Hegseth's Lack of Etiquette

During these days the US Secretary of War visited Cuba; there is no need to be confused, because although their presence was limited to the perimeter of the naval base, in Guantanamo Bay, in the formal territory of the United States, that territory is as Cuban as the rest of the Guantanamo province, or Cienfuegos, or the 10 de Octubre municipality, in Havana.

Both for his clothing, which he wore on the occasion without pants, it must be because you have to have that garment well put on to come in combat to Cuba, and above all, for his sayings, since the visit was a vulgar act of lack of etiquette.

Chusmería or lack of etiquette is a word that comes from the Italian naval, that is, it refers to the slave rowers of the Roman galleys, back in that empire, before Christ, by the way, the first communist that history records, although that’s another matter. However, the ascension of the and its meaning we are approaching here was given by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, in his work “Civilization and Barbary” (1845), when he equated the latter with lack of etiquette.

What did the war minister come to Cuba to do now? First of all, to give peace of mind to the US Marines, who are stationed there, at the base. It’s evident; yes, because after seeing what happened to their colleagues in the US bases, which surrounded the Strait of Hormuz, there in Western Asia, it’s natural that they are hyper worried. The privates know it, because at the end of the day they know each other, some must be in communication, through social networks, and they know well that there are not a dozen American troops annihilated, there are several hundred. In the end.

That’s why the first thing mobster Hegseth says is that he comes to warn the Cuban government not to acquire weapons to attack the base; at this point once again, as they can't get enough in that government, the war minister makes a fool of himself, because frankly, since the base is just there, even a crossbow, like the ones Vietnamese used to shoot down super planes, can be enough.

See how they overcome the perverse. Chief Trump has been threatening to “take Cuba” for half a year, but according to the chief military bureaucrat, Hegseth, Cubans do not have the right to arm themselves and respond, with whatever and wherever, to military aggression. From what test tube of a decadent political laboratory did they take this character?

Minutes later, in a kind of Copernicus turn, the owner of the aggressive act, the Pentagon, enemy of humanity, throws a warm cloth at his threatening rhetoric, saying that they hope, he does not clarify who, to be friends of the Cuban government. This declaration of “love” was curiously omitted by those who, in the turbulent and brutal north that despises us, give media coverage to the issues of Cuba.

They didn't have to worry anyway; in the midst of his labyrinthine thought, Hegseth automatically affirmed that the fate of Cuba will be decided by Chief Trump and the Cuban authorities; luckily, according to his understanding, the latter have some right, if the irony is understood, because neither the northern president nor any other American has anything to do with what is decided in Cuba, in use of their full and irrevocable sovereignty and independence, both obtained by blood and fire.

The visit also included some nostalgia, because the now secretary in command of the imperial shrapnel was stationed at the base occupied by the United States, in Cuban territory. It was when he was a simple second lieutenant, deployed by the New Jersey National Guard, at the time when the base was the only torture center established on the island of Cuba. And the records would have to be reviewed, if they are declassified, but perhaps Lieutenant Pete Hegseth, the rabble, “gladly” participated in what these criminals called “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which included waterboarding.

This small part of the story, the “sophisticated” torture, should also be taken into account, surely these methods would extend to the rest of the Cuban archipelago, if the US Marines ever manage to enter the country, and if someone sensibly tries to deny that extreme, no matter what “pro-democracy” slogan, they use to do it.

After putting on somewhat more presentable clothes, Hegseth finally landed in Florida, ending his Caribbean journey for the day. There, as if somewhat repentant or warned, who knows, he resumed his most aggressive tone against Cuba. In response to a question, apparently previously agreed upon, the secretary for war admitted that they handle all the options regarding Cuba, including literally killing the Cuban leader or kidnapping him.

This type of sincericide on behalf of high-ranking American officials is no longer surprising; and perhaps the mob believes that “that option” is the same as attacking fishermen, who already number about 200, murdered defenseless in international waters. Someone should remind or inform him, perhaps he didn't even know because it coincided with his gym time, that 32 brave Cubans fell in Caracas, in the line of their duty, and that weeks later, 5 Cuban border guards neutralized 10 mercenaries full of weapons, but lacking lower tonsils.

Also during these days, a small political whirlwind was formed in the Mayan jungle, when it was announced that a company with local residence, Vanguard Energy (VE), had concluded a negotiation with the Cuban and American authorities, specifically with the people who sanction, the officials of the Treasury Department, to sell fuel in a “stable” manner to the private sector, using for this purpose, logically and technically speaking, the only structure that manages fuel in Cuba, CUPET or Cuba Petróleo, according to its official name.

Obviously the matter also has several readings. Why, one would have to ask, how is it that it’s only for private individuals? It’s not that this business is bad, but that the most basic of logic should first provide for the sale, for example to the MINSAP, to the health authorities, which guarantee, free of charge by the way, the flow of ambulances in the country, or alternative energy for hospitals.

