Leaders have courted Cuban expats living in America to finance their revolutions since the mid-1800s

Cuba

IN 1848, PRESIDENT POLK received a three-man Cuban delegation who informed him that revolution was imminent on the island and that its ultimate goal was annexation to the United States. They proffered an interesting ruse to allay English and French suspicions that the revolution might be nothing more than an attempt by the Americans to annex the island. The Cubans proposed that United States forces be concentrated at strategic points in Cuba ostensibly for the purpose of protecting American lives and property. Polk's advisers warned that the Europeans would see through the gambit and a fight for possession of the island would ensue. Thus it was rejected.

Narciso Lopez (click to enlarge)

Most authorities believe that Herminio Portell Vilá, a respected Cuban historian, was correct in his assessment that the Cuban delegation was merely attempting to thwart the ambitions of another revolutionary, Narciso Lopez.

Lopez was born in Venezuela to a wealthy plantation owner. His hatred of the Spanish Loyalists took root when his family lost their land to the government. They moved to Caracus where Lopez tried his hand at business but soon proved himself to be a charismatic leader of men. Lopez discovered his taste for battle while helping a small village fight off an attack by a royalist force. He was captured thereafter and joined the Spanish army to avoid execution. His valor in battle won him their admiration, promotions, and a transfer to Cuba.

This new insurrection in Cuba was doomed to failure, and Lopez retreated to New York to seek outside help. He knew that he could not bank on the United States for official recognition, but hoped that he could secure men and financing to support his cause. Unfortunately, the pro-Cuban activists in New York feared that Lopez was another caudillo who would abandon annexation to raise his own flag above the island once independence was won. Thus, they thwarted his plans, forcing Lopez to move to New Orleans where he found greater support. Lopez promised southern sympathizers that he would fight for annexation, and they happily envisioned another slave state as a bulwark to their peculiar institution.

In truth, Southern politicians and businessmen feared “Africanization” of Cuba – that is, replacing slaves in Cuba with freed blacks – more than they supported annexation of Cuba as a “slave state.” The difference is subtle though very real. They feared that if the United States did not annex Cuba, a European power surely would, and both the French and British were agitating for the elimination of all slave trade in the Caribbean.

As southerners flocked to support Lopez, many joining his growing revolutionary army, even those in New York who had opposed him began to fall into line. Surprisingly, even abolitionists from the north began to support Lopez. They chose to overlook the slavery issue as being secondary to ending Spanish rule in the Caribbean. All looked in favor of Lopez's ultimate victory.

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Fidel Castro also visited the United States frequently to obtain funding for his revolution prior to "invading" the island. Interestingly, most of the more influential members of the Cuban expat community were reluctant to provide anything more than modest funding. They wanted to head up a new government in Cuba and did not believe that Castro would relinquish power to them after he led the fight to remove the dictator, Fulgencio Batista. They were ultimately correct.

...to be continued