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Venezuelans of Cuban descent use heritage to enter U.S.

by urbano411 | October 28, 2007 at 02:38 pm | 309 views | add comment

In a recent conversation with a Cuban dissident in Venezuela he referred to his current view of the political situation as 'Deja vu'. For some this political change in Venezuela is nothing more then a replay of Castro's Revolution. How are things different? Could Castro have been able to accomplish his powerful hold over Cuba, if the Revolution took place today? Is the age of information to powerful for leaders to change Democratic societies toward Socialism?

Haunted by their exiled parents' harrowing experience in the 1950s revolutionary Cuba, thousands of Venezuelans of Cuban descent are fleeing the country as President Hugo Chávez intensifies his drive to transform Venezuela into a socialist state.

The two Cuban consulates in Venezuela -- in Caracas and Valencia -- have seen a sharp rise in recent months in the number of petitions from young applicants looking for ways to prove their Cuban origin.

The sons and daughters of Cuban nationals have a unique advantage over the rest of Venezuelans: A direct shot at becoming U.S. residents if they can prove their parents were born on the island.

''We are witnessing in Venezuela the same situation that our parents experienced [in Cuba,] and that is why we are looking for new horizons,'' said Víctor López, a 35-year-old son of Cubans who went to the Cuban embassy in Caracas last week to request a birth certificate.