I am a Cuban American who came to Miami in May 1961, right after the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. I sat in the jump seat in the cockpit of a propeller-driven Pan Am DC-7 in order to avoid being detected by Castro’s henchmen, I went to Canada three months after arriving in Miami to obtain a green card, since the Cuban Adjustment Act was not passed until the Johnson administration.

I feel ashamed of my compatriots who jump every time a Republican president or candidate comes to Miami.

President Reagan went to La Esquina de Tejas, drank a cup of Cuban coffee and proclaimed, “Viva Cuba libre,” and old Cubans applauded. Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, as candidates, did the same thing. Now Herman Cain goes to Versailles, drinks a cup of Cuban coffee and proclaims, “nueve, nueve, nueve,” and old-time Cubans applaud.

These are the same Cubans who came on the Freedom Flights instituted by President Johnson. The same Cubans who collect Social Security and Medicare instituted by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Johnson. The same Cubans that might be covered by Medicaid and possibly receiving food stamps, programs that were instituted by Democratic administrations.

The so-called Cuban revolution has been destroying Cuba for 51 years, and a Republican president has been in power for about half that time, from Eisenhower’s tenure to President Obama’s. By the way, I am not a Democrat.

Lazaro G. Martinez, Miami