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Sanders' Praise of Castro Raises Foreign Policy Concerns

Brian Padden

   WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders' foreign policy views are
   coming under increased scrutiny, in light of his past comments praising
   Castro's communist Cuba.

   The progressive senator from Vermont, who is the current Democratic
   front runner in the race to win the party nomination for president, was
   recently confronted by positive remarks he made years ago about
   improved health care and education in Cuba under Communist leader Fidel
   Castro, during a "60 Minutes" television interview on CBS.

   Cuban American leaders from both political parties, including Senator
   Marco Rubio (Republican-Florida) and Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New
   Jersey) have criticized Sanders for appearing to ignore or condone
   widespread repression in Cuba, where, according to Human Right Watch,
   thousands have been "incarcerated in abysmal prisons", and "entire
   generations" have been denied basic political freedoms.

   At last Tuesday's Democratic Party debate in South Carolina, Sanders
   emphasized his opposition to "authoritarianism all over the world,"
   when questioned about his past praise of communist Cuba, but defended
   his views, saying they are no different than those of former president
   Barack Obama, who restored full U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba in
   2014.

   "Occasionally, it might be a good idea, to be honest about American
   foreign policy," Sanders said, adding that the U.S. should acknowledge
   both the constructive progress made by authoritarian adversaries, as
   well as America's past role in overthrowing governments in Iran,
   Guatemala and Chile.

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