Diario las Américas., 1958-08-24
SITUATION

The presence and activities of the U. S. Military Mis-.
sion in Cuba, in view of the political situation facing that
Latin American country, have created an atmosphere which
is not very favorable to the democratic prestige of the
Washington Government regarding its Inter American
relations.
Without expressing any concepts that may be qualified
IS political passion, it is proper to affirm, as a matter OF
fact, that the United States is not getting any advantage
with the existence and functioning of that mission, which
is, on the other hand, harmful, because both the people
of Cuba and those in the other Latin American countries
believe that this mission favOrS the political interests of
the dictatOrial regime of General BatiSta.
Truly, it is possible that this benefit is only of psyche
logical character, because perhaps in practice the training
and technical advice of that Mission Of the Washington
Government are not a deciding factor in favor of the Cuban
Army, In its struggle with the rebel forces in Oriente Pro-
vince and other points of the Island. The truth is that
the Cuban Government knows how to exploit politically the
presence of that Mission, in the sense of creating the ap-
pearance, with or without reason, of some support from
the United States. And this is, under any circumstances,
harmful to the democratic prestige of the Government and
the people of the United States.
Without the need of adopting spectacular attitudes
III Washington does not want to assume a position OF
that nature the Government Of the United States could
very well declare a temporary or final cancellation of the
Agreement which made possible the U. S. Military Mission,
according to the letter and spirit of that Agreement, invOk.
ing one of two clauses for such cancellation.
One of those clauses, the Fourth, in Paragraph B, re.
ferring to the possible termination of the Agreement, says:
by the recall of the entire personnel of the Mission by the
Government of the United States of America in the public
interest of the United States of America or at the request
of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, without neces.
sity Of compliance with provision C) Of this Article.
To invoke this clause, basing it on the fact that 1t
would be to the public interest for the United States to
cancel the Agreement, citing that it is harmful, due to the
attitude of the present Cuban government, would bring
about, without doubt, a more or less controversial situation
between the Washington and Havana regimes, since the
former would have to demonstrate what was harmful, for
reasons of moral policies, to the maintainence of this
mission.
Nevertheless, there is another clause of the Agreement,
the 5th, in which the present case of Cuba is limitedly
covered, and although it does not say that 1t is necessary to
cancel the Agreement for reasons of internal policies, it
logically suggests it. The Fifth Article says: "This Agree.
ment is subject to cancellation upon the initiative of either
the Government of the United States of America or the
Government of the Republic of Cuba at any time during
q period when either Government is involved in domestic
or foreign hOstilitieS'.
The intention of the Agreement, then, is absolutely
clear, in the sense of keeping the Military Mission that is
stipulated in the negotiation completely apart from any
revolutionary movement. And now, who can doubt that
there is an abnormal political situation in Cuba, which is
manifeStly violent in the field of armed struggle between
the Army and the people? The government itself has not
denied il, although it condemns and discredits the revolu.
tiOnary movement.
For all of these reasons, the Cuban and Latin Ameri-
can people have been surprised, to say the least, by the
fact that the Washington Government has not Withdrawn
the Military Mission in Cuba, after weighing the creums-
tanceS and the easy manner in which the Agreement, with
marked wisdom, gives it the opportunity to do SO.