The Miami Herald published an editorial on June 28, 2023, entitled “Pope Francis shouldn’t have welcomed Cuba’s leader. He helped legitimize a brutal regime.“ I wrote a letter to the editor about the editorial. Here it is as published on June 29.
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End the embargo
Concern for the Cuban people is understandable. However, the Herald’s June 28 editorial, “Pope Francis shouldn’t have welcomed Cuba’s leader. He helped legitimize a brutal regime,” misses the point. The classification of brutality in Cuba is more applicable to Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship of the 1950s and to the violations of human rights at the Guantanamo U.S. Naval base in Cuba.
America’s policy against Cuba is cruel and violates human rights. The Miami Herald is well-positioned to promote the rightful change of policy and alleviate the plight of Cubans suffering under the embargo. Former President Obama’s short-lived loosening of the embargo provided palpable relief and reduced irregular immigration into the United States.
The Trump administration stopped all that, and many Cubans left the island by whatever means possible. Many found themselves at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 190 countries worldwide oppose the embargo.
Pope Francis opposes the embargo, yet Cuban-American politicians advocate a selfish policy under which their fellow Cubans suffer. It’s time to end this unjust and cruel embargo.
Milton Sanchez-Parodi
Poland, OH