Poblete Dispatches – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Bill Gent with Divine Mercy Radio on Florida's Space Coast welcomes Jason Poblete, president and co-founder of The Global Liberty Alliance, to discuss his work representing Americans unlawfully detained in other nations.

Divine Mercy Radio's mission is to proclaim, through radio, the Good News of Jesus Christ and to communicate His truths, as found in Sacred Scripture and Tradition and in the magisterial teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Divine Mercy Radio commenced broadcasting on Divine Mercy Sunday 2008, bringing the message of the love and mercy of God to people of all faiths and no faith, the reality of Jesus' presence to those seeking meaning in their lives, and the promises of Jesus to those oppressed by sin, guilt, anxieties, and addictions. Learn more by following this link.

We received a lot of good feedback from several listeners about the show with my good friend, Caleb McCarry.

I also listened to a podcast recommended by a friend who follows these issues and recorded with former Congressman Joe Garcia (D-Fla.) about some related Cuba issues (here is the link).

In summary, when considering US/Cuba relations, without justice and accountability, we can never really move the needle in a meaningful way.

Last month the Miami Herald published an interesting story by Nora Gámez Torres, "How Miami companies are secretly fueling the dramatic growth of Cuba’s private businesses." A link is posted below. In this podcast, Jason discusses how this is nothing new and how politicians and activists continue to peddle the fiction that Cuba has a private sector.

Further Reading

• How Miami companies are secretly fueling the dramatic growth of Cuba’s private businesses, The Miami Herald (Jun. 23, 2023).
• The Road to Freedom, Grounded in the Rule of Law, Jason Poblete, Global Liberty Alliance and FIU (Nov. 2022).

Jason Poblete is joined by our friend in Central America, businesswoman, former vice presidential candidate, and fellow liberty warrior Betty Marroquin to discuss a wide range of issues, including Communist China meddling in the region, the upcoming Guatemala elections and the sanctioning of the Guatemala Attorney General by the Biden administration (GLA interviewed Guatemala Attorney Porras on a prior podcast that you can listen to by following this link).

Nicaragua remains under the control and authoritarian rule of Daniel Ortega and his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. The government has a long and well-documented record of violating fundamental human rights, censoring free speech, and suppressing political opposition. A staunch ally of Russia and Communist China, Nicaragua, with Cuba's assistance, continues to undermine U.S. national and security interests in the region quietly.

Religious freedom is an essential indicator of democracy because it reflects the principles of individual liberty and equality before the law, which are fundamental to democratic societies. When individuals are free to practice their religion or belief system without fear of persecution or discrimination, it is a sign that the government is respecting their fundamental human rights and upholding the rule of law.

In August 2020, we ⁠recorded a podcast⁠ with a Nicaragua priest about religious persecution in Nicaragua, especially toward Catholics and other Christians. Close to three years later, the situation is not surprisingly any better; it's worse. Biden administration officials recently announced the release of over 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua. A well-known Nicaraguan Catholic Bishop was also released, but he decided to stay in jail. Why?

This podcast explores and discusses these issues with Roberto Bendaña from Texas. A Nicaraguan American, Roberto is persona non grata in Nicaragua and is not allowed to visit his ancestral homeland because of his staunch defense of liberty and fundamental rights. Roberto, a businessman and political activist, seeks solutions to help both nations chart a new way forward without Sandinista rule.

Further Reading

• 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nicaragua
• Nicaragua in Political Limbo, America Can Help, Jason Poblete's substack (Apr. 2, 2022)
• "Inestabilidad democrática en Nicaragua no ayuda a nadie en el hemisferio," La Prensa newspaper (Dec. 21, 2017).

In a November 15, 2022, podcast with the Fakhoury Foundation, the Fakhoury family from New Hampshire shared how they set out over two years ago to find out what happened to Amer Fakhoury, who died as a result of injuries that he sustained while in the custody of Lebanon's corrupt security services or Lebanon's equivalent of our CIA and FBI wrapped up in one. Be sure to listen to that show! In this episode, two of Amer's daughters, Guila and Zoya, provide an update and discuss current events with GLA's Jason Poblete beyond the story and how events in Lebanon may be impacting their accountability efforts. 

Further Reading

• House Foreign Affairs Committee Charman Mike McCaul (R-Tex.) Demands Answers From USAID on Alarming Failure to Address $110K Grant to Terrorist-Linked Nonprofit (Jan. 27, 2023).
• Amid standoff in Beirut blast probe, US national released, The Washington Post (Jan. 26, 2023).
• Amid Historic Crisis, Has a New Hope Emerged in Lebanon?, US Institute for Peace (Jun. 23, 2022).

Go Deeper

• Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God (Amazon).
• Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah's War Against America (Amazon).

A retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, Mr. Pete Lapp served over two decades in the FBI and is highly experienced in counterintelligence, espionage, economic espionage, and trade secret theft. In this podcast, GLA's Jason Poblete talks with Mr. Lapp about one of his more high-profile cases,  the espionage investigation of Ana Belen Montes, who was arrested ten days after 9/11/2001. 

Montes was sentenced to 25 years for spying for the Cuban Intelligence Service while she worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency. On January 6, 2023, Montes was in the headlines again because she had been released and had reportedly returned to Puerto Rico to live with her sister.  Mr. Lapp has worked on many other national security cases. 

