An Ideal Troubleshooter in Havana

Many don’t know the meaning of the “troubleshooter” title. This word can’t be found in the Muller’s “Big English-Russian Dictionary.” Troubleshooter is a person who, as a rule, doesn’t have an official post but possesses an indisputable personal authority and is employed to negotiate delicate matters. In this case, negotiations are normally responsibility-free for the power structures.

James (Jimmy) Carter served as the 39th President of the United States and he was the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Today, he has a full right to be called the most famous and successful international troubleshooter.

The other day, he had a three-day visit to Cuba that still remembers the leadership of Fidel Castro. It was not a coincidence. U.S.-Cuba relations were rather warm during Carter’s presidency (1977-1981). In 2002, Carter had a private visit to Cuba during which he held talks with Fidel Castro. During his last visit to Cuba, the former U.S. president had openly and bluntly criticized the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and the lack of political pluralism on the island.

This time, Carter came to the “Island of Freedom” to ease tensions in U.S.-Cuba relations. There was another reason for the visit: a humanitarian one. There had been speculations that Carter would be seeking release of Alan Gross, an American citizen who was jailed for 15 years for illegal provision of satellite communications equipment. The speculations were heated up by the miracle that Jimmy Carter performed last August during his visit to North Korea. He persuaded the North Korean leader to release an American citizen who was jailed for espionage and was serving his sentence behind the prison walls in Pyongyang. Before leaving for Cuba, Carter warned that he wouldn’t be able to bring Alan Gross back to the U.S.

Mr. Carter’s three-day visit to Cuba was extremely intense. He visited a synagogue, the Beth Shalom Temple (Mr. Gross was sentenced for providing satellite communications equipment to Jewish groups in Havana). Since arriving to Cuba, he also met a Roman Catholic Cardinal named Jaime Ortega. Together they have secured release of one hundred political convicts.

The following day, Carter met a group of Cuban dissidents, including those who have been recently released from jail. Eventually, he visited Alan Gross, the jailed American contractor. Mr. Gross has lost 40 kilos of weight since the day of his arrest in 2009. “He hasn’t lost his courage and does not admit himself to be guilty,” said Carter.*

Under these political conditions, Carter held talks with Cuban officials, including the Cuban leader Raul Castro. Jimmy Carter, 86, had also met his “old friend” (according to Carter’s words), Fidel Castro, who is now 84 years old. Carter said that Fidel Castro was “in good health.” During the talks, Raul Castro said that he was ready for dialog with Washington to negotiate “any matters” but only if it was “on the same level” — i.e. with the U.S. President Barak Obama — and “without conditions” but with respect for Cuban sovereignty and political independence. In turn, Carter expressed hope that his visit to Cuba would contribute to better relations between the U.S. and Cuba and it was time to end a half-a-century-long enmity, the legacy of “the Cold War.” “We should immediately end the trade embargo that the U.S. has imposed on the people of Cuba. It hinders rather than helps reforms,” he said. Carter called on Washington to release the “Cuban Five” who have been serving sentences in U.S. prison since 1998. He stressed that the “Cuban Five” were tried in Miami in a highly charged political climate (Miami is also known for being a centre of anti-Castro immigration movements). “They have now been incarcerated for more than twelve years. I hope they will be released in the nearest future and return to their homes in Cuba,” Carter said. Raul Castro, who was seeing Carter leave at the airport, told the press, “I agree with everything that President Carter said.”

On that note, Carter’s troubleshooting in Cuba was finished. It is possible that the 39th President of the U.S. may have a meeting with the 44th President of the U.S., Barak Obama. It is also possible that President Obama himself blessed Carter’s Cuban troubleshooting, wishing to check up the possibility of a breakthrough in U.S.-Cuba relations, i.e. diplomatic recognition, lifting of the trade embargo etc.

Jimmy Carter’s visit to Cuba, as well as his visit to North Korea, prove him to be an almost ideal troubleshooter and his example should be followed. The trip also demonstrates the great importance of troubleshooting as a profession and an institute.

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.