SINCE he arrived at the White House, the U.S. president, George W. Bush, has given unequivocal signs of his commitment to an extravagant and aggressive policy toward Cuba, with the aim of satisfying the criminal demands of the terrorist Miami mafia. In this way the White House is paying for that mafia’s fraud and scandalous trickery in the 2000 presidential elections, which denied the vote to tens of thousands of African-Americans and managed to stop a recount in two counties of the state of Florida.

Through certain anti-Cuban decisions, the Bush administration has inflicted a grave deterioration in bilateral links between the two countries, already seriously affected by 44 years of hostility and aggression. These include:

- An intensification of the criminal economic, financial and commercial blockade of Cuba; increased subversive activity in the U.S. Interests Section in Havana; and renewed support for counterrevolutionary groups, including the assignation of more than $30 million approved by USAID to these ends.

- The arbitrary and unjust placing of Cuba on all U.S. black lists, including the grossest and most lying, with which the empire is trying to slander, judge and interfere in the internal affairs of the rest of the world.

- The irresponsible expulsion of Cuban diplomats and new limitations on our missions in Washington and New York, and the flagrant violation of the migratory agreements, with the persistence of the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act and the "wet-foot, dry-foot policy."

- The use of radio-electronic aggression against our country has been increased, not excluding the use of satellites and military aircraft.

That brutal anti-Cuban escalation has been compounded by repressive action against the U.S. population itself, such as the elimination of licenses to universities and academic centers that have organized visits to our country, the increased restrictions on travel to Cuba and the demonstrable increase of persons who have been fined and sanctioned for the unheard-of "crime" of exercising their right to freely travel to our country.

As if this were not enough, on October 10, the U.S. president, faithful to the opportunism that has characterized his policy toward Cuba, announced new punitive measures against our country in the framework of a speech notable for its cynical anti-Cuban rhetoric.

The more outrageous measures announced by president Bush in his speech are:

As was to be expected, the U.S. president made special emphasis in his diatribe to reiterating his total commitment to the criminal policy of blockading Cuba.

He also announced his intention to strengthen procedures in favor of legal emigration from Cuba to the United States. Of course, he never mentioned eliminating the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act, nor the irrational "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, the main incitements to illegal emigration, or the use of violence in attempts to emigrate from our country to the United States.

In the context of the lies and repugnant accusations made by the U.S. president in the framework of this electoral exercise, his fallacious references to the alleged illicit sexual trade flourishing in our country and encouraged by the Cuban government, according to Mr. Bush, merits special mention.

Evidently the U.S. president is unaware that, like few nations in the world, Cuba has demonstrated an exemplary defense of and protection for its children, young people and women, an issue that has been widely acknowledged by the United Nations. Mr. Bush surely does not know that for Cuba, the protection of childhood and youth is a moral imperative and a matter of principle, and that acts propitiating or encouraging the exploitation, trafficking or sexual abuse of our children and young people are not and will never be tolerated.

The U.S. president would be better occupied taking care of the serious problems of drug addiction, violence, poverty and the lack of social assistance that are negatively affecting youth and children in the United States, rather than lying about Cuba.

President Bush’s "celebrations" on May 20 already constitute an unequivocal sign of his total ignorance of Cuban history and the significance that dignity and decorum have for Cubans. However, more than ignorance, having selected October 10 to make these announcements, evidences the enormous disdain of the U.S. government and President Bush in person for our people.

Beyond the usual rhetoric and the unconcealed whiff of his objective, these new anti-Cuba measures clearly demonstrate the U.S. government’s unlimited commitment to the ultra-right Cuban American sectors and their obsession to destroy the example represented by the Cuban Revolution.

These actions are also a vain attempt to neutralize the growing isolation and international condemnation of U.S. policy on Cuba, and a broad-based questioning of U.S. governmental hostility towards our country in the United States itself.

It would be difficult to surpass the anti-Cuba record of the current U.S. administration. Any inventory of the aggressive actions undertaken against Cuba demonstrates the extent of the hardening of U.S. policy and the degree of entrenchment of a political tendency openly advocating confrontation without any concern as to the means or methods utilized to that end, or the possible consequences for the Cuban and U.S. peoples.

This escalation of aggression and provocation is in strong contrast to the position of the Cuba, which has demonstrated in many contexts its disposition and will to work towards improving bilateral relations and to promote relations between the Cuban and U.S. peoples.

Cuba is once again exposing to the world these new provocations and aggressive actions on the part of the neofascist U.S. government which, as confirmed in Bush’s own words, are part of a plan to defeat the Cuban Revolution.

Cuba constitutes a moral and political point of reference that the U.S. government and the terrorist groups located in the south of Florida cannot abide. Obsessed with putting an end to the example of dignity and social justice embodied by the Cuban Revolution, they are taking courses of action that are steadily more dangerous and provocative.

Faced with the failure of more than 40 years of economic and political warfare, the application of a blockade unequalled in history, the sanctions and draconian measures that have brought tremendous suffering to the Cuban people, the U.S. government is now lending itself to taking even stronger measures against Cuba.

The terrorist Miami mafia’s thirst for vengeance and its hatred are infinite and we are certain that it will pursue its electoral blackmail by demanding further action against Cuba. It would not surprise us if new aggressions will occur as we approach November 2004. Given that possibility, our only alternative is to have more confidence in our principles, in the strength of the Revolution, in socialism and in Fidel.

With the arrogance that characterizes him, President Bush noted in his speech that Cuba will not change by itself, but that Cuba has to change. The President of the United States should know that his words do not frighten anybody in this country. We decided 44 years ago to embark on the hard but also worthy road of sovereignty and independence and we are not going to renounce it.

The transition dreamed of by Bush and his Miami mafia acolytes will never occur in Cuba. Our country is in transition, yes, but in a transition towards more Revolution, towards a more just society, towards a society where men and women can attain the full development only offered by socialism.

Nobody should be mistaken, neither our enemies abroad nor their discredited domestic mercenaries. As it has done to date, Cuba has the total capacity and disposition to confront and overcome with intelligence, maturity, firmness and courage this or any other extravagancies and aggressive escalations on any terrain. Mr. Bush should know that, as always, any aggression against our country will founder against the dignity, steadfastness and integrity of the people of Cuba.