Articles by Julio M. Shiling

Will Raúl Castro’s Departure Bring Any Meaningful Change to Cuba?

The Eighth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) opened with expected big noise on Friday. Dictator Raúl Castro formally announced that he would no longer be acting as the first secretary-general of the CCP, arguably the most powerful political position within the Marxist-Leninist regime. Pronouncements such as this tend to build high expectations among political pundits, especially novice Cuba watchers who may not command a comprehensive scope on Castro-Communism’s history and empirical experience. Will this be just another CCP congress that comes along every five years, or can this reunion of Cuba’s ruling and only legal party lead to something worthwhile for the Cuban people?  

Paradoxically, this CCP event that marks the first time that a Castro last name will not visibly appear in the top echelon of the party’s power posts, a supposed novelty after a consistent 62-year Castro dynastic rule, is labeled as the “Congress of Continuity”. An apparent oxymoron, yet two important factors dilute the notion that this is a contradiction. This quinquennial congress of Cuban communism’s power structure will serve the exclusive purpose of consolidating the hardline rule within the ranks of power, while it emits to the world’s democracies the false aura of plausible liberalization.  

 

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Cuba’s Role in Continental Subversion: A Conversation with Ron Aledo.

El American had the opportunity to talk with Ron Aledo, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) senior analyst contractor. A graduate of the United States Army Logistics School, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School (NC), and holder of a master’s degree in International Relations, he has broad expertise in subject matters such as mass communications, influence operations, negotiations, public affairs, and opinion campaigns and political-cultural advisory, foreign intelligence and counterintelligence operations, and communications strategies.

Ron Aledo served as senior intelligence advisor to the Afghan National Police, acting as the personal envoy to the Afghan general in charge of strategic analysis. Additionally, he prepared intelligence memos for White House Officials including DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, served as liaison with foreign government agencies, as well as developing a host of advisory functions with multinational corporations on security matters. 

 

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Ashley Babbit and the Perils of Being a White Conservative.

The perils of being white and conservative in America. There are many. Ashley Babbitt, the Donald Trump supporter that was shot and killed by the U. S. Capitol Police during the January 6^th breach of the congressional seat of government, is a case in point.

On Wednesday, April 14^th, Federal Prosecutors decided that they would not file criminal charges against the unnamed police officer who fired his weapon, at close range, at the unarmed U. S. Air Force veteran. In no way is this intended to serve as an apologia or a rationalization of the unlawful act that occurred on that day. The point is to illustrate a glaring difference that exists in the process and application of justice and an ethical ambivalence that is subservient to ideology and its cultural commands.

Being white and conservative

There is a compelling double standard, both, in the moral and legal realm which the Babbitt case highlights. In effect, there coexists two different judicial systems in the United States today. If you are an unarmed black and are shot at and killed by a white officer of the law, irrelevant of the circumstance, there will be public, political, media, and corporate pressure to render this a systemic failure, unless the black American is conservative. 

 

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Majority of Americans Support Tougher Voter Integrity Laws.

Most Americans favor strong voter identification electoral laws. This is according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted between April 11^th and 12^th, 2021. 62 % of those asked, to be exact, stated that laws requiring voter identification are not discriminatory.

So concerned is the American electorate about the importance of a pristine free and fair election system, that they state clearly that it is more important to prevent cheating in elections, then it is to facilitate the act of voting. This popular affirmation is by a margin of more than two to one.

The cited poll addressed two issues. One was the primacy that American society gave to the integrity of the election system over concerns of accommodating access. The other was whether fraud may have been committed in the 2020 presidential election. An undisputed majority of all the voters from all political parties, 51 % to be exact, believe that it is quite likely that the 2020 presidential election was impacted by cheating.

More than two thirds support tougher laws 

 

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