Dear Mr. Trump:
With the death of Fidel Castro, a historic opening that may
change our part of the world for the foreseeable future will be in your hands.
The Cuban people are already in a state of transition, due
to Raul Castro having been the de facto ruler of Cuba for some years, and the more
recent Obama initiative of opening relations with that nation.
This is a small window of opportunity that may not be
repeated in our lifetimes.
The Cuban people, now deprived of a dictator whom they have
known for fifty years, wonder which direction they should go. The fact that
Fidel Castro was largely a figurehead for the past several years does not
change this.
They have tasted newer freedoms in recent years, and they do
not want to go back to the past. They have been ruled by Communism all these
decades, they have seen the failure of socialism, and they are sick of it.
The danger is they may want to lurch to the right. Having
been used to having a strong man rule over them, they may want another, this
time on the extreme right of the political spectrum.
If things go horribly wrong, they will end up being ruled by
their equivalent of a Putin.
Now is the time to take diplomatic initiatives. Raul Castro
must be told that to the extent he embraces more freedom in his country, to
that extent he will be shown more favor by the United States.
Foreign aid is normally counter-productive, because it goes
to the foreign governments, not to the people it is intended to help. But in
this case, if Raul Castro follows through with true reforms and surrounds
himself with comparatively moderate figures in his government, aid should go to
him to help stabilize his government.
You have the favor of Cuban-Americans from the way you
campaigned. Their older elements will be against showing any favor or giving
any aid to the present government, but you can use your political capital, the
same way President Nixon did when he went to China, to establish a new
relationship with Cuba the same way he did with China, without being accused of
being sympathetic to Communism.
Similar opportunities may be found in Venezuela, where their
socialist economy is collapsing.
Do not let old enmities stay your hand. I did not vote for
either you or your main opponent. But you will have this moment in time to exert
your authority and power as president to attempt to prevent either chaos if
their government collapses, or a new right-wing dictatorship, a mere ninety
miles off America’s shores.
Sincerely,
Mark Murata
