Dear Editor
There are moments when political hypocrisy becomes so naked, so shameless, that it stops being policy and starts looking like moral vandalism. This is one of them. For a region that never tires of speaking the language of unity, dignity, and sovereignty, CARICOM’s posture on Cuba has all the emotional depth of a handshake withdrawn at the first sign of pressure.
As a young person growing up in Guyana, I saw the Cuban presence for what it truly was: not a foreign slogan, not a diplomatic prop, but a genuine act of solidarity. Cuban doctors, teachers, and technical support did not arrive with lectures about ideology or hidden demands for tribute. They came with competence, compassion, and an unembarrassed sense of duty. They served our people when it mattered, and they did so with a quiet dignity that put many of our own officials to shame.
So what exactly is this current spectacle? A Caribbean family member is under siege, and too many of its supposed allies have suddenly found religion in caution. “Reserved positions,” they call it. That is the polite language of cowardice. It is the vocabulary of leaders who want the credit for standing with Cuba, but none of the inconvenience that comes with actually doing so.
Let us be honest: this is not prudence. It is submission wearing a suit and tie. It is the old ritual of Caribbean states bowing low whenever Washington clears its throat. The same governments that wrap themselves in the flag of sovereignty are now practicing strategic silence while Cuba is squeezed, punished, and isolated. That is not neutrality. It is betrayal by performance.
What makes the hypocrisy especially revolting is the memory. Many of us in this region were beneficiaries of Cuban generosity long before we became experts in diplomatic cowardice. Cuba showed up in classrooms, hospitals, and training programs. It stood with the Caribbean not because it was fashionable, but because solidarity meant something. And now, in a moment of need, the region that gladly accepted that kindness is busy hedging, retreating, and calculating the safest way to appear principled without paying the price of principle.
This is how alliances rot: not always through open hostility, but through the slow decay of courage. First comes hesitation, then ambiguity, then the ceremonial language of concern, and finally the polished betrayal of a “reserved” stance. The tragedy is not only that Cuba is being abandoned in a storm. It is that the Caribbean, once proud of its shared struggles, seems increasingly willing to confuse caution with statesmanship and surrender with realism.
If CARICOM cannot defend one of its most steadfast friends when the pressure rises, then it should stop pretending that solidarity is part of its political vocabulary. Because when history records this moment, it will not remember the fine words. It will remember who stood firm, and who folded.
Yours truly
Hemdutt Kumar
