Thursday, March 26, 2015

Who represents the Castro regime in negotiations with the United States?

Negotiating with the devil?
Gustavo Machin accomplice of Aron Modig kidnapping after attack on Oswaldo Paya is Cuban counterpart of WHAAsstSecty

Today over twitter Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo revealed a worrying piece of information. The Cuban counterpart to the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, who represents the United States in the negotiations with the Castro regime is Gustavo Machin. According to  Rosa he was an accomplice in the kidnapping of Aron Modig following the attack against Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas on July 22, 2012 and is linked to her father's death.

Gustavo Machin, and his sordid background, makes him an appropriate representative for the dictatorship, a reminder that this is a negotiation with the devil. The term is borrowed from a book by Robert Mnookin titled "Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight."

As a nonviolent activist "fighting" can also translate to nonviolent resistance. When dealing with highly repressive and diabolical regimes this type of approach has proven more effective than violence in achieving effective, positive and lasting change.

However, let me recommend that you read the following article available online in which he offers some past examples of when negotiation could work and when it was disastrous.

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