Terrorists

“Terrorism anywhere threatens democracy everywhere.” – Manmohan Singh, prime minister of India from 2004-14.

It’s interesting how many people in the U.S. talk about terrorists as if they all come from other countries, even though many may live right next door. We often forget that terrorism happens here every day. Attacks by citizens against fellow Americans aren’t uncommon. Have we forgotten, for example, the school shootings at Columbine or Marjory Stoneman Douglas? Or the bombings at gay clubs, Las Vegas concerts, or the Unabomber…

Also, just because you did not pull the trigger or light the fuse on the bomb, it does not mean you are not a terrorist. Someone may have planned a bombing or mass killing and then sent others to do the dirty work. These questions, among others, led me to search for the meaning of terrorist. The Oxford dictionary defines a terrorist as a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

That brings me to my point. 

Those who feel safe in this country, thanks to its new style of law and order a la Trump, may be surprised to learn that, according to the Global Peace Index, the United States is not viewed as a very peaceful country, ranking 132nd out of 163 nations. This low ranking is mainly due to factors like high rates of violence, militarization, and political division. 

Regarding terrorists, I’ve been debating whether we should consider our Cuban American secretary of state, Marco Rubio, along with three members of Congress—Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez, and Maria Elvira Salazar—as terrorists or at least supporters of terrorism. Well, maybe not terrorists. I’ve called them cowards before, and it takes balls to do terror. 

Let me explain. 

Imagine you’re standing on a corner, maybe having a cafecito, and talking bullshit. Suddenly, five hooded men with no identification on their clothing jump out of an unidentified van, brandishing guns and machine guns, and flexing muscles that look a bit juiced (steroids), while running toward you. They might violently throw you to the ground, roughly grab you and apply a chokehold or two in the process, and two of your friends get tased. Then, you are thrown into a dark van, scared out of your mind, and taken to a place they call Alligator Alcatraz. 

Back to the definition of what makes a terrorist: there’s been unlawful violence against civilians, so, check! And intimidation, most definitely, another check!

This kind of incident I just described happens every day across the country. Right here in Miami, I know of more than one case involving people who have had to endure this type of terror. One was a Honduran man with a wife and two children, waiting to present his papers, and here legally. Then, as he was heading to work, he and two friends were stopped and torn from their truck. The Honduran man ended up in shackles on his feet and neck and was sent to a federal prison out west, where he spent almost a month. From there, he was handed over to Mexican authorities, and after months of terror, he is finally in Honduras with his family. But his wife and children remain in South Florida. I will not go into the torture and beating he endured.

Truly, is this not terrorism? Or is the only terrorism we recognize the one where Hamas brutally attacks the Israelis and kills innocents, or the Israeli genocide happening right now in Gaza?

That is why I insist that the aforementioned Cuban American politicians from Miami should be classified as supporters of terrorism. Instead of confronting the Trump administration, Rubio, Diaz-Balart, Gimenez, and Salazar have turned the other way, pretending they do not see the inhumanity, continue to invent excuses for Donald Trump, and blame others for Trump’s actions, so that he may continue to turn us into the fascist state we’ve become.

Yes! They are four huge cowards. They also support terror against Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and many others who live and work among us and are just seeking a better life.