A Treasured Gift From Fidel Castro to Sen. George McGovern

A presentation containing a print of Castro's idol Jose Marti, along with Castro's own autograph.

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George McGovern, best known for losing the presidential race to Richard Nixon in 1972, long opposed the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and its ban on American travel to the island, favoring instead normalization of diplomatic relations. He pointed to the older guard of Cuban exiles in Miami for keeping the embargo...

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A Treasured Gift From Fidel Castro to Sen. George McGovern

A presentation containing a print of Castro's idol Jose Marti, along with Castro's own autograph.

George McGovern, best known for losing the presidential race to Richard Nixon in 1972, long opposed the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and its ban on American travel to the island, favoring instead normalization of diplomatic relations. He pointed to the older guard of Cuban exiles in Miami for keeping the embargo in place for decades, and maintained that the exiles "made sure that every Congressman knows that Castro is a monster and we shouldn’t have anything to do with him.” McGovern, however, pointed out what he saw as the hypocrisy of the U.S. for dealing with communist China, but not communist Cuba. “We seem to think it’s safe to open the door to a billion communists in China, but for some reason, we’re scared to death of the Cubans,” McGovern said.

In 1975, he decided to see for himself, and made the first of his half dozen trips to Cuba. It proved very controversial. He was impressed with Castro, and wrote on his return home that in contrast to what Americans had been told about the Cuban people hating Castro, “Everywhere we were surrounded by laughing children who obviously loved Fidel.” He also called Castro his friend, saying after one visit "I frankly liked him….It might seem hard to believe, but I spent a total of 14 hours with him. By the end of that experience I felt I really knew the man and I felt that he knew me, and we’ve had a rather friendly relationship ever since.”

Many both in Congress and out were outraged by that first trip, and what they saw as McGovern's interference with American policy; there was a demand that McGovern be prosecuted under the Logan Act, which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. The State Department found itself caught between the huge anti-Castro Cuban and anti-communist lobby, and their hesitancy to prosecute a United States senator who had just been his party's nominee for president. In the end, it issued a statement declining to prosecute on the grounds that "The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing…however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution."

McGovern last visited Cuba in 2011, and hoped to see Castro while there. That proved not to be possible. Castro did, however, gift him a presentation that contained a print of artist Dausel Valdes' portrait of Cuban hero José Marti, matted with a small plaque and large card with Castro's autograph on it. Castro revered Marti, and while preparing his defense for his 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks, the first act of unified rebellion against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, he requested the writings of Marti. The Batista regime denied him access to Martí’s work, or even paper on which to prepare his case, but in the now famous “History Will Absolve Me” defense speech, Castro cited, from memory, ten references to the works of Martí. Castro  liked Valdes' work, and the artist had dedicated some of his works to Fidel. McGovern was grateful for the gift, treasured it, and had it up in his home until his death in 2012.

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