I am glad that Cuban-American bloggers are finally getting around to condemning the Coast Guard's cold-blooded execution of Cuban refugee Anay Machado de Uralde, which ocurred on July 8, 2006. Of course, we did not wait a year to condemn it, but did so a mere three days later. All the facts were not known then, but one fact was very clear: a 24 year-old Cuban woman was dead as a result of an overzealous Coast Guard interdiction that involved a high-speed chase and the firing of guns at the boats engine's to disable it. They would have been quite pleased, I think, to have hit the boat or anything on the boat [including the passengers]. Their target, the engine, was hit by sheer luck and could have set the boat on fire and possibly blown it up. Even their "best" intentions, then, could have spelt death for all on board. As it was, the sudden jolt from the boat's abrupt stop did split Anay's skull. The miracle was that more were not killed by the impact, which was comparable to a car hitting a brick wall at 120 mph. In purpose and execution it seemed to me that there was no difference between the Tugboat Massacre of July 13th 1994 and the Coast Guard's actions of July 8, 2006. The only difference was that Castro's maritime assassins were more successful than their American counterparts.
For the last year, I have been presenting the facts of this case on other blogs as prima facie evidence that the U.S. has adopted a genocidal policy against Cuban refugees, but, not unexpectedly, my fellow Cuban bloggers were not disposed to question the motives or even the actions of this great Republic which has historically been our best friend as well as our worst enemy. Until today. Well, if they are always a year behind me, I will be pleased enough.
Here is what I wrote a year ago which is still more unequivocal than what others have written a year later:
When the U.S. Coast Guard kills Cuban refugees in cold blood, as they did in this instance, it is customary for them to blame so-called "smugglers" just as the slaveholders blamed the abolitionists whenever one of their captives escaped on the underground railroad.
It is a miracle that more Cubans were not killed in this incident because the Coast Guard were firing indiscriminately at them in order to disable the boat's engine. Of course, in the past the Coast Guard has been known to capsize refugee boats and let the survivors drown while they gleefully congratulated themselves on their "catch."
When Cuba is free, these men should be indicted for crimes against humanity along with Clinton and Bush.
Posted by: Manuel A. Tellechea July 11, 2006 at 09:01 AM @ Miami's Cuban Connection.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
My comment, at the time was:
George Clinton, Bill Bush....
So, Dollar Bill Clinton, the author of the Dry-Foot Wet-Foot "regulation" praises the Bushman for his "immigration reforms", which will put a zillion illegal immigrants in front of people who came legally to this country, or worse, in front of Cuban refugees who are trying to arrive to this country fleeing a communist dictatorship.
The other day I was in Washington DC, and I saw the shameful spectacle of hundreds of men from a country where free elections were conducted, during which the communist candidate was defeated, standing in corners in Silver Springs, Maryland, next door to the Capital.
They were there waiting to be picked up to go into DC for construction, landscaping, car-washing, restaurant, markets jobs, etc., which able bodied Americans would be doing if offered a decent salary. I mean, the political class in the Capital City of this country is benefiting from the illegal and exploitative employment of millions of illegal immigrants, and they will put those cheap paid workers in front of whoever to keep on going what looks to me as modern day slavery, but with the annointment of fake Republicans and Limousine Democrats.
In the mean time, when I know no more who is Bill or who is George W. a woman died and four other Cuban freedom seekers were injured early Saturday after according to the Coast Guard "an overloaded go-fast boat repeatedly attempted to ram a U.S. Coast Guard vessel off the Florida Keys".
Let's stop in this phrase: "repeteadly attempted to ram a U.S. Coast Guard vessel". It makes me wonder whether were they coming on a commisioned warship or on the 36-foot go-fast boat with 31 Cubans and 3 smugglers aboard which the Coast Guard boarded and stopped around 6:30 am?
This is what is sead in the news:
"Authorities first spotted the boat on radar around 5 a.m. about 40 miles south of Key West and caught it about an hour later 4 miles south of Boca Chica, Judge said.
The boat ignored orders to stop and attempted to ram the Coast Guard vessel more than five times, Judge said. Coast Guard officials then fired two shots into the vessel's engine to disable it, he said."
"The boat was bouncing around like crazy. It was very rough, choppy waters," Judge said. They repeatedly attempted to ram the vessel more than five times, but they never made contact."
So, the boats never made contact, as said in the report and as seen in video footage. But shots were fired. On a boat full of people which is moving fast in choppy waters. I would love to know what would happen if the border patrol in Texas shots "warning shots" or shots "to disable the engine" towards a truck full of illegal immigrants, probably driven by a human trafficker or a drug smuggler. Well, they seem to have an open season on Cubans, as long as they are escaping kasstro.
Now, let's see the consecuences of the shooting:
"One woman suffered a head injury and severe bruising to the face. She lost consciousness as she received medical attention and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 8:34 am" An autopsy was scheduled Sunday, said Dr. Michael Hunter at the Key West Medical Examiner's Office.
Mind you, there was no contact between the two boats, shots were fired, a woman is injured and dies of her wounds. How was that? Who's going to do the explaining here?
Also, a pregnant woman had to be taken to the hospital (I hope her family has a lawyer to make her stay here) and three men were treated aboard the Coast Guard cutter, so they will have a rougher case, but with a good lawyer they also have a chance.
None of injuries were caused by the gunfire, authorities said. Well, tell us what caused them.
Shots are fired, a Cuban dies.
