It is sad, but also evident, that 66 years later there are plenty of idiots who continue to yearn for the regime’s scraps.
14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, 26 January 2025 — Many years ago, at the dawn of Castro’s tyranny, people in Cuba often heard about those described as “useful fools” or “fellow travelers,” for defending Marxist proposals and their spokespersons, without being part of that horde that has done so much damage to humanity.
I met several of those people, including family members, men and women of good faith who believed all the stories of Castroism for a period of time and then joined the armed struggle against the regime. There were also those who, without any good faith, lent themselves to the dictatorship’s game until they feared being burned themselves and decided to emigrate.
Some of these, despite being abroad, never stopped serving Castroism, either by spying for it or by simply white-washing the face of the regime and organizing, in other countries, particularly from the United States and Puerto Rico, trips and conferences to Cuba.
Others created institutions with the aim of making totalitarianism palatable to foreigners willing to fulfill the role of useful idiots in favor of Castroism, a function in which the intelligence and diplomatic services of Cuba have played an important role by providing resources to those who have served them from abroad.
There were also those who, without any good faith, lent themselves to the dictatorship’s game until they feared being burned themselves and decided to emigrate
Castroism, to expand that influence, founded the Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), an entity that is dedicated to attracting politicians, social leaders, intellectuals and anyone who, as a result of their frustration, is willing to serve in hell. The ICAP and La Casa de Las Americas (House of the Americas) were instruments that provided great services to the Cuban dictatorship, because they could cover up its subversion and its spying.
The Castro leadership quickly realized that it wasn’t only Cubans who supported dysfunctional and tyrannical governments. They became aware that, in all countries, including the most advanced in law, there are useful idiots and fellow travelers ready to serve them over the years.
A few weeks ago, my friend Luis Rolle, a retired captain of the United States Army, told me that he was convinced that the Biden Government was preparing to take measures in favor of the Cuban regime. I listened to his comment very carefully, so it was not surprising that Cuban totalitarianism, an eternal threat to the security of the United States, was once again favored by those who some consider the continuation of Barack Hussein Obama’s policy towards Cuba.
It is incomprehensible that those who promote policies favorable to regimes of force, despite the accumulation of failures of those autocracies, still enjoy public favor and can continue to provide violators of civil rights with coverage that favors them, which, at the least, makes them “fellow travelers.”
The Castro leadership quickly realized that it wasn’t only Cubans who supported dysfunctional and tyrannical governments
Unfortunately, we find many personalities who enjoy being fellow travelers of autocrats. We see them in the entertainment industry, academia, powerful corporations and in US politics, as demonstrated by the exclusion of the Cuban regime from the list of terrorist states, fortunately reinstated with that designation by President Donald Trump the same day he assumed the leadership of the country.
It is painful, but also evident, that 66 years later there are plenty of idiots who, despite having abandoned Cuba, continue to long for scraps from the regime, letting themselves be manipulated in different ways by the Castro authorities, always ready to fish in their troubled waters in order to make money, even if it is stained with the blood of their compatriots.
Let me clarify, I’m not talking about the nostalgia for Cuba felt by Cubans, an open wound for many of us. I am writing about people who, despite having made the decision to leave their country, defend the leaders of the nefarious Government that forced them to leave. I suggest that both terms, “useful fools and fellow travelers,” be summarized in “useful idiots,” because after so much devastation, we should be more categorical in these qualifications, which show that thousands of years of evolution do not prevent some human beings from still having the genes of rats.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
