Congresswoman Barbara Lee a fearless progressive??...gi'me a break!!

As an Afrocuban exiled artist, I wonder how come that, if as you affirm, “Congresswoman Barbara Lee is such a fearless progressive with an unparalleled record of doing what is right under the toughest of circumstances", she kept her eyes and mouth shut in the obvious presence of the 54 years of abuses by the Castro regime. How dare you to oppose any American war while celebrating a regime that systematically promotes armed conflicts in the 5 continents and train terrorists on their own territory. What a disappointment was to see that upon the return from (what is left of) my motherland, delegates of the Congressional Black Caucus had nothing to say but praising words about the longest and most repressive dictatorship on the globe. Caucus member Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri even had the guts to say (New York Post, April 11-09): "We've been led to believe that the Cuban people are not free, and they are repressed by a vicious dictator, and I saw nothing to match what we've been told." ––A government tour can lead you to believe anything–– were the remarks of Nat Hentoff. I may add that voluntary blindness and deafness are common among political extremists and their compassionless supporters. 

On another note, I wonder how is it possible to lay flowers at a Havana memorial to Martin Luther King Jr, while visiting admirers of Fidel and Raul choose to ignore that a biography of Dr. King – seized during the 2003 crackdown raids on independent libraries – was, among other “subversive” books, ordered burned by Castro's judges in one-day trials. Were you ever curious to know why an Afro-Cuban disciple of Dr. King was serving 25 years in prison, and at least ask the authorities for a visit to Dr. Biscet, or meeting Iris Garcia, the founder of the Rosa Parks Women's Civil Rights Movement?

I said this and a lot more to Ms. Lee on my letter to her dated May 2nd, 2009; so before asking me for any kind of support, as a member of the government, it is her duty to answer my letter explaining her absurd double standard policy.

Paquito D’Rivera

June 6-13