Fourth of July in Havana

Just a couple of days after the Castro regime issued one of its regular statements accusing the United States of encouraging “counter revolutionary” activities on the island, there are reports today that as many as 40 dissidents were rounded up by police in raids across Cuba over the past 24 hours.

It seems most (but not all) of the dissidents have since been let go, after having been roughed up and accused by authorities of being American “mercenaries”.

Some of those arrested had been planning to hold a meeting of sorts to respond to the regime’s claim that anyone who criticises the “revolution” is by definition, in the pay of the those nasty American imperialists. Naturally.

For the record, this latest campaign of harassment and intimidation by Havana comes just days after the European Union agreed to lift its (largely symbolic) sanctions against the regime … as a way of encouraging democratic change and respect for human rights.

Well, the Europeans now know exactly how those lovable Castro brothers feel about the decision – a case of, up your kilt, mate!

By the way, one of the accusations made by the regime against the US Interest Section in Havana – the de facto American embassy in the city – was that officials there had tried to undermine the “revolution” by providing “mercenaries” with “access to the Internet”.