Note: Both Cuba and Venezuela have withdrawn from this “civil society” meeting to protest over the participation of individuals with a history of belonging to cuban counter-revolutionary groups. Telesur reports that “The Cuban delegation also issued a complaint that it was not provided with credentials for the civil society forum. In contrast, at least 20 counter-revolutionary Cubans have received credentials to participate in the civil society forum.” In many countries around the world the United States works through US Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy to create or bolster “civil society” groups that oppose the government and help install US friendly governments.
– PopRes
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According to some reports, Felix Rodriguez has arrived in Panama to attend the OAS forums. According to Yoanislandia, quoting “friends in solidarity with Cuba,” the man who murdered Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Felix Rodriguez, arrived in Panama on Tuesday to attend the Summit of the Americas forums. Rodriguez is a Cuban and an ex-CIA agent. He is also known for having participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion. The CIA also sent him to Bolivia to kill revolutionary leader Guevara in 1967.
He ordered that Guevara be “shot below the neck” so that it could be “proved” that he had been “killed in combat.” On Tuesday, the official Cuban delegation to the Civil Society Forum that is happening parallel to the Summit of the Americas, denounced that various “well known” and paid “mercenaries” – professionals paid to oppose the Cuban government – were also attending the forums. According to Martinoticias, members of the Cuban opposition are holding a forum on Thursday at 9 a.m. in hotel Courtyard in Panama City.
The opposition members have signed a 10-point “joint platform for transition” called an “Agreement for Democracy in Cuba.” Martinoticias states that Rodriguez is among those attending the forum. UPDATE: The official Cuban delegation has now demanded Rodriguez be expelled from the forums.”We’re going to verify again … who is responsible for the presence of a false civil society,” Ricardo Lugo, Cuban delegation member, said, referring to the financially backed Cuban opposition.