Helms Burton Task Force

MIAMI -- The Bush administration announced the formation of a new law enforcement task force that will finally start putting some teeth into enforcing the violations of trade and travel s imposed by the U.S. on Cuba. The task force plans on prosecuting violators that do business with Cuba in violation of regulations that govern commercial business, money laundering and illegal travel.

The associated press theorizes that the revived efforts to enforce existing US laws are merely a way for the Bush administration to buy the Cuban-American vote:

“it also comes about a month before U.S. elections where Cuban-American voters in South Florida _ most of them fervently anti-Castro _ form an important Republican Party constituency.”

The Miami Herald hasn’t weighed in on this “controversy” yet, but my guess is that in keeping with its tradition of ethical journalistic practices and canine “metaphors” that it will say that the republican party is either throwing those yappy Chihuahuas a bone to keep them quiet or throwing those rabid right wing dogs some raw meat.

I would suggest to the GOP, that if they wanted to buy the Cuban American vote, that they get rid of the wet/dry foot policy, or better yet SEND A MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE INTO HAVANA! But I digress.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta is quoted as saying that this time ``we intend to enforce these laws aggressively.'' And ``The purpose of the sanctions is to isolate the Castro regime economically and deprive the Castro regime of the U.S. dollars it so desperately seeks ''

The task force consists of an amalgamation of agents from the FBI, Treasury, Homeland Security and Commerce Departments. It was not clear if ALPHA 66 or the Commandos F-4 were providing any logistics.

The Helms-Burton Law dictates that the sanctions on Cuba have to stay in place until multiparty Cuban elections are planned, political prisoners are released and both Castro brothers are out of power or Hell freezes over, whichever comes first.