| id="body"> | | | | time, Diego Armando Maradona, the second most |
| Double Standards | | | | outstanding athlete in soccer history (after Pele), |
| Despite Cuba's human rights abuses, against all odds, | | | | arrived for a week's visit at the invitation of |
| Raúl R. Alfonsín, President of Argentina, a nation | | | | pro-Soviet dictator Fidel Castro Ruz. On the other |
| historically devastated by undemocratic leaders and | | | | side, between 1959 and 1999, up to 39,283 persons |
| military warlords, trip to Havana in the 80s. Since | | | | from 120 countries and dependencies studied on |
| then, this visit was a serious setback to the fragile | | | | Cuba. |
| democratic community in Latin America. | | | | Historically, the region has had a host of dictators, |
| While Alfonsín --Argentina's first democratic | | | | warlords, satraps, despots, from Rafael Trujillo |
| President since the 1976 coup-- visited the Palace of | | | | (Dominican Republic) and Juan Velasco Alvarado |
| the Revolution, home to Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz | | | | (Peru) to Luis García Meza (Bolivia), Jean-Claude |
| -who had ruled the Island from 1959 to 2008- and | | | | Duvalier (Haiti) and Manuel Antonio Noriega (Panama). |
| the Cabaret Tropicana (according to Cuban press | | | | Nonetheless, despite its past, Latin America -with |
| "the world's best cabaret" and a favorite place to | | | | over 25 democratic governments since the 2000s-- |
| friends of the Caribbean tyranny), several citizens, | | | | does not support democracy and human rights in the |
| critics and opponents of the pro-Soviet dictatorship, | | | | Island of Cuba. |
| were imprisoned on Cuba, among them Ever | | | | Astonishingly there is no solidarity with the Cuban |
| Peñalver Mazorra, who was one of the two | | | | people -under a military dictatorship for more than |
| longest-serving black political prisoners on Earth, | | | | half a century-- and its pro-democratic organizations |
| together with Nelson Mandela. Certainly, one cannot | | | | such as the "Ladies in White". Latin America's apathy |
| discuss about democracy and human rights and travel | | | | as Fidel Castro Ruz arrested 75 prominent human |
| to Cuba to visit Fidel Castro. | | | | rights activists in the early 2000s was a good |
| Some years ago, the Republic of Argentina had had | | | | message to many anti-democratic leaders in the Third |
| one of the most painful chapters of its national | | | | World, while Western Europe and Washington |
| history as the military regime, led by Jorge Rafael | | | | condemned the brutal character of the Cuban |
| Videla, came to power, overthrowing the democratic | | | | dictatorship. |
| government of María Estela Martínez de Perón, | | | | The Alfonsín Legacy |
| who was the first female President in the Western | | | | Apart from the support of allies such as Hugo |
| Hemisphere between 1974 and 1976. | | | | Chavez and Evo Morales, Havana has the powerful |
| From 1976 to 1981, Videla and his undemocratic | | | | pro-Castro lobby -made up of artists, former |
| regime slaughtered more than 30,000 people. In | | | | guerrillas, intellectuals, Marxist legislators and |
| addition to this, at least 400 children were | | | | xenophobic persons -- in several Latin democracies. |
| disappeared. In the meantime, hundreds of people | | | | The pro-Cuban lobby on Latin American policy was |
| fled to Europe, including Julio Cortazar, one of | | | | evidenced as ironically many democratic governments |
| Argentina's well-known authors. On the economic | | | | refused to meet dissidents and human rights activists |
| side, Argentina became one of the countries of the | | | | during the years from 2000 to 2010. |
| Third World because of Videla's economic | | | | Under the strong influence of the pro-Cuban lobby on |
| mismanagement. In that period, Jorge Pérez | | | | Peruvian politics, after condemnation of Cuba's regime |
| Esquivel, the nation's most celebrated campaigner for | | | | in Geneva (Switzerland), Peru's then-President |
| democracy and human rights, captured the Nobel | | | | Alejandro Toledo could not break ties with Havana as |
| Prize for Peace in Stockholm, Sweden. | | | | Cuba's dictatorship refused to apologize to the |
| On the world stage, curiously the military rule had | | | | Peruvian administration for insults done to them |
| important diplomatic, cultural and economic ties with | | | | during the United Nations Commission on Human |
| the Kremlin. By the early 80s, a Soviet delegation, led | | | | Rights Session. In Switzerland, Peru had condemned |
| by world-class chess player Anatoly Karpov, went to | | | | to Havana. A few hours later, in Lima, over ten |
| Buenos Aires. | | | | legislators, among them vice-President of Peru, went |
| Second-class Democracies | | | | to Cuba's Embassy to "apologize to the Castro |
| After winning the support of Argentina's democratic | | | | regime". |
| regime, Fidel Castro, one of the most notorious | | | | By August 2007, two Cuban fighters, who had |
| tyrants in the latter half of the 20th century, sent a | | | | disappeared during the Pan American Games in Rio de |
| number of national delegations -made up of athletes, | | | | Janeiro, were arrested by police and sent back to |
| coaches, doctors, nurses, military advisers performers | | | | Havana. Brazil's athlete Ricardo Aroma said, "They |
| and politicians-- to Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, | | | | said they felt pressured because the Cuban |
| Ecuador, Panama, Peru and some English-speaking | | | | government could deprive their families in Cuba of |
| countries. | | | | electricity and supplies". Despite having signed the |
| During the Cold War, the Cuban tyranny sent up to | | | | United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of |
| 2,500 doctors to Latin America and Africa. After | | | | refugees, Brazil, under the government of Luiz Inacio |
| donating 50,000 vaccines to Brazil, Havana signed an | | | | Lula da Silva, supported that controversial decision. |
| agreement with the Brazilian Minister of Health, Luis | | | | Ironically, during the military rule, from the mid-1960s |
| Carlos Borges da Silveira, in October 1988. A year | | | | to the mid-1980s, several Brazilians had sought political |
| ago, Conrado Martínez Corona, President of the | | | | asylum in Europe and other nations. |
| INDER (the National Institute of Sport, Physical | | | | In this century, we need to see a lot of Latin |
| Education and Recreation), arrived in Santo Domingo | | | | Americans fight for democracy and human rights. |
| to sign an Olympic agreement calling for closer | | | | The democratic governments, from Costa Rica and |
| bilateral ties with the Dominican Republic. | | | | Chile to Jamaica and Peru, should put Cuba on the |
| In parallel, with Soviet backing, a host of Latin | | | | Latin American agenda. Meanwhile, the American |
| contingents -anti-American persons, former terrorists, | | | | administration and its allies should refuse to issue |
| Marxist politicians, radical feminists and young | | | | visas to the pro-Castro lobbyists in Latin America. |
| politicians - arrived in Havana. For example, in that | | | | |