Readers React: Cuba has plenty of reasons to mistrust the U.S.
To the editor: To say that U.S.-Cuba relations went south after the “confiscation of private property” egregiously overlooks the important fact that we sought to overthrow Fidel Castro’s regime through a CIA-sponsored military operation in 1961. Remember the Bay of Pigs? (“U.S.-Cuba talks focus on embassies, diplomatic restrictions,” Jan. 22)
There were also many attempts to assassinate Castro, including plans for an exploding cigar, one of many dastardly plots hatched by Operation Mongoose.
The Cubans have good reason to mistrust the U.S. government. Reestablishing relations with Cuba requires seeing the history of U.S.-Cuba diplomacy from both sides.
Lauren Derby, Santa Monica
The writer is an associate professor of Latin American history at UCLA.
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