Washington on Trial: The People of Cuba Versus the US Government
Ocean Press, Melbourne, 1999
44pp, $6.95
Review by Roberto Jorquera
Since the 1959 revolution in Cuba, the United States has been at war with it. Few countries have had to face so much direct and indirect intervention by a foreign power during the last 40 years. In response, the people of Cuba, represented by eight organisations, filed a lawsuit in Havana against Washington on May 31.
The suit was for the $181 billion worth of damages estimated to have been inflicted on the small country through the economic blockade and other war crimes. This booklet outlines the reasons why the lawsuit was filed and the evidence to support the case.
In the introduction, David Deutschmann writes, "Cuba has based this claim on war crimes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, the use of biological warfare, bombings and air attacks, military provocations from the US Naval Base at Guantanamo, and support for terrorist actions ... The lawsuit seeks compensation for the lives of 3478 Cubans and injuries to a further 2099 Cubans as a result of US military aggression against the island."
The lawsuit makes use of recently declassified information, which shows that the US government has played a direct role in attempts to overthrow the Cuban Revolution.
As early as March 17, 1960, a meeting attended by US President Dwight Eisenhower approved the "Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime" proposed by the CIA. Part of the plan was to create a secret intelligence and action organisation within Cuba.
General Goodpaster, an ex-CIA official who attended the meeting, said in a recently released memorandum: "The president said that he knows of no better plan for dealing with this situation. The great problem is leakage and breach of security. Everyone must be prepared to swear that [Eisenhower] has not heard of it ... He said our hand should not show in anything that is done."
"Until the month of January 1963, a total of 5780 acts of terrorism were perpetrated against Cuba, 716 of which can be described as substantial sabotage of industrial facilities", the booklet reveals. Cuban state security has uncovered more than 637 attempts on the life of Fidel Castro.
In 1981, a dengue fever epidemic swept Cuba. The disease was deliberately introduced by agents of the US government. The epidemic affected 344,203 people, of whom 116,143 were hospitalised. While the Cuban government mobilised the island's health services, the booklet notes that it was not able to prevent the deaths of 158 people, including 101 children. The epidemic was eradicated within four months.
The US government has systematically violated Cuba's national sovereignty. It organised the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and numerous military provocations since then. In 1962, "the Office of the Secretary of State submitted to the Joint Chiefs of Staff a package of harassment measures aimed at creating conditions to justify a military intervention in Cuba". Proposed incidents included the blowing up of a vessel in Guantanamo Bay and blaming Cuba, and the setting up of widely publicised apparent attempts by Cuba to kill Cubans in the US (even to the extent of wounding them).
The information that the Cuban organisations have been able to gather in preparing for the trial is more than enough to find the US guilty.