Cuban Athletes Deserve Better Reception

I am outraged and embarrassed by the reception given to the Cuban athletes at the Pan American Games. Such treatment is unforgiveable. It is little wonder that Cubans and other Latin American-Caribbean peoples feel such distrust of “American good will.”

Although the U.S. government disavows any connection with the Indianapolis actions of Cuban-American exile groups, it can only do so with forked tongue. For the past approximately 30 years, successive administrations have covertly-overtly support the covert-overt activities of these organizations in their efforts to harass and overthrow the Cuban government.

As a North American citizen, I feel the need to express my dismay. Offers of gold for defections and planes unfurling phone numbers above the sites of international games is just a continuation of the same Cold War rationale which provided us with everything from the Bay of Pigs to the Iran- contra scandal.

I wish to extend my apologies to those athletes visiting our shores for the first . . . and probably last time.

LAURIEN ALEXANDRE

Los Angeles