Carlos Lazo Resurfaces

A quick breakdown of who Carlos Lazo is for those that aren't familiar with his story.

Carlos Lazo is a Cuban-American that lives (or lived) in the Seattle area. He came from Cuba some years ago. He served in Iraq as a combat medic in the National Guard. While he was in Iraq and shortly after he returned, he began publicly denouncing the restrictions that the US currently enforces on travel to Cuba.

Lazo had left his two sons behind in Cuba and the restrictions limit family visits to Cuba to once every 3 years. Lazo didn't want to wait the 6-8 months he had left before 3 years had elapsed from his previous visit. I should add that one of his sons was reportedly recovering from a serious illness. So he became a media darling with publications all over the country (and the official Cuban press) picking up his sad story last summer.

At first I had sympathy for Mr. Lazo, especially given his distinguished service to his adopted country. But it soon became apparent that what Mr. Lazo wanted to do, more than see his sons, was change US policy. That's fine, that's his prerogative but he used his personal situation as a pretext. Why do I say that? Because at the time, he was offered visas for his sons to visit him here in the US and he refused them. If his sons were allowed to come here, he'd lose his pretext.

An excerpt from a story that ran in El Nuevo Herald last July:

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."

You see, at the time that Lazo was lobbying congress to lift the travel restrictions there were amendments to a Treasury bill, that would accomplish that goal, being debated by the House of Representatives. The amendments failed and in October of 2005, after the media glow died down, Lazo quietly relented and his sons were given the visas and came to the US. They were supposed to stay for 3 months. I say quietly because there was nowhere near the amount of media fanfare surrounding the reunion as there was the original story.

Well Mr. Lazo reappeared last night, this time on local TV. He was a on show called Desvelados on Mega TV. He was debating the travel restrictions with someone that was in favor of them. I didn't get to see the whole thing, but I believe I heard the gentleman who was debating Lazo say that he was happy that Lazo "now has the company of his sons." So I'm left to assume that the sons asked for political asylum and have decided to live in the US permanently. Good for them.

Mr. Lazo, please stop using the story of your sons to curry sympathy. Everything worked out for you. You have the right to your opinions but you should be honest about your political views and stop hiding behind your boys. You left your sons behind in Cuba, not knowing when you'd see them again. You were then permitted to visit Cuba even though you were a member of the US military and Cuba is officially recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism by our government. You also know full well that castro apologists like Francisco Aruca and even the official Cuban media have used your story in their ongoing propaganda war. You have sought publicity for yourself and advocated for a change that would only serve to enrich the murderous castro regime that governs the country you fled from and that your sons have also decided to abandon.

Click here for earlier posts on Lazo and his saga click here, here, here, here and here.