Cuba’s Coming Transition Can Unlock JFK Secrets
The government in Havana, now negotiating with Rubio, has assassination files that have never been made public
The assassination of John F. Kennedy is no longer just a question of Cold War history but a reflection of geopolitical reality. The hostility between the governments of the United States and Cuba that contributed to the events leading to the murder of the 35th president on November 22, 1963 is now being transformed.
With the U.S. cutting off oil supplies, the country is immiserated, its medical system in crisis, and popular discontent spreading. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is engaged in talks with Cuban officials, with USA Today reporting a “surprise economic agreement” is under consideration. The aging leadership structure built by Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro and maintained to this day under the enduring influence of Raúl Castro may be entering its final weeks or months of existence.
According to two USA Today sources “familiar with the administration plans,” the discussions have considered “a relaxation on Americans’ ability to travel to Havana” and “an off-ramp for President Miguel Díaz-Canel,” allowing the Castro family to remain on the island, and “deals on ports, energy and tourism.” Last month, the Trump administration began allowing U.S. petroleum products, such as diesel, to be sold directly to Cuba’s private sector, circumventing the longstanding U.S. embargo first imposed in 1960.
On Friday, the Cuban government acknowledged for the first time that negotiations are underway.
A possible transition in Havana matters directly to the Kennedy assassination story. In the Cold War nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, Cuba became the geopolitical theater of American politics in which JFK’s assassination took place.
