What do you think of this?

[MuranoFarms]

Actually when they make it to shore and are caught they are held by INS. Every attempt is made to return them to the country they came from, but Cuba never agrees. Since they can't be held indefinitely, after a certain period (I think 2 years) they are released in the US and expected to obtain citizenship. However, a large amount of them do not, and it would just kill you to see what deplorable conditions some of them live in here in the US.

 

[rikithemonk]

Spy got caught. US spy is in prison. I don't see the issue. Spies and economic hit men are everywhere.

 

[AquaEyes]

Actually when they make it to shore and are caught they are held by INS. Every attempt is made to return them to the country they came from, but Cuba never agrees. Since they can't be held indefinitely, after a certain period (I think 2 years) they are released in the US and expected to obtain citizenship. However, a large amount of them do not, and it would just kill you to see what deplorable conditions some of them live in here in the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy

No, you are incorrect. Once they make it to land, they are able to stay.

 

[chickened]

Were not most that came here in the 70's convicts? seems I remember hearing that.

 

[AquaEyes]

Were not most that came here in the 70's convicts? seems I remember hearing that.

But convicted of what -- being against the revolution? Many Cubans were jailed for reasons that would not be considered criminal here. In any case, I was referencing the present and more recent past regarding "illegal Cuban immigrants."

 

[thaiturkey]

Spy got caught. US spy is in prison. I don't see the issue. Spies and economic hit men are everywhere.

Interesting!

This man was taking equipment into Cuba that would enable a group of people there to communicate internationally. He said that it was to enable Cuban Jews to communicate with Jews in other countries.

Such activities seem, at best, to be on the very edge of the USAID range of activities:

http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/

Was he acting in a private capacity rather than for USAID? Was he acting for an agency other than USAID but using his USAID credentials, if indeed he was still working for that organisation? The Wikipedia piece on USAID contains this sentence:

William Blum has said that in the 1960s and early 1970s USAID has maintained "a close working relationship with the CIA, and Agency officers often operated abroad under USAID cover.

Last year, the Pakistan government was suspicious that USAID was manned by CIA agents:

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/04/29/concerns-in-pakistan-that-usaid-officials-are-cia-spies/

The man was at best a fool and at worst involved in espionage. If he was planning to take communications equipment into Cuba, given the sensitivities that country has, he should have got proper clearance for the Cuban government in advance. It doesn't matter what passport you hold, if you are convicted of a crime in another country there's nothing your own government can do to force your release, pardon or the commutation of your sentence. In some countries he might have been executed by now so perhaps Cuba isn't so bad.

Here's a BBC report of this case from last year:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12641902

 

[thaiturkey]

Were not most that came here in the 70's convicts? seems I remember hearing that.

You might find this interesting, if you have a taste for facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_exile

I'm not sure, though, what Cuban exiles have to do with a foreigner in a Cuban prison.

And if anyone is unsure why the Cuban government has a rather sticky relationship with its northern neighbours, perhaps its because of this:

http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/giron.htm

 

[chickened]

You might find this interesting, if you have a taste for facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_exile

I'm not sure, though, what Cuban exiles have to do with a foreigner in a Cuban prison.

And if anyone is unsure why the Cuban government has a rather sticky relationship with its northern neighbours, perhaps its because of this:

http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/giron.htm

It seems to back up what I said.

I am not sure in reference to your earlier post that children are running the Cuban Government.

As for "Bay of Pigs" we should have finished the job. Put a democratic government in place. That is our only mistake.

After the Cuban Missile crisis the U.S. no longer seen Cuba as anything more than a barking dog.

 

[thaiturkey]

It seems to back up what I said.

I am not sure in reference to your earlier post that children are running the Cuban Government.

As for "Bay of Pigs" we should have finished the job. Put a democratic government in place. That is our only mistake.

After the Cuban Missile crisis the U.S. no longer seen Cuba as anything more than a barking dog.

Que? No, I was asking whether your suggestion that bombs be dropped on Cuba included bombing children.

You need to get real about this. The man has been convicted of an offence under Cuban law, like it or not.

 

[chickened]

Que? No, I was asking whether your suggestion that bombs be dropped on Cuba included bombing children.

You need to get real about this. The man has been convicted of an offence under Cuban law, like it or not.

My original meaning was that there is nothing in the CUBAN GOVERNMENT worth a soldier and should be bombed to oblivion. That fact that children, or adult civilians may get hurt is what our government calls acceptable losses and is regrettable but on the other hand how many adult or children have already died?

There is a book, an autobiography by Alvin York I recommend you read. It sheds some light on war and why.

As for the guy in the Cuban prison he knew the risks.

It is becoming clear to me that you do in fact live under a FORM of free government wherever you live but it is not the free government that we live under. The U.S. is truly unique in its' human rights and is unequal in our protections and rights and it is not until something like what has happened to the guy in Cuba that the real value of our rights come into play. I would be interested to hear the trial that convicted that guy. Personal rights around the world are a ripple effect of our system, there is none better that is why people come here.