When Castro Falls, We’ll Be Ready!
Now that Fidel Castro is in ailing health, temporarily handing power to his brother, the multitudes of old exiled Cuban patriots must be rejoicing. They’ve been running drills, maintaining their marksmanship skills at county run shooting ranges in the Everglades and pondering the fall of Castro over rabid games of dominos. The phrase, “when Castro falls we’re going to invade!” is an unmistakable refrain mostly shouted by cigar smoking old men.
When I was a kid growing up in South Florida there was a story about Park Service “rescuing” an out of gas boat on one of the keys. The boat was full of “fishermen” dressed in fatigues, carrying automatic weapons. If they hadn’t run out of gas they surely would have assaulted the island nation of Cuba and run Castro right out.
On one hand there was the group ready to overthrow Castro as soon as he’s dead. On the other is the group who tells everyone when they’re going to visit relatives. They load up freezer bags with prescription medicines, over the counter drugs and pack their suitcases full of clothes. The suitcase are empty on the return trip if they bother to bring them back at all, and the medications are distributed to anyone who needs them.
So when Castro dies, legions of aging militia will be ready. If he hangs on for a little while longer, so what? They’ve only been preparing for the day for the last forty years.
