Caribbean Satellite

Press, Volume C, Issue 29402, 3 January 1961, Page 8

Caribbean Satellite

Soon after becoming president of the Bank of Cuba, Major Ernesto Guevara began signing banknotes with his nickname, “ Che ”. The United States and its Latin American allies might have been amused—if only “ Che ”, in the major’s handwriting, had not resembled so closely the hammer-and-sickle symbol of the Communists. But nobody had ever doubted Major Guevara's loyalty to communism. Unlike Dr. Castro, he did not drift almost imperceptibly into Marxist practice. Cuba’s swift transformation into a police State on the Russian model has had no peace-time parallel in the western hemisphere; and Major Guevara, rather than Dr. Castro, has beeff the chief architect of the change. The Castro regime’s studied alienation of the United States, of its government agencies, its financiers, its industrialists, its traders, and its tourists has left Cuba at the economic and political mercy of the Communist bloc. Thus a base from which to spread communism in Latin America is being established almost on the United States’ doorstep. In the list of urgent problems fdr the incoming United States Administration, relations with Cuba contest priority with summit negotiations, China, and disarmament. The Eisenhower policy on Cuba was inadequate. Trade sanctions, however justifiable, helped to push Cuba into the Communist camp. In some respects, too, the sanctions have

been ineffective; but to avoid offending other Latin American republics, the United States has refrained from stronger measures. This restraint makes nonsense of the latest Cuban protest to the Security Council about alleged invasion plans.

Dr. Castro’s domestic popularity has not been enhanced by shortages of spare parts for the American machinery, household appliances, and vehicles on which the island is almost entirely dependent. Assurances of identical supplies from alternative sources have yet to be substantiated. The ' national economy is bankrupt and chaotic; until it is reorganised social reforms must be impeded. In the rugged fastnesses where little more than two years ago Dr. Castro lay hidden, opponents of his rule are preparing a counter-revolt. Among their most powerful friends are the Roman Catholic clergy; but the growth of organised opposition has strengthened Dr. Castro’s alliance with the Communists. Since he and Mr Khrushchev met in New York this year relations with Moscow have been noticeably warmer. This, however, appears unlikely to presage greater Cuban irresponsibility in the Caribbean area or an immediate rash of revolutions elsewhere in Latin America. For the time being the Russians seem to be urging moderation. If Cuba should ever again prefer Chinese to Russian advice, the prospect would be much graver. ■