A poster in support of the “Cuban Five.” |
Cuban President Raul Castro has proposed a prisoner swap with the U.S.
Political dissidents imprisoned in Cuba would be released in exchange for the “Cuban Five,” who were arrested in 2001 for conspiracy and espionage charges in a controversial case.
The exchange could lead the way toward talks between Castro and the Obama administration.
John McAuliff of “The Havana Note” wants to see prisoner releases prior to Barack Obama’s assumption of office and wrote Presidents Castro and Bush urging for a release.
Kyle Munzenrieder at “Riptide 2.0″ thinks the same of prisoner release under the Obama administration and says of the potential talks “don’t expect anti-Castro Cuban-Americans to let him bring the ‘Cuban Five’ to the table.”
Blogger Circles Robinson suggests that the exchange could please people on both sides, noting that the Cuban Five are “considered heroes and are never far from most people’s thoughts” in Cuba. Castro’s offer closely resembles what Robinson proposed as a “win-win deal” in March of 2007.
Billy Burnett and Judi Lynn of “Democratic Underground” are against the prisoner exchange, claiming that the “Cuban Five” did not act against the U.S. state and that among the “dissidents” held by Cuba are terrorists who acted against the Cuban state.
“CharlesD” of the “CubaMania” forum disagrees, and writes that if the exchange takes place, “the only…winner will be Castro,” arguing that the offer is little more than a publicity stunt.
International and online opinion on the “Cuban Five” varies, but the U.S. federal appeals court upheld their convictions in June.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Hartlandmartin under a Creative Commons license.
12/19/2008 :: 02:41:43 PM
John McAuliff Says:
Thanks for picking up my blog on the Cuban prisoner swap. Interesting that folks on both the left and right oppose it. Some people prefer symbols.
Also thanks for the show. The need is clearly there. I hope you get the audience to sustain it. The withdrawal of network coverage is unfortunately a reflection not the cause of US insularity (our big island mindset).
One critical question about Obama is whether his personal biography which was not necessarily helpful in the campaign allows him to reengage the US in a different way with the world.
His policy on Cuba is the first test. If he only does family travel, he will disappoint large numbers of people in the US and even more worldwide.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamacuba/