From castroism to castrochavism, over six decades of crime and aggression

(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) From its beginning, Cuba’s dictatorship embraced the idea that in order to indefinitely remain in power it would internationalize its methods of crime and violence under the bluff of “revolution”. This is how Castroism established crime and violence as generic methods that attacked and shed blood in the Americas. With Hugo Chavez’s irruption, who in 1999 saved and associated himself with the agonizing Cuban dictatorship, Castroism became Castrochavism that is basically more of the same but in the 21st century, namely; transnational organized crime disguised with politics to violate human rights and hold power.

Ever since the taking of power by Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1959, the attacks against Americas’ democracies and countries has been one of its strategy’s key elements. To export the annihilation of the opposition and internal resistance using; cruel criminal methods, death by firing squads, torture, extortion, kidnapping, imprisonment, political persecution, seizures of assets, destruction of society, massive exile, manipulation of information, use of education for indoctrination, the creation of a revolution’s dogma, rural and urban guerrillas, narcotics’ trafficking, and terrorism.

In the Americas, the 21st Century started with only one dictatorship -the Cuban one- and now stands out with the rebounding and expansion of Castroism in its new version known as Castrochavism that originally started calling itself the Bolivarian Movement, 21st Century Socialism, now renowned as the transnational organized crime’s group that controls Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and the government of Argentina.

Castrochavism’s current attacks are evident and have been proven but the governments of attacked countries insist in ignoring or disregarding this. Operations to agitate, conspire, revolt by using operators, the means of communications, and even frontal attacks have been increasing along with the confessions of important leaders of the criminal group such as; Diosdado Cabello who, from Venezuela has coined the attacks as a “Bolivarian small breeze” or Nicolas Maduro who openly celebrated the success of his acts of intervention.

The last wave of attacks started in 2019, precisely as the means to protect the group’s dictatorships. The outrage and disappointment of the peoples, the institutionalized corruption, the economic and humanitarian crises, the openly functioning as narco-states, the violation of human rights as a habitual practice -amongst other crimes- positioned the dictatorships on their way of irreversible deterioration, something they delay but it is unavoidable.

Castrochavism’s new attacks were foretold at the session of the Forum of Sao Paolo’s working group in Havana that formulated the agenda for the 25th meeting held in Caracas from 25 to 28 July of 2019 whereat the new regional offensive is practically decreed and announced and was quickly executed with the rearming of the FARC in Venezuelan territory, ELN’s major operations in Colombia, the failed coup d’état in Ecuador against President Lenin Moreno, the fire in Chile that resulted in a revision of its constitution, the electoral crimes and fraud discovered that led to Evo Morales’ resignation in Bolivia, the so-called electoral success in Argentina with Fernandez/Kirchner and more.

Aggravated by the Coronavirus’ pandemic, the attacks have continued steadily in 2020, a year in which we have seen guerrilla operations in Paraguay, an increase in violence and the manipulation of prevaricating judges in Colombia, the destabilization in Peru that has had three presidents in a few weeks, an explosion of protests in Guatemala, the gargantuan fraud in Bolivia with the complicity and impunity of the interim government and a functional opposition to totally restore the dictatorship, the counterfeiting of the 6D elections in Venezuela, the destabilization of Brazil, and more.

Over six decades of crime and permanent aggression against the peoples and governments of the Americas, over sixty years of institutionalized violation of human rights and of attributing those crimes to the victims and manipulating individuals and organizations. Far too long for the region’s and the world’s democratic leaders to be blindfolded and not realize that -for their own sake- their main strategic objective to keep international peace and security and restore democracy is to end dictatorships, eradicate Castrochavism and end the nucleus of organized crime that Cuba’s dictatorship is.

*Attorney & Political Scientist. Director del Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translated from Spanish by; Edgar L. Terrazas, member of the American Translators Association, ATA # 234680.