Cuba Commentary in the Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette rarely offers insightful commentary on current events in Cuba, or US policy towards my wife's country. However, in today's edition there appears an opinion piece by Alejandro de la Fuente, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh (my alma mater).

Full text of the piece is available here on the Post-Gazette's site.

My position on the issue is clear - I would like to see the creation of a free, democratic Cuba with a capitalist economy that allows Cubans to realize their inherent potential and capacities. While change has to come from within Cuba, it can certainly be influenced positively by the United States. However, that would require an enlightened policy approach, which thus far has been lacking.

Fuente writes, "...In the meantime, the U.S. government surrenders the little influence it may have to contribute to a peaceful democratic transition in Cuba. All we can do is wait. Almost 50 years have passed, Fidel Castro is dying, and we are still in the midst of Churchill's 'everything else.'"

I'm still waiting for my Yuliet...