Re: Prostitution in Cuba (To Walter L.)

[Armand Diego <causebellum@xxxxxxxxx>]

Walter wrote:

Who is Armando Diego and why does he
say all these terrible things about Cuba?

Answer:

And who are you, a naïve person, a blatant apologist
or just plain blind?

In either case, you may pay attention to what I wrote.
Who said terrible things? I just described a problem,
or a set of problems as I see them.  My post was
descriptive.  Believe me, if I would like to have a
comprehensive discussion on the nature of Cuba and its
political regime, I would have answered some of your -
or other - previous postings full of a distorted
vision of what Cuba is all about.

Walter:

>From what he writes, he hasn't visited.

Answer:

I visited, lived, breathed and was able to talk with
both supporters and common folks in their own language
hundreds of times. Something you were not able to do
or, worse, you refused to listen, see or hear reality.

Walter:

2- The question of prostitution is only a
"big question" because US propaganda
has made it one. Compared to Panama
and Colombia, where it's legal, there is
virtually no prostitution at all in Cuba.

Answer:

This is crap. Prostitution, jineterismo, boteros and
all kind of black market, smuggling, etc is a huge
problem not because the US propaganda but as expressed
by documents, studies and decisions of the Cuban
government that, as opposed to blind apologists are
worried about the problem. It exists and is a source
of concern for the government.

Walter:

3- There are no "special police", no
"tourist police".  Trust me, there ARE
lots of cops here in Cuba. And there are
cops in the tourist areas, but they are the
regular, everyday, garden variety PNR,
the National Revolutionary Police.

Answer:

The "Policia Turistica" not only exist but is
*promoted* by the Cuban government as a form of
"protecting" tourists.  It is a division of the PNR
identified by a little blue symbol with the letters
"Policia Turistica" in white letters stamped in the
shirt of the cops at every corner in tourist areas.
Their uniform is also distinctive from the regular PNR
regulars.  Surprised you never noticed.

Walter, you need to use your eyes and talk to one of
those cops, look at their uniforms and the symbols of
the Tourism Police on their shirts.

For those of you who are no planning to visit Cuba in
the next period, here are a couple of the dozens of
websites which promote tourism to the island where
they use the existence of the "Tourism Police" as a
promotional item:


CUBATRAVELCORP:

"In Cuba you won't worry about your personal of
familiar safety, because Cuban people is very quite,
friendly, wonderful, welcoming population. May be you
may listen to some crime histories, but international
organizations report that crime in Cuba is one of the
worldwide lowest.

This reality is due to the hard control that has
established the Cuban Government trough the Tourism
Police, a branch of the PNR (Policia Nacional
Revolucionaria), with policemen (and policewomen) in
each corner of Havana City and in main touristical
sites of all over the country.

This closed police control has been very positive
welcomed by hunderd of thousands of visitors, who
declare in surveys that they feel more safe in Cuba
that in their own countries."

http://www.cubatravelcorp.net/uscitizens/html/welcome.html

NASH TRAVEL:
"SAFETY: Cuba is a hospitable country. It is easy to
find help whenever you need it. The streets are safe
and attacks are rare. There are tourism police in
hotel areas."

http://www.nashtravel.com/generalinfo.html

To comrade David Quarter who wrote that Cubans are
allowed to go to all beaches, including those private,
and who apparently implied I denied such event,  the
following clarification: all beaches in Cuba are
public and none is private nor have any hotel to my
knowledge the right to private access to any beach,
contrary for example to the "public" beaches of Mexico
at which chain hotels post guards to stop Mexican
locals from using them (Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, etc)
I never mentioned the beaches, so please spare me the
unnecessary lesson.

Walter:

4-It's a lie that Cubans aren't allowed into
the hotels or bars where hard currency is
accessible. This proves you haven't been
to Cuba. All of the major hotels and bars
are accessible to Cubans, and Cubans
use them. However, Cubans are not let
into the hotel rooms. This is justified on
the basis of prevention of prostitution.

Answer:

I wrote *most* Cubans are not allowed into hotels.
Some of my Cuban friends are and many are not.
Depends whether they are members of the PCC or look
like them or are known by the Hotel employees or come
accompanied by a guest at the hotel that is acceptable
to the administrators.  In no case they are allowed
into the rooms... except if they are known by the
hotel administrators or are members of the PCC in
which case, no problem.

Walter:

5- Cuban cops sometimes DO hassle
some Cubans who hustle foreigners so
That can't be denied. Sometimes this is
a pain in the ass, sometimes it helps to
protect the foreigners, who are, indeed,
hustled, sometimes quite aggressively.

Answer:

Agree. Jineterismo of all kinds is kind of a pain in
the ass.  However, harassment by cops is also a pain
in the ass.  I could get rid of the jineteros and
boteros very easily. Two words: "no moleste" are
assured clear results when aggressive behavior merits
them.

As opposed to your blind defense of something that was
not attacked but simply described, mine was an attempt
to explain the problem as I see it. I do understand
the problem, I seen it and I wrote in my previous
message that I hope the Cuban government would deal
with it appropriately or would become an even bigger
problem.

Meanwhile, please try to refrain from trying to
intimidate me as not to post whatever I wish to post
by posing as an expert when you can even verify the
facts before denying them.  Just in case you forgot:
the "Policia Turistica" *do* exist. Got it?

By the way, you will need about a century of writing
your newsletter to approximate to the level of
activity I have done in my life defending Cuba against
imperialism.

DA


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