OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION
For a President who wants to stand on the “right side of history” – posing in front of a mural of an Argentinian Marxist revolutionary during his trip to Cuba probably wasn’t the best choice.
In a photo-op Monday, President Barack Obama and his delegation stood near a massive mural of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a faithful follower of Karl Marx, and solider feared by many for his brutality. Mr. Guevara personally oversaw the butchering of Cuba’s Catholics.
He also helped train the Cuban soldiers who fought the U.S. during the Bay of Pigs invasion. After the battle, Mr. Guevara wrote a note of “gratitude” to then President John F. Kennedy which read: “Thanks for Playa Giron [Bay of Pigs]. Before the Invasion, the revolution was shaky. Now it’s stronger than ever.”
Obama’s trip to Cuba was promised to be rich with symbolic significance – the start of a new era of engagement between the United States and Cuba. What it’s shown so far is the two countries ideological divides – and how willing our President is to bend in order to solidify his political legacy.
Indeed, even liberals and Black Lives Matter activists are outraged at the Guevara/Obama picture. It was Guevara after all who said: “The negro is indolent and lazy, and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward looking, organized and intelligent.”
The portrait in front of Guevara wasn’t the first symbolic gesture gone wrong in less than 48 hours. On Sunday, Cuban President Raul Castro declined to greet Obama when he arrived in the country – the first U.S. Presidential visit in 88 years.
But Castro was able to greet Pope Francis in September. It’s about priorities after-all.
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