Cuban Spycraft
One would not suspect an economic basket case of a country to be the grand fortress of espionage that it is, but Cuba has well been know to punch far above its weight ever since the communist takeover of the island in 1959.
Kyle Orton tells the whole story using the example of recently uncovered Cuban spy Victor Manuel Rocha, who infiltrated the highest levels of the United States’ society and government, all while working for the Castro dictatorship.
The crux of the indictment is that Rocha acquired U.S. citizenship and got himself employed in the U.S. government at the behest of Fidel Castro, referred to by Rocha as “the Commandante”, the administrator of the Soviets’ Cuban colony from 1959 until 1991, and tyrant in his own right after that until formally ceding power to his brother, Raul Castro, in 2008. Rocha’s main aims were: (1) gaining access to classified information he could pass to Castro’s DI and thus to Moscow; and (2) influencing U.S. foreign policy in directions advantageous to the Communists. There is no doubt Rocha succeeded at (1), since he “had unique access to non-public United States government information”, and assessing the extent of (2) is an ongoing process. The laws Rocha broke along the way that will play into his sentencing include acquiring American citizenship under false pretences, and repeatedly lying on security clearances and FBI background checks.
The details that Orton describes are breath-taking in their scope and scale. For instance, the fact that Rocha was active for four decades without attracting attention. The counter-intelligence effort that led to his arrest were all conducted years after he had entered retirement from the U.S. government—but not from his life’s work of working for the Cuban spy service, the Dirección de Inteligencia, or DI.
Part of the problem undoubtedly stemmed from the ideological sea that Cuban spies could swim in among American left-wing elite circles. The popularity of communist ideology at the highest levels of elite academia made it easy to hide in plain sight, you might think—and you would be correct. Nonetheless, the Cuban DI did even better at hiding among the political leadership of post-revolutionary Cuban emigre communities, where their far-right proclamations made the organizations they infiltrated look unacceptably kooky.
The revolutionary Cuban government copied the espionage system of their Soviet sponsors in painstaking detail. The Cuban regime remained loyal to the Russians and the rest of the global anti-American axis, eager to continue helping the Russians, the Chinese, and the Iranians even after the end of the Cold War and September 11. One should say, even after the financial and material rewards from helping such countries had become rather pitiful. Old habits die hard, including habits of the anti-American, anti-colonial mind.
“HILLARY CLINTON SAYS THE UNTHINKABLE” was the headline on a story at NJ.com. What did she say? She said she agreed with Mike Pence as he was quoted on a post on X by Face The Nation: Former Vice President Mike Pence says it's "unacceptable" for Donald Trump to refer to January 6 defendants as "hostages" as their cases go through the legal system: "I think it's very unfortunate at a time that there are American hostages being held in Gaza."
What strikes me as a terrible reflection on the divisiveness in the country is that she said she “can't believe I'm saying this...” and it was reported as being unthinkable that she could agree with Mike Pence on ANYTHING.
This is a sad time, when partisans can only think in partisan terms and some folks wonder why Congress can't get anything done.
Original link: https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/03/hillary-clinton-says-the-unthinkable.html
Hi. I have to get to the post office and then the ballot drop box. I'm considering whether I can time it so I put the ballot in the slot at exactly noon local time. Because it's my protest vote against predetermination of election outcomes as it is practiced in this country, by the elite establishment (read: MAGA GOP) and the media (read: everybody but Mr. Stirewalt and perhaps Mr. Scoop Drucker).
If you don't hear anything more from me today, I'm sure it'll just be that I am enjoying a late lunch and catching up on more to-do items. If the cops are watching, it'll only be to make sure I can get in and out of the location without being buttonholed by overenthusiastic candidates for local offices who weren't even on my ballot because they're running in Dem primaries where all the action is. I present very little threat to anyone in that ecosystem.