Monday, July 11, 2005

Carlos Lazo, continued.

Sgt. Carlos Lazo has brought his traveling road show to Miami. This weekend he appeared on Channel 10 with Michael Putney. Of course Mr. Putney was ignorant of the fact that Lazo had refused the opportunity for his sons to receive visitor visas and come to the US.

Mr. Putney, in a response to an email I sent him regarding these facts said:

I'll have to find out if Lazo's sons had an opportunity to get U.S. visas and if they turned them down. Or Lazo did. I hadn't heard that before. If it's true it bears looking into.
Well it's true, Mr. Putney. From Friday's El Nuevo Herald:

Lazo se quejó de que funcionarios de la Oficina de Intereses de Estados Unidos en La Habana (USINT) se comunicaron esta semana con sus hijos para citarlos a la sede diplomática y considerar el otorgamiento de visas de visitantes.

''Esto se ha hecho a mis espaldas, en contra de una decisión familiar que habíamos discutido'', relató Lazo. ``Por diversas razones, ellos [los hijos] no pueden venir ahora''.
Translation:
Lazo complained that officials from the United States Interest Section in Havana (USINT) contacted his sons this week to give them an appointment at their diplomatic offices to consider extending them visitor visas.

"This was done behind my back, and against a family decision that we had discussed," stated Lazo. "For various reasons, they [the sons] can't come now."
Obviously, it's much more convenient to change the foreign policy of the United States.

6 comments:

Robert said...

He's a lazy journalist, just like most in the MSM. With his connections, he could've easily found out about Lazo's sons being offered visas.

Putney is good when it comes to local non-Cuba issues, but he's prone to falling into the MSM trap when it comes to Cuba.

At least he's not DeFede.

About Lazo, he also appeared on "A Mano Limpia" this week. I barely caught the last 10 minutes of the show. He basically made the same plea to change the "cruel" travel restrictions. Not sure if the issue of the visas came up, but I would bet that Oscar Haza knew about it and asked him.

Anonymous said...

Lazo is a Great father and husband and should be allowed the opportunity to go to cuba and see his friends and family.

Anonymous said...

Lazo es un cubano que es muy agradable y es mi socio DEJENLO IR A CUBA y quiten las malditas restrcciones

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Jessica,

I'll have to take your word for it. I don't know the man but I have to question his motives. He will be able to travel to Cuba in March when he completes his 3 year waiting period since his last visit. When he came to this country he had no guarantee that he'd be able to EVER go back. He's also a uniformed member of the Armed forces and I'm surprised that they'd allow such a person to travel to country that is on the state department list of terrorist states. Anyway he initially refused attempts to have his kids get permission to come here to the states. Why would he do that if all he wanted was to "see them"? If you know Lazo, then you know that he eventually changed his mind and his kids are currently in the US for 3 months visiting him.

You must also understand that while the restrictions are painful for many of us, they are an important part of denying Castro financial resources. Bottom line, every dollar spent in Cuba helps Fidel.

I know that's hard for a 15 year old to undertstand but it's true. Some short tem sacrifice is often necessary for the greater good.

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean but lazo also came here for his freedom and by not letting him visit his children they are not giving him his freedom especially as a combat medic in thearmed forces. I mean imagine if you couldnt visit your children or a family member.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Family separation is a terrible fact of the Castro regime and nothing new for Cuban Americans. Castro (not the US) is the one to blame. My mother in law came here at age 14. Her parents sent her so she could have her freedom. She wasn't able to see her parents for several years because of Castro. The reason the travel restrictions are in place are to keep dollars from getting into Castro's hands because dollars are what are keeping his repressive regime going. They were put in place because many people were abusing this country's generosity.

Cuban immigrants have a special status as political refugees. A status that people from all other countries (like Mexico) wish they had. How can you come here and ask for residency or citizenship by claiming political asylum (because you were being persecuted in Cuba) and once you get it turn around and travel to Cuba all the time. Well if the conditions in Cuba haven't changed (and they haven't) then you must have been lying when you said you were being politically persecuted. You can't have it both ways. Either Cuba is place you want to flee because of political persecution or it isn't. You can't go running back to where you were supposedly persecuted and take US dollars with you that ultimately help Castro continue his persecution.

Is it a sacrifice? Yes. But like all good things, the fall of Castro is going to require some people to make some concessions. Some Cubans may have to be separated from their families in the short run so that in the future nobody will have to suffer these things anymore. It's like putting money away for retirement. It's may seem more satisfying to spend it now but making the sacrifice will mean that we'll be able to enjoy it better later. If you don't sacrifice by saving you'll never be able to retire. If we don't collectively put the screws to Castro and his his followers Cuba will never be free. And frankly Cuba's freedom is much more important to me than whether one man gets to travel to Cuba even if he is U.S. Army Veteran and a father. He's with his kids now. If Lazo is serious about seeing them frequently then he should allow them to apply for residency status and let them live here in freedom.