Two news came almost simultaneously. The United States has expanded sanctions against Cuba, adding three hotels, two diving centers, a water park and a financial company to the list of objectionable organizations.
The US Senate received another bill on new sanctions against the Russian pipeline under construction, the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. Is it possible to make any generalizations based on the random coincidence in time of these two news? At first glance, only a negative answer can be given to this question. Whatever side you look at, there are clearly more differences than coincidences.
Sanctions against the aquaclub cannot be seriously compared with sanctions against the gas pipeline. The bitter US fight against Nord Stream 2 is a political phenomenon of the era of the presidency of Donald Trump. In contrast, in the field of the sanctions war against Cuba, all US presidents have been noted since Dwight Eisenhower, who left his post back in 1961. This list of differences goes on and on. But I still propose to talk about the similarities.
We all know that American attempts to block the construction of the Russian gas pipeline are an obvious example of gangsterism in the economy. Unable to defeat Russian gas in fair competition, official Washington uses tricks made by American gangsters. Like, if your competitor is doing something better than you, do not try to become better yourself! Just clean your competitor!
But do we remember all the important facts about the primary source of US sanctions against Cuba? Have we forgotten any important fact directly related to gangsterism? Let's try to remember. January 1, 1959 - the overthrow of the pro-American regime by Cuban rebels. 1960 - the introduction of the first US sanctions against Cuba. 1961 - The failure of the CIA-organized attempt to overthrow the new Cuban power in the Gulf of Pigs. 1962 - a conflict fraught with nuclear war between the USSR and the USA over Cuba, following which official Washington refuses direct attempts to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.
All these American efforts to get rid of the unwanted power in the neighboring state are quite worthy of being called the tactics of political gangsterism.
But nevertheless, I had in mind something else - the fact that the Cuban regime overthrown by Fidel Castro worked very actively with the most famous American mafia groups. The history of Cuba after the end of the Second World War looks so fantastic that an impression can be created: it is not about what actually happened, but about the fantasies of a writer of a criminal genre with an unusually developed imagination. But all these "fantasies" are confirmed by the most serious historians.
1952 year. One of the leaders of the American mafia, Meyer Lansky (criminal nickname Mafia Accountant), offers the then Cuban president Carlos Prio Socarras a bribe of $ 250 thousand in exchange for his voluntary resignation. The president refuses, but soon still loses power as a result of a coup. The dictator Fulgencio Batista who once ruled the island comes to power. After that, the American mafia becomes the mistress of Cuba. All types of criminal business flourish on the island, and the local population is severely persecuted.
Is it any wonder then that several years later Batista’s regime collapsed like a rotten tree?
When young Fidel Castro aimed at overthrowing mafia power landed in the mountains of Cuba, there was only a handful of fighters next to him. But even this was enough to organize a popular uprising against a government friendly to American gangsters.
Against the background of the introduction of more and more American sanctions against Nord Stream 2, it is very useful for us to remember all these important milestones from the history of Cuba of the last century. Naturally, in my thoughts I don’t have an equal sign between the modern official authorities of the USA and the gangsters from the golden age of the American mafia. But, you must admit, the similarity of the methods is obvious. The similarity of rhetoric is striking. “The Russians must get out of the Middle East,” said US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker. Let me ask: is this a diplomat or a person who has direct acquaintance with a criminal subculture? By occupation, it’s kind of a diplomat, but by the manner of speaking this is not at all true.
However, thanks to Mr. Schenker for his manner of speaking. He helped me a lot to write this column, revealing the thinking system of American diplomats. But seriously, the example of Cuba shows that one can and should fight against American pressure in the gangster style. Of course, Cuba paid and still pays a very serious price for its refusal to surrender at the mercy of Washington. Over the 60 years of US sanctions, the island’s economy has suffered tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars. But the main thing is that the Cubans survived. And the fact is that we have much more strength and resources than Cuba. We will not succumb to diplomatic blackmail in the gangster style. We’ll better respond to this blackmail with deeds - for example, completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.