salter,
technically very well written, the main author states:
“I was
often accused of being an indifferent student, and given
some of my grades, I can appreciate the charity in that
remark. But I was not so much indifferent as selective. I
liked English and history, and I usually did well in those
classes. I was less interested and less successful in math
and science.”
Further
along, he assures us:
“A few
months prior to graduation, I had taken the Naval Academy
entrance exams…did surprisingly well, even on the math exam.
“My
reputation as a rowdy and impetuous young man was not, I’m
embarrassed to confess, confined to Academy circles. Many
upstanding residents of lovely Annapolis, witnesses to some
of our more extravagant acts of insubordination, disapproved
of me as did many Academy officials.”
Earlier, upon describing some of the events of his
childhood, he tells us that:
“At the
smallest provocation, I would go off in a mad frenzy, and
then, suddenly, crash to the floor unconscious.
“The
doctor prescribed a treatment that seems a little severe by
modern standards of child care. He instructed my parents to
fill a bathtub with cold water whenever I commenced a
tantrum, and when I appeared to be holding my breath to drop
me, fully clothed, into it.
Upon
reading this, one has the impression that the methods that
were applied to us in those days –both in my case, living in
that pre-war era, just as in his –were not exactly the most
fitting to deal with children. In my case, there was no
doctor advising the family; they were ordinary people, some
were illiterate, and many of them only applied traditional
treatments.
Other
episodes narrated by McCain relate to his adventures as a
cadet on training trips. I am not mentioning them because
they stray from the contents of my analysis and they have
nothing to do with personal matters.
Naturally, McCain was not in the Congress hall on the night
of Bush’s speech last January 28th, because some
things in this man’s policies are compromising to him. He
was in Little Havana, at the Versailles Restaurant, where he
received the tribute of the Cuban community. It is just as
well that we don’t look too closely into the background of
several people who were there.
McCain
supports the war in Iraq. He believes that the threat of
Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea and the growth of Russia
and China oblige the United States to strengthen its attack
force. He would work together with other countries to
protect the nation from Islamic extremism and continue in
Iraq until victory.
He
recognizes the importance of keeping strong relations with
Mexico and the other Latin American countries. He is in
favor of continuing the current aggressive Cuba policy.
He
would reinforce security on United States borders, not just
for the entry and exit of people, but also for the products
that enter the country. He thinks that immigrants ought to
learn English and the history and culture of the United
States.
He
wants the Latino vote, unfortunately most of these don’t
vote or do it exceptionally; they are always fearful of
deportation, of their children being taken away or of losing
their jobs. On the Texas wall, more than 500 continue to
die each year. He is not promising an ‘adjustment act’ to
those who go after the “American dream”.
He
supports Bush’s “The No Child Left Behind Act”. He supports
the allocation of more federal funding for low interest
scholarships and university grants.
In Cuba
we offer everyone solid knowledge, an artistic education and
the right to graduate from university without paying any
tuition. More than 50 thousand children with learning
disabilities receive special education. Computer science is
extensively taught. Hundreds of thousands of well qualified
people are employed in these tasks. But Cuba must be
blockaded to free it from such a terrible tyranny.
Like
any other candidate, he has his little government platform.
He promises to reduce dependence on foreign energy. It is
easy to say, but these days it is difficult to do.
He
opposes subsidized ethanol production. Fantastic: I
suggested just that to Brazilian President Lula Da Silva,
that he demand the United States to suspend the hefty
agricultural subsidies for corn and other cereals destined
for the production of ethanol from foods. But that is not
what is being proposed, on the contrary, it’s to export U.S.
ethanol to compete with Brazil. Only he and his advisors
know it, because ethanol from corn can never compete in cost
with that of Brazil which comes from sugarcane as the raw
material, at the expense of the tremendous efforts of its
workers who in any case improve their lot without the U.S.
tariff barriers and subsidies.
Many
other Latin American nations were set on the path of
producing ethanol from sugarcane by the United States. What
would they do with the new decisions coming down from the
North?
And we
can’t miss the promises ensuring quality of air and water,
the suitable use of green areas, the protection of the
national parks that would become just a memory of what once
used to be the nation’s natural splendor, victim of the
unrelenting dictates of the market laws. The Kyoto
Protocol, nevertheless, would not be signed.
These
sound like the dreams of a castaway in the middle of a
storm.
He
would reduce taxes for middle class families, keeping the
Bush policy of cutting back the permanent taxes and leaving
rates at their current level.
He
wants greater control over the costs of Medicare and
Medicaid. He thinks that families should be in charge of
their healthcare dollars. He would carry out health and
prevention campaigns. He supports the plan of the current
President allowing workers to move money from social
security taxes to private retirement funds.
Social
security would suffer the same fate as the stock market.
He is
in favor of the death penalty, the growth and build-up of
the armed forces, and the expansion of the FTAs.
Some
McCain maxims:
“Things are tough now, but we're better off than in 2000.”
(Jan 2008)
“I'm well-versed in economics; I was at the Reagan
Revolution.” (Jan 2008)
“To avoid recession, stop unchecked spending.” (Jan 2008)
“Loss of economic strength leads to losing military
strength.” (Dec 2007)
“Republicans have forgotten how to control spending.” (Nov
2007)
“Certify border is secure; only then allow guest workers.”
(Jan 2008)
“2003 "amnesty" didn't mean rewarding illegal behavior.”
(Jan 2008)
“Round up and deport two million aliens who committed
crimes.” (Jan 2008)
“Do everything I can to help all immigrants learn English.”
(Dec 2007)
“No official English; Native Americans use own languages.”
(Jan 2007)
“Immigration reform needed for national security.” (Jun
2007)
“Bipartisanship shows preparedness for presidency.” (May
2007)
“Maintain Cuban embargo; indict Castro.” (Dec 2007)
“Cuba: No diplomatic and trade relations.” (Jul 1998)
“Naive to exclude nukes; naive to exclude attacking
Pakistan.” (Aug 2007)
“War in Iraq ‘we have diverted attention from our hemisphere
and we have paid a price for that’.”(Mar 2007)
He
promises to visit his properties on the continent. He said
that after being elected to the White House in 2008, his
first trip would be to Mexico, Canada and Latin America to
“reaffirm my commitment to our hemisphere and the importance
of relations within our hemisphere."
In his
entire book, an obligatory reference in my Reflections, he
states that he was good in history. There is not one single
reference to any political philosopher, not even to one of
those who inspired the Declaration of Independence of the
Thirteen Colonies on July 4, 1776; in 4 months and 23 days
it will celebrate its 232nd birthday.
More
than 2400 years ago, Socrates, the famous Athenian wise man,
celebrated for his method and martyr to his ideas, conscious
of human limitations, said: “One thing only I know, and that
is that I know nothing.” Today, McCain, the Republican
candidate, proclaims before his fellow citizens: “One thing
only I know, and that is that I know everything.”
I shall
continue.
Fidel Castro Ruz
Date:
February 11, 2008.
Time:
5:35 p.m.
Part 3 |
