I used to feel the exact same way as Dayme Sanchez does about the Cuban embargo, but last time I went to Cuba I changed my mind.
As I flew into the Havana airport I saw a billboard with a picture of President George W. Bush on it that read, “America is full of assholes.”
When I got into a cab, the driver saw my newspaper and told me there’s no way America would ever elect Barack Obama because it’s a racist country.
When I got to my friend Ernesto’s house, he told me that he trusts the results of Cuban elections more than American ones because our politicians can pay for a win.
When I was traveling to Holguin, an 18-year-old in military uniform told me he felt secure knowing Castro wouldn’t send him off to die a needless death like America does to its troops.
When I was telling my friend Ariel goodbye, an elderly woman asked me to bring her some glasses next time since America won’t sell Cuba enough lens grinders because it wants the people to suffer.
And when my plane took off from Holguin I saw Bush again, this time alongside Hitler as the ace of spades in the Cuban version of the terrorist card deck.
So let’s get one thing straight, the Cuban embargo was about Castro seizing and selling American property in 1959, but now it’s the best tool the regime has to control people’s perception of America and keep them complacent.
