The New York Times Acknowledges U.S. Destabilizing Attempts against Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 10 (acn) For the fifth time in less than a month, the newspaper The New York Times published a long editorial on Cuba, on this occasion acknowledging the countless destabilizing attempts of the United States designed to cause the fall of the government in Havana, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Under the title In Cuba, Misadventures in Regime Change, the editorial board of the influencing New York newspaper looked back on Sunday at the innumerable plans conceived in Washington against national stability on the island, since the approval of the Helms-Burton Law in 1996 and until recently.
The Times highlights that these subversive projects served only as the foundation for the $264 million the United States has spent in the last 18 years trying to instigate alleged democratic reforms on the island.
It acknowledges that, far from accomplishing that goal, the initiatives have been largely counterproductive, since these funds "have been a magnet for charlatans, swindlers..."
"The stealthy programs have increased hostility between the two nations -highlights The New York Times- and stymied opportunities to cooperate in areas of mutual interest."
The editorial goes into detail on how investments on initiatives to oust the government surged from a few million a year to more than $20 million in 2004, in the early years of the Bush administration (2001-2009), when "most contracts were awarded, without much oversight, to newly formed Cuban-American groups.
The New York Times adds that "in 2008, Congress appropriated $45 million for the programs, a record amount."
In December, 2009, Cuban authorities arrested Alan Gross, "an American subcontractor who traveled to the island five times on U.S.A.I.D. business, posing as a tourist to smuggle communication equipment," stresses the Times.
After this –continues the editorial-, senior officials at U.S.A.I.D. and the State Department argued that the covert programs were counterproductive and should be stopped, while Cuban-American lawmakers fought vigorously to keep them alive.
It recalls that a recent investigation by Associated Press (AP) revealed a controversial program of the company Creative Associates International, which built a rudimentary text messaging system similar to Twitter, known as ZunZuneo, to generate social destabilization in Cuba.
The editorial underlines that, instead of stealth efforts to overthrow the government, American policy makers should find mechanisms by way of governmental coordination.
"Washington should recognize that the most it can hope to accomplish is to positively influence Cuba's evolution toward a more open society. That is more likely to come about through stronger diplomatic relations than subterfuge," concludes the editorial by The New York Times.