On February 15, President Fidel Castro said broader...

On February 15, President Fidel Castro said broader use of the death penalty was needed to save the island's socialist revolution. The day after, the National Assembly, in an extraordinary meeting, unveiled two laws that include harsh new penalties for criminals and political opponents. The proposed legislation calls for life imprisonment or the death penalty for crimes like drug trafficking. Castro defended the application of the death penalty to such crimes, saying they damaged Cuba's image and played into the hands of its enemies. "What we are against is the death penalty for our whole country, the death of our country, which is what our enemies want because they want the death of our independence, our justice, of the revolution." The Government presented a bill entitled "Law for the Protection of the National Independence and Economy of Cuba." Accusing the U.S. authorities of financing and supporting "counter-revolutionary and annexationist elements inside and outside Cuba," the bill proposed jail terms of up to 30 years for those who collaborated with the U.S. Government, its agencies or representatives. This new measure is specifically referred to the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. In a clear reference to the United States Castro added: "Crime is part of imperialism's strategy against Cuba. It is an element of the enemy strategy to try to destroy the revolution." The last sections of bill appeared directly aimed at clamping down on political dissidents and dissident journalists who oppose the Government by sending critical articles to media abroad, especially in the United States. The second bill presented by the Government aimed to combat a rise in crime by imposing tougher penalties. This law, directed against common crime, introduced the death penalty for some drug-trafficking offenses and life imprisonment for offenses like armed or violent assaults on persons and property, also punishing prostitution. Some members of the National Assembly expressed reservations about the broader use of capital punishment. "Things in Cuba hadn't been moving anywhere fast. But this is definitely a step backwards," said one European diplomat. Cuba's top Roman Catholic church leader expressed concern about the strict new measures for both common and political crimes. "This is not the way to resolve things," Cardinal Jaime Ortega said of the proposal to expand the use of the death penalty and lengthen prison sentences. "The problem is more than that. It is in our values, in the family, in education."