Somewhere in Cuba, there is a man planning to flee the country in an old floating Chevy. He will brave the waves and the sharks. He'll attempt to avoid the Cuban authorities; if he is caught, he will be jailed and likely tortured. If he is not -- if he makes it to America -- his family will be barred from leaving Cuba. That's the way they handle emigration in Cuba, according to human rights organizations.
Obama says "The US seeks a new beginning with Cuba," and recently apologized to the Cuban regime, stating "I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled to overcome decades of mistrust …."
In Honduras, millions tremble as exiled would-be dictator Manuel Zelaya threatens to overturn the constitutional structure once and for all. After the elected government of Honduras threw Zelaya out in order to prevent him from forcing through a false referendum that would place him in power indefinitely, the United States backed Zelaya. Obama called Zelaya's removal a coup; Clinton has implied that U.S. aid to Honduras is contingent on Zelaya's reinstatement.
Encouraged by U.S. interference, rapist, murderer and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has pursued Zelaya's coup strategy -- he's now calling for a referendum to seek his own illegal re-election. Obama's reaction? Silence -- the same deafening silence he exhibited while enduring Ortega's anti-American diatribe at this year's Summit of the Americas.
Oppression is on the march around the globe. So far, President Obama's administration has tacitly energized radically anti-American and tyrannical regimes to do their worst. We are watching the rollback of thirty years of American influence across the world -- and millions around the world are worse off for it.