Argen Press - Original Article (Spanish)

A Demonstration at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City,
Feb. 7, Over the Expulsion of a Cuban Delegation at
the Behest of the U.S. Treasury Department. Mexican
Officials Say That the Hotel Could Be Fined
for the Action. (above and below).








The Sign Above Reads 'Discrimination is Illegal.' (above).
--------------------------------------------------------------

The expulsion of a Cuban delegation from the Maria Isabel Sheraton Hotel in the Mexican capital confirms a worsening in the alarming tendencies of the Bush Administration. In a heretofore unprecedented act of interference, the U.S. hotel chain in Mexico, as is common knowledge, acted in accordance with U.S. laws and in express compliance with the instructions of the Department of Treasury in Washington. If any doubt remained, a State Department spokesperson said with respect to the incident: "The laws of the U.S. apply to any … U.S. subsidiary, regardless of where it is, whether that be in Mexico City, in Europe or in South America."

That incident fits in well with what is a constant of the Bush Administration: the wanton disrespect of both domestic and international law, but in the case of this incident, it was carried out more brazenly and forcefully than usual. It seems to be a desperate attempt to divert attention from its own serious economic, political and social problems at home, international discredit and the quagmire in Iraq.  It also reflects the deep hatred that Cuba generates in the Oval office, due to the White House's failed attempts to make Cuba bend to its will.

The meeting at the Sheraton had one distinguishing feature: it was held between United States businesses that have an interest in Cuban oil production as well as associating with Cuban government oil officials.  But the Treasury Department had been notified of this meeting beforehand, and international media were reporting on it before and during the meeting.

Meetings in Mexico between American business executives and Cuban representatives have taken place in recent years, at hotels belonging to the world superpower, without resort by Washington to punitive measures. The action taken against the Cuban delegation bespeaks of an intensified aggressiveness, as was also evident in the agitated statements made against Cuba and Venezuela by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and by Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. Those comments implicated the brand new government of Evo Morales in Bolivia, and by extension any attempt in Latin America to advocate policies that differ from those of the U.S. 

The same aggressiveness was seen in Bush's fascist "State of the Union" address. The speech reflected a frustrated government in a weak political position that obstinately refuses to listen to any criticism and looks set to continue in the same behavior that has led it into this situation.

President George W. Bush Delivers the 2006
State of the Union Address, Jan. 31 (above);

— C-SPAN VIDEO: George W. Bush Gives
the 2006 State of the Union Address and the
Democratic Response, Jan. 31 01:02:00

We cannot lose sight of the fact that the United States is the supreme military power, and although it has been ridiculed several times with its handling of widely publicized wars, such as in Vietnam and in Iraq for the past three years, it continues to have an endless capacity for destruction, even more so today in the hands the fanatic and unscrupulous Bush gang.

But to return to the hostility against Cuba, what just happened in Mexico is linked to an ensemble of previous U.S. actions, already discussed in this column, in which the turbulent North more and more involves the European Union.  The E.U. parliament recently approved a motion to condemn the "human rights" situation in Cuba. The hypocrisy of the condemnation is more notorious in that it doesn't include, even just as a token, the least censure of the concentration camp installed by the U.S. in Cuban territory, illegally usurped from the Guantanamo Naval Base.

Before the Second World War, we witnessed the eruption of fascism. Now we are witnessing this same trend, but in the U.S., and we are again experiencing the blindness and cowardice of the greatest powers in the world. 

The danger is enormous as the Pentagon, in an abrupt change in its military doctrine, has begun to contemplate plans for the "preventive" use of atomic weapons. Serious and well informed researchers such as Michel Chosudovsky, are right when they argue that the possible aggression against Iran will be carried out with this type of weapon, because in reality, the U.S. doesn't currently have enough infantry to occupy the ancient land of the Persians.

The Sheraton incident should not be underestimated.  A new form of atomic fascism is clearly seen in this brutal act.