Efforts by the United States government to disrupt unity between Cuban religions and the Revolution have a long history. Attempts have been made to manipulate ties between religious institutions and the state on several occasions, over the past 60 years.
But the current administration of Donald Trump – along with resuscitating the Monroe Doctrine and expanding subversive projects in Cuba – has been more explicit about its intention of promoting division.
The position of the Cuban government has been entirely ignored, and its express disposition, as stated by the Comandante en Jefe during a trip to Jamaica in 1977, to “work together, so that when the political idea triumphs, the religious is not set aside, or appears to be an enemy of change. No contradiction exists between the objectives of religion and the objectives of socialism.”
Party First Secretary, Army General Raúl Castro, reiterated in his Sixth Congress report, “The unanimity of revolutionary thought and doctrine with respect to faith and believers has its roots in the very foundations of the nation.”
Additionally, the Constitution that will be submitted to a referendum for approval, this coming February 24, defines in Article 15, that the state is secular and that it “recognizes, respects, and protects freedom of religion,” adding later, “Religious institutions and fraternal organizations are separate from the state and all have the same rights and responsibilities.”
But, who does the Trump administration have to sow discord and revitalize the so-called Plan Bush, which asserted, “Churches and other religious institutions have an important role in the construction of a free Cuba”? The United States has for this dirty work the mercenary Teo A. Babún Jr. and his group, the Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach for Cuba (ECHO Cuba.)
Let’s start with Teo. Before the triumph of the Revolution, the Babún family owned the second largest sawmill in the eastern part of the country; the Diamante construction company; a cement factory; the Sevilla estate; and the Santiago de Cuba ship line.
In 1959, after the triumph of the Revolution, the Babún family left the country, and, once established in Miami, built relations with the “annexionist” mafia. Among the sad passages of this story was Babún’s support of the mercenary invasion at Playa Girón and a terrorist attack on the coastal town of Boca de Samá in 1971. He provided the boat used in the attack executed by the counterrevolutionary organization Alpha 66.
Teo founded ECHO Cuba in 1994. According to the article “Charity made in Miami” by Iroel Sánchez, this organization was denounced in the Cuban TV news series Razones de Cuba for promoting subversion on the island, with funding from the U.S. government. The methods? Counterrevolutionary blogs, printed propaganda, and public events.
According to U.S. State Department documents, ECHO Cuba has significant experience with USAID programs and in combating “the totalitarian Fidel Castro regime.”
Iroel Sánchez additionally reports that Babún received from USAID, in 2009, “an allocation of 1,033,582 dollars and in 2010 signed a contract for 320,000 more, according to the website Cubamoneyproject, which also reported that, in March of 2010, ECHO Cuba was offering grants of 75,000 dollars to ‘promote religious freedom in Cuba.’”
It would be interesting to know what type of religious freedom they are referring to.
More recently, in 2017, in his article entitled, “Obama’s money,” Néstor García Iturbe denounced the National Endowment for Democracy’s funding of Babún’s Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach projects, advocating religious freedom in Cuba, to the tune of $60,074 in 2014; $70,000 in 2015; and $100,000 in 2016. Such programs sustain subversive activities with the promotion of events and materials on “freedom of religion” and “democracy.”
As a good mercenary, Teo Babún today has extended his activity via a few Protestant denominations, promoting the Muralla & 1st Frontera projects, which complement Trump’s goals, outlined in June of 2018, to perfect the subversive U.S. policy toward Cuba and the manipulation of Protestant denominations with a view toward a “transition” in Cuba.
It is well-known that Babún, looking to complete his missions, met with a small group of religious Cubans in Miami, who were thrilled with his supposed desire to provide humanitarian aid with the same funding he used to deprive families of their loved ones, killed in Boca de Samá and Playa Girón.
Perhaps they do not know that the majority of Cuban believers agree that our actions should contribute to “the unity, harmony, and peace of our homeland,” to which they are committed.
THE INFAMOUS BUSH PLAN
- Churches and other religious institutions have an important role in the construction of a free Cuba.
- In relation to the church and its role in the “transition,” the strength of the Catholic Church is emphasized.
- Dismissing the representative authority of the National Council of Churches, “The U.S. government should not deal directly with the Council during the transition, but with individual members and other religious organizations.”
- Support the transition by encouraging aid organizations to work directly with the ministries of the transitional government. Encourage these aid organizations to work with emerging local institutions such as churches to manage relief efforts.
FROM THE NEW CONSTITUTION
- ARTICLE 15. The State recognizes, respects, and protects religious freedom. The Cuban state is secular. In the Republic of Cuba, religious institutions and fraternal associations are separate from the state and all have the same rights and responsibilities.
Different beliefs and religions enjoy equal consideration.
ARTICLE 57 - Everyone has the right to profess religious beliefs or not, to change them, and to practice the religion of their preference, with due respect for others, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 42 - All persons are equal before the law, receive the same protection and treatment from authorities and enjoy the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities, without discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnic origin, skin color, religious belief, disability, national or territorial origin, or any other condition or personal circumstance that implies a distinction which is harmful to human dignity.
All have the right to enjoy the same public spaces and service providers.
Likewise, they receive equal pay for equal work, without any discrimination.
Violation of the principle of equality is proscribed and is subject to legal sanctions.