A spokesman for the Cuban American National Foundation said the shots fired by the Coast Guard were "of grave concern." Why this guy doesn't call it a criminal action is beyond understanding.
"The people who are culpable are those who engage in the smuggling of humans," said Alfredo Mesa, the group's executive director. "At the same time, we call upon the U.S. Coast Guard to remember that these are human beings fleeing tyranny."
At least they dared to say it. But it doesn't solve the problem. The Bushman has done nothing to eliminate the excrecence left of his desk by his newly found brother, Dollar Bill.
Bush lies, Cubans die. Bill lies, Cubans die.
Stop doing fidel's work, for Godsakes! Remember, as it's said in Spanish, one cannot be with God and the Devil at the same time. It's clear to me that both of these men have sided with the Bearded Devil next door.
Maybe freedom seeking Cubans should try to go to Mexico and come as illegals from there.... who knows.
posted on KillCastro at 4:57 AM (july 8, 2006)
You guys are so insightful, you knew this has been going on, this was not a one time thing, a woman dies but not by gunshot, they claim the boat was not rammed, but she's dead, and who the hell is speaking for us, for our desires, what we want for our fellow Cubans, NOONE, where are our politicos, why do they allow this to go on and on, it is open season on Cubans alright, someone please explain this country to me, no wonder Marti said..He vivido en la BESTIA y conozco sus entrañas
Charlie:
There was somebody else who attacked the Coast Guard for its careless disregard for the lives of Cubans which amounted to an extra-judicial execution on the high seas. That you and I should have done so a year ago casts those who did not in a none too favorable light. But that this guy — of all people — should have condemned it in no uncertain terms when our fellow Cuban bloggers didn't even take notice of it really puts them to shame.
While gansibele and Cuban Patriot (the Daemon and Pythias of C-A bloggers) both justified the killing because it was a smuggling operation, the legendary Longfellow got to the heart of the matter right away without any prompting on Miami's Cuban Connection a year ago:
"[The survivors are] testifying against the smugglers? Huh? How about testifying against the Coast Guard?"
And he continued along the same line to the logical conclusion:
"One more point. Why in the hell would any Cuban testify to imprison these so called Cuban-American smugglers? I understand the desire to want to remain in the U.S.A. But at the same time, I think it would be very difficult for me to help this government imprison these Cuban "smugglers" for the rest of their lives.
And why in the hell is our government imprisoning these "smugglers" anyway? I mean if the "smugglers" were smuggling drugs, or terrorists that is one thing. But they are helping people escape the most brutal dictator in this hemisphere.
Oh well, it's the Bush administration, and they can have their way with the Cuban-American community."
And so it will always be to their everlasting shame that Longfellow was ahead of the game a year ago and they were not.
Last night, while reading some e-mails asking us for more on our position on the Wet Foot Dry Foot, we decided that the best thing was to provide the readers with an index of our writtings on the subject.
Both KillCastro and myself have been writing a lot about the theme, and as valuable as our writings can be, the comment threads to the posts take live on their own.
Apparently, blind devotion to George Bush prevented some from seeing the red blood of Cubans staining the waters as they were killed by brutes who justify their actions under the "following orders" blanket.
Maybe their superiors, including their commander in chief, should be court martialed for crimes against civilians or for unauthorized actions of war.
The West Germans would have never thought of firing on a truck or any other vehicle that was trying to escape from East Germany. Maybe they were more humane than our own authorities who have open season on our Cuban refugees. As Charlie said so clearly, if this were a case where the border patrol would have been firing on a truck full of Mexicans trying to cross the border, all hell would have broken loose and we would have never heard the end of it. All the human rights organizations such as La Raza would have blown a cork and filled the media with protests. In fact there are two border patrols were indicted and are now serving time for firing on some folks trying to cross the border in Texas. So when it comes to crossing the borders, it seems some people are more equal than others. Where are the BUCL guys now when they are needed?
Agustín:
Val is backtracking from any principled position and Henry is MIA on this subject.
Val now thinks that the latest refugees are not real refugees because they are wont to visit Cuba as soon as they can; and Henry has no comment, having pretty much said it all last year when he suggested that the Coast Guard was right to try to kill the refugees because they were being "smuggled" here. Presumably, he has no objection to refugees who take to the seas in improvised rafts and are likely to die there. At least they don't wear the "bar sinister" of being "smuggled." Quite a guy, our Henry.
Manuel,
Well it seems that curious George has changed sides now and he is angry at the Eschefans for featuring Santanus on her first video to be released from her upcoming album 90 miles.And he will not buy the coming album. Wow! What can we expect next? Perhaps you are being forgiven and an apology will be forthcoming for being booted from Babalu's blog for saying exactly the same thing about the Eschefans, that is all about the money? ($$$$$$$$) Maybe there is still hope for Babalu. Better late than never.
Cosas veredes Sancho, que no crederes.
Agustín:
I think they are trying to put RCAB out of business by agreeing with everything I have ever said.
Their new strategy is to out-Tellechea Tellechea; that is, to become me.
Is it time to call it quits, after all?
Is this victory?
Is my job done?
Should I silently fade away?
Manuel,
well at least you should feel vindicated since you pointed out the Eschefans hipocrisy a long while back way before Babalu's late conversion and epiphany. As for an apology from them, I would not seat around and wait for one. I don't think they will ever admit to being wrong unless of course, they were dealing with their idols Emilio and Gloria.
Post a Comment