On Saturday, The Washington Post published what can only be read as a Nancy Pelosi press release on the back page of the front section. The former speaker was in Havana with a bunch of other liberals “heaping praise” on Obama for softening up on the Castro dictatorship. There was nothing resembling a critic of Obama, Pelosi, or the Castros. Nick Miroff began:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of congressional Democrats concluded a three-day trip to Cuba this week by heaping praise on President Obama’s attempt to mend relations with the island but offering few details about their meetings with high-level Cuban officials.
After addressing reporters Thursday on the back patio of a U.S. diplomat’s residence, Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the eight other members of the delegation departed for an appointment with First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel, in what was believed to be the first official meeting between U.S. politicians and the man designated to succeed 83-year-old Raúl Castro.
Pelosi said that the purpose of their trip was to gauge Cubans’ reactions to Obama’s moves and that they had perceived “great enthusiasm” among the Cubans they spoke with.
“We’re proud of our president’s decision to move forward and change our policy,” she said.
What’s sick is they didn’t mention that the Cuban communist regime has continued to oppress dissidents and ban protests since Obama’s “negotiation” to normalize relations. Dissidents? What dissidents? Pelosi didn’t meet with any dissidents, only communists, to "gauge" how Obama is being received. But Miroff and the Post buried that detail at the end. Sorry, maybe next time?
The Pelosi delegation’s trip comes as some of the initial enthusiasm for the Cuba thaw has given way to more sober realizations that the two countries remain far apart on many issues — including some of the nuts-and-bolts elements related to the reopening of embassies in both capitals.
Cuban authorities have criticized Obama in recent weeks for not going further to lift trade and travel restrictions. They say truly normal relations between the countries won’t be possible until the long-standing trade embargo is gone and the United States returns the land occupied by the Guantanamo Bay naval station, among other historical grievances.
Pelosi said the group met for extensive talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and with Josefina Vidal, the Cuban diplomat who led last month’s opening round of negotiations with Obama officials. Those talks will resume in Washington next week.
The delegation did not meet with any of Cuba’s leading dissidents, according to a U.S. official.
Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), a member of the delegation, said the lawmakers broached the topic of human rights in their discussions with Cuban officials.
“We’re very concerned with human rights and dissident rights,” Engel said. “I’d like to see more changes from the Cuban side.”
They couldn't find space for even an anti-Castro Democrat like Sen. Robert Menendez, who insists the dissidents don't want normalized relations unless and until the Castros allow some human rights like the freedom to dissent.
