Ironically, at the same time that U.S./Cuba relations were improving, the U.SA. worsened its relationship with Venezuela, announcing that Venezuela represented an alleged security threat to the U.S. Most of the Western Hemisphere rejected this characterization and also rejected the approach of the U.S. toward Venezuela, apparently forcing the Obama administration to reconsider its stand towards Venezuela.
The ruling elite in the U.S. seems to have great difficulty appreciating that Latin America is not its property. There really is something called “national sovereignty,” that nations on this planet are supposed to respect. Yet, when it comes to Latin America there is a long history—dating back to the Monroe Doctrine of the 19th Century—of assuming that the entire hemisphere is made up of different components of Washington, D.C.’s realm.
In looking at President Castro on CNN the other day, it was clear that he had different ideas.
(Bill Fletcher Jr. is the host of The Global African on Telesur-English. He is a racial justice, labor and global justice writer and activist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and at www.billfletcherjr.com.)