Fidel Castro S Cuba

In response to your editorial "When Will Cuba Wake Up to Reality?" (June 3): As long as Fidel Castro or any of his cronies are in power, there can be no dialogue or normalization of relations. It is about time that Americans realize that Castro is nothing but a murderer made from the same mold as Hitler. The Cuban people won't forget or forgive. Those long-suffering people long ago awoke to the reality. However, they lack the means to oust the tyrant. MARGARITA de FLORES, President, Cuban Defense League, San Bernardino

With little prospect for change in Cuba on the horizon, inklings of discontent have begun to surface on the communist-ruled island that analysts say could spread unrest or incite mass migration. No interpretation of the parliamentary decisions following the resignation of Fidel Castro signals a likelihood of more economic opportunity or personal freedom -- the two greatest sources of young Cubans' dissatisfaction.

Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba keeps bearing fruit. On Thursday the Cuban government, bowing to the pontiff's wishes, announced it will free some 200 prisoners held on political and other charges. The Vatican celebrated the decision by terming it "a concrete prospect of hope for the future of this noble nation."

The Souto family fled Fidel Castro's Cuba four decades ago with nothing but their good name and a love of cafe Cubano that no dictator could take from them. Through years of hard work, the Soutos went from hand-delivering bags of roasted beans on the streets of Little Havana to owning a multimillion-dollar coffee conglomerate that makes most of the specialty espresso sold in the United States. But something is still missing from their rich and potent Cafe Pilon brand: actual Cuban coffee.

In response to "We May Get Burned by the Cuba Embargo," Column Left, by Jesse Jackson, Nov. 28: No one on this planet is more eager to see the U.S. embargo against Cuba end than the Cuban exiles, for two main reasons: First, those starving and lacking access to even an aspirin are, in Jackson's language, our brothers and sisters, and secondly, it is costing the Cuban exiles a lot of money. Letters from relatives, friends and even acquaintances arrive in the United States almost on a weekly basis, requesting medicine or food, or both.

Eradio T. (Tom) Jimenez could not speak English when he came to California in October, 1967. But through a friend, the Cuban expatriate got a job making automotive additives on the Azusa production line of Wynn Oil Co. This week, Jimenez, 45, who appears to speak English very well now, took over as president of the company, a subsidiary of Fullerton-based Wynn's International. "I think, personally, it is a dream come true," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Re "U.S. Criticizes Reelection of Cuba to U.N. Human Rights Panel," April 30: Fidel Castro's Cuba does not deserve to be on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, but neither does our "democratic" U.S. From Guantanamo prisoners living in tropical cages without access to lawyers to immigrants detained and deported without due process and a USA Patriot Act that expands the ability of law enforcement to search, wiretap and arrest without "legal obstacles," our...

Forty-five years ago I enlisted in the Marine Corps to fight fascism. I left some good buddies in the lagoon at Tarawa and in the jungles of Saipan. Ten thousand miles away it was a different war, but against the same fascism. The dictionary defines fascism as "a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation above the individual and stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."

With little prospect for change in Cuba on the horizon, inklings of discontent have begun to surface on the communist-ruled island that analysts say could spread unrest or incite mass migration. No interpretation of the parliamentary decisions following the resignation of Fidel Castro signals a likelihood of more economic opportunity or personal freedom -- the two greatest sources of young Cubans' dissatisfaction.

The Souto family fled Fidel Castro's Cuba four decades ago with nothing but their good name and a love of cafe Cubano that no dictator could take from them. Through years of hard work, the Soutos went from hand-delivering bags of roasted beans on the streets of Little Havana to owning a multimillion-dollar coffee conglomerate that makes most of the specialty espresso sold in the United States. But something is still missing from their rich and potent Cafe Pilon brand: actual Cuban coffee.

Re "U.S. Criticizes Reelection of Cuba to U.N. Human Rights Panel," April 30: Fidel Castro's Cuba does not deserve to be on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, but neither does our "democratic" U.S. From Guantanamo prisoners living in tropical cages without access to lawyers to immigrants detained and deported without due process and a USA Patriot Act that expands the ability of law enforcement to search, wiretap and arrest without "legal obstacles," our...

Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba keeps bearing fruit. On Thursday the Cuban government, bowing to the pontiff's wishes, announced it will free some 200 prisoners held on political and other charges. The Vatican celebrated the decision by terming it "a concrete prospect of hope for the future of this noble nation."

In response to "We May Get Burned by the Cuba Embargo," Column Left, by Jesse Jackson, Nov. 28: No one on this planet is more eager to see the U.S. embargo against Cuba end than the Cuban exiles, for two main reasons: First, those starving and lacking access to even an aspirin are, in Jackson's language, our brothers and sisters, and secondly, it is costing the Cuban exiles a lot of money. Letters from relatives, friends and even acquaintances arrive in the United States almost on a weekly basis, requesting medicine or food, or both.

In response to your editorial "When Will Cuba Wake Up to Reality?" (June 3): As long as Fidel Castro or any of his cronies are in power, there can be no dialogue or normalization of relations. It is about time that Americans realize that Castro is nothing but a murderer made from the same mold as Hitler. The Cuban people won't forget or forgive. Those long-suffering people long ago awoke to the reality. However, they lack the means to oust the tyrant. MARGARITA de FLORES, President, Cuban Defense League, San Bernardino

Forty-five years ago I enlisted in the Marine Corps to fight fascism. I left some good buddies in the lagoon at Tarawa and in the jungles of Saipan. Ten thousand miles away it was a different war, but against the same fascism. The dictionary defines fascism as "a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation above the individual and stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."

Eradio T. (Tom) Jimenez could not speak English when he came to California in October, 1967. But through a friend, the Cuban expatriate got a job making automotive additives on the Azusa production line of Wynn Oil Co. This week, Jimenez, 45, who appears to speak English very well now, took over as president of the company, a subsidiary of Fullerton-based Wynn's International. "I think, personally, it is a dream come true," he said in an interview Wednesday.