I lived in Miami for years. Back at the time Elian Gonzalaz was returned to his father. Returning him to his father caused riots. Something that would never be questioned anywhere else if a child were returned to a surviving parent when their other parent died. His father had never been accused of abuse, nor any mistreatment.
The Cubans in Miami that left Cuba on nice, safe passenger jets or other perfectly nice and safe transports were the upper-class Cubans who had been in league directly or indirectly with the Batista government. The people who benefited from Batista being in power. They are the ones who became Republican supporters. They are not the Marielitos who came later, in the 80's. Who can be considered exiles.
They call themselves "exiles" even though Castro never formally exiled them. They gained favor with the hard-right of our nation because they were anti-Castro. Anti-communist. If Cuba had not been seen as a strategic island where the US should prevent the take hold of Communism within mere miles of the US border they would be nothing today. They would be like the Haitian immigrants. Poor and out of favor.
Instead, the US government propped them up and gave them money to oppose Castro and communism in Cuba.
The Cubans I met from this middle and upper-class tier were very proud of their Cuban heritage. As they should be. They were also blind to the fact the US is just as repressive a regime as any Castro regime. They all held a certain identity of being Cuban and being morally superior to Castro and his revolutionaries. I would expect the courtiers of Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette who escaped the guillotine felt similarly. As if they were the poor persecuted exiles.
They naturally became part of the Republican party. It is the party of rich people. People who do favors, al la 'Batista, for one another.
We all know parents instill beliefs in their children. Both true and false. The Cubans who are part of the Republican party are the people who are more than happy to have theirs while others of their kind suffer. It's not about fairness with them. It is, like anyone in the GOP, about money and power.
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