In October 2021, Pete founded PJ Lapp Consulting, LLC, where he now focuses his vast knowledge and experience in counterintelligence and insider risk (IR); He is a widely recognized expert and thought leader in the area of IR. You can learn more about his practice by visiting his website. 

Further Reading

• Pre-Order Pete's book, "Queen of Cuba: An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years" (Oct. 2023).
• "Just 10 days after the attacks of 9/11, the FBI arrested a 44-year-old woman named Ana Belen Montes," (FBI).
• Review of the Actions Taken to Deter, Detect and Investigate the Espionage Activities of Ana Belen Montes (U) Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense (Jun. 16, 2005).

The Biden administration and Congress have discussed accountability efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But is the international system ready to hold all parties accountable, or will the process set back the course of international justice efforts?

In this episode, Jason Poblete talks with Michela Wrong, an award-winning British journalist and author who has had a rich career that has taken her from the fashion runways of Paris and later as a foreign correspondent in Africa for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism “that combined moral vision and professional integrity.”

As she details on her website, her fifth book, “Do Not Disturb,” published in 2021, is a damning portrait of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, from its days as a united band of rebel fighters to today’s era, in which killer squads are dispatched across the world to silence exiled former insiders. The book has prompted a vitriolic backlash on Rwanda’s government-controlled social media, and President Paul Kagame has denounced the author on national television as a foreign agent.

Jason and Michela talk about several aspects of international justice. They also discuss the case of eight Rwandan men tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; 4 were acquitted, while the other 4 served their sentences. They are now in legal limbo as they seek to be reunited with loved ones.  In addition, they also talk about unfinished accountability efforts related to the Rwandan genocide. 

Be sure to check out her latest book on the Rwanda genocide, link below, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad." “A withering assault on the murderous Rwandan regime of Paul Kagame, and a melancholy love song to the lost dreams of the nations of Africa’s Great Lakes. Michela Wrong proves once again that she is an intrepid and highly professional researcher of the subject she knows best. It’s a major accomplishment, very driven, very impassioned.” ―JOHN LE CARRÉ, best-selling author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Further Reading

• "Where the international justice system fails; As war crimes investigators gather evidence in Ukraine, Michela Wrong looks at how the uncertain fate of eight Rwandan men reveals failures in the international justice system," Prospect (Dec. 8. 2022).
• "Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad," Michela Wrong (March 30, 2021).
• "I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation," Michela Wrong (June 6, 2006). 

Virginia mom and liberty warrior Xi Van Fleet grew up in Mao Zedong's Communist China. Raised during the Cultural Revolution, after high school, Xi, along with all the urban youths, was forced to work in the fields for three years to be re-educated by the peasants. She was able to go to college only after Mao’s death. In 1986 she came to America as a student to pursue her graduate studies. For the past 30 years, she has worked in the field of Information Management and stayed out of politics or any civic activity; however, starting in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, she decided she had to speak up. Compelled by her personal experience during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the realization that what she has experienced is taking place here in America, she has committed herself to warn the American people and help them see what is happening now in America. 

Further Reading

• Xi Van Fleet, Education Freedom Ambassador, profile International Women's Forum.

In this podcast, GLA's Jason Poblete speaks with former Ambassador Martin Palouš.  Martin is currently a Senior Fellow at Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and Director of the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy. Palouš was part of the movement that helped end the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe during the Cold War.  The defense of fundamental individual and human rights has been at the core of his playbook ever since.  Born in Prague on October 14, 1950, Palouš studied Natural Science, Philosophy, and International Law, and he has engaged in rich academic praxis for more than 25 years. 

He was one of the first signatories of Charter 77 in defense of human rights and served as spokesman for the dissident human rights group.  Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members included a wide range of civil society leaders at the time, including Martin and the future President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. Their work and that of other civil society leaders supported by the U.S. laid a foundation for President Ronald Reagan's push to end the Cold War. 

Palouš went on to have a rewarding career in international law and foreign affairs, including being elected to the Czechoslovakian Federal Assembly and a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee. Later he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the newly formed Czech Republic and was then asked by President Václav Havel to travel to Washington, D.C. as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the United States from September 2002 to November 2005. Dr. Palouš was designated as Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, where he served in New York from 2006 through 2010.

On November 19, 2022, Palouš said in an op-ed that ran in the Miami Herald that he disagreed with the view held by many in the Cuban diaspora that there "cannot be any dialogue with the current Cuban government as long as it pursues policies of systematic violations of human rights and imprisons and persecutes the members of Cuban democratic opposition." He also said, "I’ve always defended human rights and the bravery of those who oppose the Cuban regime, and I’ve had the mettle to act on my convictions as a dissident." What keeps these two communities apart? And why should the American taxpayer care about this?

Further Reading

• Publications and other resources for Martin Palouš
• "The Road to Freedom Grounded in the Rule of Law," a paper published by the FIU School of International and Public Affairs, Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy, prepared in collaboration with the Global Liberty Alliance (2022).
• La Patria es de Todos - The Nation Belongs to All of Us (1997).
• Jason Poblete and Jamie Suchlicki, “When Should the U.S. Change Policy Toward Cuba,” Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, Cuba Brief, August 13, 2007