Vitali Klitschko is a measured man. As mayor of Kyiv, he speaks plainly. Some time ago, we met as fellow mayors, where over two hours, he meticulously laid out the evidence, the record, and the scale of Russian atrocities against the people of Ukraine. His plea was direct: If we don’t stop Putin’s regime now, Russia and its allies in Beijing will continue to wage war against the free world — including even here in America.
As a Cuban American, I know firsthand about the tactics and methods of communist regimes. Vitali Klitschko’s description brought back a flood of memories. Members of my family were imprisoned, and died, in Castro’s jails. The tactics, the brutality, and the ideology of power were one and the same. They all were part of a broader resurgence of communist-inspired regimes that have extended their control. And we’ve seen Putin’s regime, with help from China, support spreading this same type of regime across our own hemisphere, from Cuba and Nicaragua to Venezuela, with others poised to follow. When we step back and connect the dots, we see a broader resurgence of communist-inspired regimes that have subverted the expansion of free societies, free markets, and free governments across the world. To borrow President Reagan’s imagery: While the evil empire may have fallen, its remnants are mounting a clear resurgence.
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