On Monday, February 5th, a young Cuban woman landed at Tampa International Airport. She brought with her something rather unusual: $100,000 in cash.
Mirtza Ocana, 38, was no tourist. Under questioning, she admitted to smuggling cash from Cuba to the United States several times a month. Flight records show 45 trips between Cuba and Tampa in less than a year.
From Ideologues to Gangsters
Where was all this money coming from?
We can't know for sure, but the likeliest source is the Communist regime itself. Government officials in Cuba are squeezing the population for every cent they can through illegal fuel sales, crooked public works contracts, and a lot more.
From Discourse magazine:
Following the outbreak of anti-regime protests in July 2021, the government allowed the establishment of private "micro, small, and medium enterprises," theoretically as a way to open up the economy to market forces. But most if not all of the 9,000 private enterprises operating in Cuba today are owned by powerful regime figures who then funnel public works contracts to them.
A Nation in Crisis
This torrent of dirty money is leaving Cuba just as the nation faces its worst crisis since the revolution.
The Cuban government recently ask the UN for food aid for the first time since the revolution. Even the "Special Period" after the fall of the Soviet Union wasn't as bad as this.
Brave Cubans have begun to protest food shortages and endless blackouts.
Starving Their Own Country
Cuba has very little foreign currency available. Lack of hard currency is causing shortages of food and fuel.
The Ocana case shows us where that foreign currency is probably going: money laundering operations by the Communist bosses.
What I don't understand is how the Cuban leaders can starve their own fellow Cubans like this.
It just doesn't make sense to me. Don't they love their country?
I guess not.
Wrap-Up
For the Cuban people, the best solution seems to be emigration.
I hope the US welcomes them with open arms. Cuban people have worked hard to contribute to this country, and we could use a lot more of them!
What do you think the future holds for Cuba? Leave a comment and let us know!
This will be the only post for this week. I'm going to Kentucky to visit my grandma!
See you on Monday, April 15!
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More on world events:
Is a Revolution Brewing in Cuba?
China's Jobless, Childless Youth
China's Decline Has Begun
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Photo: "More Cuba, Dec 2011 - 187" by Ed Yourdon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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