A year later, and not much has changed in Cuba.  We understand that change in Cuba is always very slow.  At the same time, the Obama administration did not offer any pressure even "un poquito" (a little bit) to do something about human rights.  Not surprisingly, Raúl Castro reacted to President Obama by tightening his controls over the Cuban people.  In other words, they saw Obama's actions as a sign of weakness and have taken advantage of it to solidify their regime.

This is how the Castro thugs are celebrating the first anniversary of the U.S.-Cuba announcement:

Capitol HIll Cubans reports that 150 dissidents were arrested on Human Rights Day.  Weird way of saying that this is the change we've been waiting for.  Cuban dissidents in the regime's prisons are still waiting for the change.

Breitbart reports that those people freed after the U.S.-Cuba deal are now back in prison.  The title of that movie is "In your face, Obama!"

The Miami Herald reports that Cubans are trying to get to the U.S. in unexpected numbers:

The Obama administration calibrated diplomatic moves, courted press relations — and attended to such details as the emotional timbre of its flag-raising ceremony in Havana.

But the administration and rapprochement allies grossly underestimated a major factor in the speed-dial pursuit of diplomatic relations with the island: the Cuban people’s desire to emigrate to the United States — and the Castro regime’s historical willingness, in times of pressure, to open a door for them to flee.

One year after President Barack Obama’s historic shift in Cuba policy, the lack of vision — and inertia — on the well-charted subject of massive flight from Cuba is shaping up to be one of the strategy’s failures.

Strategic failure?  I guess so!

No one thought through the consequences of legitimizing a corrupt regime. 

I wonder how all of those Latin American countries feel now about U.S.-Cuba relations!  The bottom line is that Central America was not flooded with Cubans before we recognized the regime.

Happy anniversary to the U.S.-Cuba deal.  It may be popular with college professors, Senator Leahy, and all of those who thought there was a big market waiting for their products.  It is not popular with the dissidents and those of us who believe that the U.S. needs to stand for human rights, not corrupt dictators who hate us.

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