But hey, we already know how capitalism works and this example, among many others, shows its perverse, individualistic, even cruel side. A controversial view could justify the confusion of priorities because the blockade, which they say does not exist, would not allow fuel to be sold to the Cuban state. But that is a matter for them, for the criminals who have established those rules against Cuban families, so reporting is always timely, rather obligatory.

But, to make matters worse, if this were possible, those who manage Mr. Rubio quickly told him to block this operation; Perhaps in the Treasury Department, they preserve the doctrines of David Ricardo and Adam Smith on free trade, and therefore they assumed it was correct to give a special license to Your Excellency, to export the precious liquid to private individuals residing in Cuba; but in the State Department they do not understand those “outdated” theories, much less with the Nazi-fascist Mr. Rubio at the head of this structure. At times it seems that two governments are operating in unison, while the president, Chief Trump, sleeps during the occasional cabinet meeting.

So Mr. Rubio quickly established that no fuel for Cubans, no matter that they are the most private and most alienated in the world from the Cuban state. And not satisfied, because he put CUPET on his blacklist, which in practice means that no one else thinks of believing that they have the right to trade with whoever they want. This decision, supposedly conceived for local economic actors, because as is often the case, it’s designed in such a way that no one can take away its extraterritorial reach and whiff.

The issue with the EV projects, which vanished like a summer dream, also allows us to reiterate another issue that is, probably, at the root of the absurd drift in which everything ended. Well, surely you see, that although it has its business headquarters in Coral Glabes, it is not part of the business network of the corrupt mafia in South Florida, that is, those who give orders to Mr. Rubio. And it’s already known what these thugs are capable of, they do not admit any business with Cuba, if not with them, some 4 or 5 millionaires of very distant Cuban origin, who put as a precondition, also taking control of the government in Havana, change of regime they call it.

In passing, the event shows another issue, small but of relevant interest, referring to the progress, in the worst sense of the term, of the “cadre policy” of the mafia leaders. In this sense, they involve in the actions against VE a certain Dariel Fernández, recently elected Tax Collector in 2024, in Miami-Dade County, who, using the powers provided to him, revoked from VE what they call a local commercial tax receipt.

This Dariel was born 46 years ago in Guines, in the western province of Mayabeque; he arrived in the USA in 2002, fleeing communism, as he explained when they put the first microphone in his mouth, eager to start a political career, alluding to some type of religious persecution, what a confusion, because he ended up in the country, where in that same year, they gave the order to torture Muslims, with the use of waterboarding, for the mere fact of being Muslims, as already explained, at the Guantanamo naval base.

Well, going back to 2026, see how this matter works. A small group of outlaws, those 4 or 5 mentioned, not satisfied with what they already have, aware of their capacity for influence among ultra-right republicanism, which now makes and breaks the government in Washington, has the absurd, criminal possibility of impacting the lives of millions of Cubans, who they do not even know or care about. It’s terrible and unacceptable.

Strictly speaking, it should be first and foremost the Cubans, who reside in those Floridian areas or in the United States, who are nearly almost two million, who put an end to this scourge, whether through elections or any other means; imagination, morality and courage are amazingly effective resources for finding the best methods. How long can such subjects determine the lives of so many millions of beings? It’s the question with which we must begin the analysis.

The Cuban president, without room for astonishment, managed to express:... "after prohibiting any country that tries to do so, from providing fuel to Cuba, they launch themselves against CUPET to further tighten the oil siege... they try to justify their crime with absurd pretexts, which only seek to hide their criminal objective, to suffocate the Cuban people... we are witnessing the rebirth of fascism in its purest form"... Díaz-Canel concluded, summarizing a phenomenon that even far exceeds this specific topic, and suggests that fighting it’s an issue that transcends ideologies, as already happened when the other European Nazi-fascism tried to take over the world.

Finally, reviewing the events there in the war against Iran, since things are happening as planned, the conflict continues, despite the fact that according to various statistics, it has already been won by Trump between 38 and 40 times. And meanwhile, Mr. Rubio becomes entangled and entertained by the demands of his true Floridian bosses, those of the aforementioned racket, which must be finished being swept away, at any moment they name him chancellor of the Miami Cosa Nostra, and remove him from the State Department.

Time will tell. It will not be the first time that so much Machiavellianism fails, it has been more than 60 years accumulating experiences to evade harassment and siege, the economic war, according to Fidel. Cuba, its authorities, are not sitting on their hands, nor do they expect anything that may happen in Washington,
Overall, hostility was always there, at least since the wars of independence, like the dinosaur in Augusto Monterroso's story, but also the resistance and resilience of Cubans, something that is not a slogan, reality stubbornly proves it.