INVASION
OF PANAMA 1959
CUBA'S RESPONSE
[REFERENCE: County Intelligence File, "Cuban
Revolution File" 1959, #18335]
THE CRISIS IN THE CARIBBEAN AND THE INVASION OF
PANAMA
(By the editors of "REVOLUTION International")
We have always thought that the crisis of the Caribbean is due to the economic
and social structure which prevails in the forms of government and in the
ways of living together. So long as dictatorship, economic disorder
and social injustice constitute the basis for civil life in those countries,
crises of an internal and external nature will be permanent, they will form
the rhythm of their history and will constitute perhaps the chaos which precedes
the light, as philosophers before SOCRATES claimed. The crisis in the
Caribbean, accentuated and promoted in the majority of cases by those who
wish to hide under an apparent disorder the vindictive vitality of the peoples,
will be ended with the liberation and economic growth of the peoples.
The crisis in itself has no significance; its meaning becomes clear when
it is known who causes it and why.
Today, they try to point out that there is a crisis in the Caribbean just
as one speaks of a crisis in Berlin or in the Middle East. Long before
any incident of any importance took place the wire news services abounded
with news of that sort. A few days ago, the President of Guatemala
declared that he would support an country invaded from Cuba. The illustrious
Generalissimo TRUJILLO decreed a state of emergency in Santo Domingo with
great and ridiculous legal pomp. All those measures are being taken
under the pretext of an aggressive attitude on the part of the Republic of
Cuba through its revolutionary government. The improbability of such
actions was obvious, but it is a matter of creating confusion among the unwary.
Everybody knows that during a revolutionary process like the one through
which the Cuban people have just passed, a country does not take an aggressive
attitude; on the contrary, it adopts a cautious position and one of waiting
so far as external affairs are concerned, and dedicates itself with all its
might to the task of consolidating the elements and institutions which it
has within it in order to obtain the strengthening of the victory of the
Revolution.
Moreover, the high officials of the revolutionary government of the Republic
of Cuba, the Prime Minister and the Chief of the Armed Forces and the Ministry
of State have on many occasions expressed their respect for international
treaties, for the principle of non-intervention in the internal problems
of other countries and the freedom of the peoples to settle their own intimate
problems. The position of the Cuban government has been clearly shown
from the very moment that it stopped attempts to invade other countries from
its territory. The Cuban government is not responsible for the dissatisfaction
existing in neighboring nations, nor the exemplary bravery of the Cuban Revolution.
On the other hand, it is difficult for the Cuban armed forces to prevent
in all cases, the departure of expeditions from Cuba. It is impossible
to establish a perfect vigilance of the coasts. During the last world
war, allied commands landed on the continent of Europe in spite of the very
powerful armies of the Axis.
The present "crisis" in the Caribbean is due also to an aggressive plan against
Cuba, protected and promoted by the reactionary forces inside and outside
of Cuba.
TRUJILLO and SOMOZA, YDIGORAS FUENTES and others create an atmosphere of
hysteria which resolves itself in insults for the Cuban nation and in supposed
defense measures against theoretical invasions. That loud cry of the
tyrants finds an echo in the attitude of the colonialist forces of Cuba,
Santo Domingo, Central America and the United States. SMATHERS, taking
advantage of the complaints of his chiefs, cites the trust which exists between
the good buyer and the good seller, and in order to satisfy the petitions
of his masters, a little after TRUJILLO, he starts on the subject of the
need of creating an international policy to repress the activities of Cuba.
Nobody pays much attention to the opinions of Smathers which served to unmask
the work of the reactionary forces against the Cuban Revolution. In
order to establish their degree of strength and the perilousness of the "crisis
in the Caribbean," provocations increase and they bring about a very secret
meeting of American ambassadors in the Caribbean. All that work directed
against Cuba results only in strengthening the national revolutionary conscience
and in accelerating the development of the Revolution in Cuba.
The invasion of Panama organized by Panamanians from Cuban territory will
be pounced upon as a pretext by the enemies of Cuba. The government
has tacitly explained its position. A few days ago, the Chief of the
Armed Forces declared that those attempts had the characteristics of provocations.
In statements made to the press today by the Minister of State of the Republic,
the position of the Revolutionary Government is clearly established.
The truth of the declarations is proved by the precedent that on two different
occasions previous to that the government stopped expeditions which were
headed for a Haiti and Nicaragua. Several days ago, in Washington,
Dr. FIDEL CASTRO declared Cuba's absolute respect for international law.
On that point there is no possible doubt; the Ambassador of the Republic
of Panama has not accused Cuba because it is impossible to deny the neutrality
of the Cuban State in the process.
The serious thing in the Panamanian event, without considering its legitimacy
as far as the Panamanian people are concerned, is the indisputable reaction
which it will provoke in anti-Cuban circles, because of the lack of responsibility
on the part of those Cubans who joined it, for what purpose no one knows,
for the fundamental job of the moment is to strengthen the Cuban Revolution
and not to provoke revolts in other countries. We do not know what
the ideological purpose of the conflict was, nor what the invaders of Panama
were fighting for. But we do not ignore the counter-revolutionary possibilities
which it encompasses. A few days ago, a North American succeeded in
convincing a group of ingenuous and well intentioned Cubans and attracted
them to an invasion of Nicaragua. Nothing can convince us that the
deed does not have the same origin. The fundamental thing is that it
can be used against Cuba and against the radical Latin American movements
for liberation such as that of the Dominican people which supports the most
absurd and insulting tyranny of modern times.
The "crisis in the Caribbean" provoked artificially in order to attack Cuba
and the real crisis in the Caribbean supported by colonialism and economic
anarchy, dictatorship and ignominy are in the foreground today on the international
scene. As we have said, from chaos comes light. From the present
crisis will come future order. We must fight the crisis which arises
from interests which cause friction between nations and t he permanent crisis
in which t hose nations, offended and humiliated by regimes of immorality
and terror, live. The position of the Cuban people and the Cuban government
in regard to the Panamanian conflict is definite: Cuba has not interfered
in the internal affairs of Panama. Expeditions such as that which took
place in order to invade Panama are uncontrollable. The Cuban government
is doing everything it can to prevent them and has given convincing proof
of its good faith. Cuba's respect for international law has been demonstrated
and its position remains unchanged. In the same way may it strengthen
itself against the international conspiracies and the forces which fight
in the interior in order to establish anarchy and confusion. The Revolution
is clear and effective in national and international matters. Hysteria,
complaints and sensationalism do not interest us.
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