To those who believe we should end the Cuban embargo I have one response: Castro. Castro is not the cuddly, fatigue-clad old man that many on this campus would like to believe. It is no coincidence that he has maintained a stranglehold over Cuba for the past 40 years. His longevity is the direct result of a secret police force that systematically tortures and imprisons those persons viewed as a threat to the Castro regime. Let no one forget, that is how communism operates in practice.
With that in mind, do we really want to form closer ties with such a regime? Do we want to give them our economic stamp of approval? The status quo with Cuba is an economic embargo and any strengthening of ties would implicitly endorse a brutal dictator's systematic repression of an entire nation. Let's not add support for yet another brutal dictator to our list of foreign policy mistakes.
