Castros Got More Out of Obama's Cuba Deal Than US Did
Is there any enemy of the United States who didn't benefit hugely from a deal with Obama? Just as the Castro regime was in real trouble because of the collapse of their Venezuelan Socialist sugar daddy, Obama swooped in to rescue the Communist dictatorship.
US businesses have gotten little out of the deal, despite Obama's promises. But Obama didn't do this for capitalism. He did it for the totalitarian Cuban socialist regime.
When the U.S. and Cuba re-opened their embassies this year, American businesses started to look for opportunities on the island. They are quickly learning though that it will be a tough slog.
John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, took a deep dive into the numbers and found that if you “make two columns and you have what the U.S. has gained and what Cuba has gained, Cuba has gained far more during the last year than has the U.S.”
U.S. agricultural sales have been dropping steadily, falling by 37 percent, while U.S. travel to Cuba skyrocketed and U.S. dollar outflows were up 150 percent.
Even in the area of telecommunications, a priority for the Obama administration, U.S. companies have little to show but a couple of roaming agreements on the island.
The Castros wanted Americans to spend money in Cuba. They're not interested in opening up Cuba.
Progressives who want child prostitutes can always go to Cuba and enjoy access to American financial institutions. Despite all the gushing NPR pieces, there's not much to see in Cuba, except a functioning Communist dictatorship, old cars, rundown buildings colorfully painted (you can see that all across the continent) and the one thing that Cuba really offers.
“Some Cuban children are reportedly pushed into prostitution by their families, exchanging sex for money, food or gifts,” it reads. The cost of forbidden youth is startlingly cheap: as little as $30 for the night.
This is what American Express and Master Card are really helping for when they operate in Cuba. Obama helped cover this up for obvious reasons.
Reuters reported on Monday that senior political leaders at the State Department overruled the agency’s trafficking experts on the rankings of several countries that have failed to crack down on the modern slave trade for humans, including for forced labor and prostitution.
Strategically important nations such as China, Cuba, and Malaysia—all of which have been accused of sponsoring or overlooking forms of forced labor and trafficking—received inflated assessments as a result. China remained a “Tier 2” country despite J/TIP’s recommendation to downgrade it to “Tier 3,” the lowest ranking. Both Cuba and Malaysia were upgraded to Tier 2 amid objections from trafficking analysts.
Americans lose. Communist dictators win. Human rights loses. Abused children lose. Obama wins.