Just Keep Swimming

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 17 January 2015
by Gina Montaner (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Beth Holding. Edited by Bora Mici.
In the streets of Havana, citizens celebrated the historical reconciliation between Cuba and the United States. The announcement could mean an improved trade flow, more money sent from relatives living abroad and the introduction of the dollar, all of which would help to keep the struggling Cuban economy afloat. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the measure came into effect yesterday — Jan. 16 — at least in terms of American politics. Despite the fact that for almost 60 years Cuba has known Uncle Sam as the Bogeyman, it seems he’s finally ready to help Cubans in a way that the Castro regime just couldn’t.

However, the flip side to all this is that since Dec. 17, the amount of Cuba-U.S. swim attempts has skyrocketed. According to the Miami Coast Guard, U.S. authorities have since captured, intercepted or turned away at least 421 Cubans sighted in the waters. This figure is almost double that of the 222 migrants recorded in December 2013.

What the Cubans say is one thing; what they feel is something entirely different. Many fear a revocation of the Cuban Adjustment Act passed in 1966 by the U.S. Congress. This was a measure protecting them from deportation once they had reached American territory. Under what was known as the “wet foot, dry foot policy,” any person fleeing Cuba was able to pursue residency in America after a delay of one year. Although only Congress has the power to recall the law and U.S. authorities have confirmed that they have no intention of modifying it, Cubans fear an end to this privilege granted to them as victims of a dictatorship spanning 50 years.

Drop in Political Exiles

But if something has indeed diminished, then it’s the concept of the political exile: he who fled and was subsequently condemned to expulsion. Today, very few people fit this definition. Although Cuba remains a single-party state, in recent years, the majority of Cubans who have since emigrated are now cautious when visiting the island.

Another phenomenon worth considering is the amount of Cubans who commit a crime in the U.S., only to return to Cuba as fugitives seeking safety. Recently, the newspaper Sun Sentinel published a three-part article highlighting the principal crime organizations at work in the U.S. These included car insurance and health care fraud, mass marijuana production and the falsification of credit cards. The above are all money-making operations that have a clear influence on Cuba, where, it seems, certain government sectors receive underhand bribes in order to grant refuge to these fugitives. Although Cuban-born nationals make up only 1 percent of the entire U.S. population, they are nonetheless responsible for 41 percent of arrests concerning health care fraud. According to the newspaper Sun Sentinel, “Cuba has become a bedroom community for criminals who exploit America’s good will.” This is a delicate subject, which could very well be discussed by Department of State representatives in Havana on Jan. 21.

In Congress, where salient figures such as Cuban-American Democratic Sen. Bob Menéndez are demanding explanations regarding the concessions granted to Castro’s government, the validity of the Cuban Adjustment Act will be up for discussion. Meanwhile, in Cuba, those who still cling to the "American dream" continue to swim for U.S. soil. It seems almost nobody believes in the tale of the Bogeyman anymore. Three million Cubans and their relatives in the U.S. serve to prove just that.


En las calles de la Habana la gente celebró el anuncio del histórico acercamiento entre Estados Unidos y Cuba. Todo apunta a un mayor flujo comercial, más remesas de familiares en el extranjero y la entrada de dólares que podrían mantener a flote la famélica economía cubana. Una flexibilización que, según ha comunicado el Departamento del Tesoro, entró ayer en vigor, al menos en lo que concierne a Washington. A pesar de que a lo largo de casi 60 años el 'Tío Sam' ha sido 'el hombre del saco', al final acabará por aliviar las necesidades que el castrismo no ha sabido subsanar.

No obstante, la otra cara del júbilo es que a partir del 17 de diciembre se disparó el número de personas que intenta llegar a Miami cruzando el estrecho. De acuerdo a datos de la guardia costera de esta ciudad, desde entonces las autoridades han capturado, interceptado o ahuyentado a al menos 421 cubanos divisados en el mar. Una cifra que duplica a los 222 que fueron interceptados en diciembre de 2013.

O sea, una cosa es lo que dicen los cubanos y otra bien distinta es el temor de muchos a que se derogue la ley de ajuste cubano que el Congreso de Estados Unidos aprobó en 1966; una media que los ampara de ser deportados una vez que están en territorio estadounidense. Bajo lo que se conoce como la 'ley de pies secos, pies mojados', al cabo de un año y un día todo cubano que llega sin visa puede solicitar la residencia. A pesar de que dicha ley sólo la podría revocar el Congreso y las autoridades han afirmado que no hay planes para modificarla, en la isla hay miedo de que se acabe el privilegio con el que han contado durante 50 años por ser considerados víctimas de una dictadura.

Exiliados políticos 'diluidos'

Pero si algo se ha diluido es el concepto del exiliado político que huía y estaba condenado al destierro. Hoy son pocos los que se ajustan a esta definición. Aunque Cuba continúa bajo un régimen de partido único, en los últimos años la mayoría de los cubanos que emigra visita la isla con bastante asiduidad.

Otro fenómeno a tener en cuenta es el número de cubanos que delinquen en Estados Unidos y se refugian en la isla en calidad de fugitivos. Recientemente, el periódico 'Sun Sentinel' publicó una serie de tres partes que destapa las principales mafias que ponen en marcha en Estados Unidos: fraude a seguros de autos y al sistema sanitario, laboratorios hidropónicos de marihuana o falsificación de tarjetas de crédito. Operaciones millonarias que revierten en Cuba, donde, al parecer, sectores del Gobierno reciben 'mordidas' a cambio de concederle refugio a estos prófugos de la ley. Aunque los nacidos en Cuba son sólo un 1% de la población en Estados Unidos, sin embargo son responsables del 41% de los arrestos en el país por fraude al sistema médico. Según el 'Sun Sentinel', "Cuba se ha convertido en una nación dormitorio para criminales que van y vienen". Un tema espinoso que podría abordarse en las conversaciones que enviados del Departamento de Estado iniciarán en la Habana el 21 de enero.

En el Congreso, donde figuras tan señaladas como el senador demócrata cubanoamericano Bob Menéndez están exigiendo que se den explicaciones acerca de las concesiones que ha hecho Washington al Gobierno de Raúl Castro, saldrá a colación la vigencia o no de la lay de ajuste cubano. Mientras tanto, en la isla se echan al mar aferrados al 'sueño americano'. Casi nadie se creyó el cuento del hombre del saco. Tres millones de cubanos y sus descendientes en la diáspora dan fe de ello.
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