Life for U.S. Diplomat After Castro's Takeover

Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba have been frozen in time for more than 50 years. Since the U.S. formally severed ties on January 3, 1961, the two countries are not technically represented by embassies but rather Interests Sections, both under the diplomatic aegis of the Swiss Embassy. From 2002-2005, James Cason served as the Principal Officer at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana (the de facto U.S. ambassador). Cason saw himself not “at a mission,” but rather, “on a mission” to promote democratic principles and support the people of Cuba. As the key representative of the “Yankee Imperialists,” Cason inevitably faced enormous backlash and pressures from the Cuban government. Cason, now the mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, was able to fight back with toughness and a sense of humor. In these excerpts, he discusses working as a U.S. diplomat in Cuba, how he championed the plight of 75 imprisoned dissidents through an imaginative use of Christmas displays and how he was immortalized in propaganda cartoons as “Corporal Cason.”  He was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy beginning in November 2009.