President Obama too often ignores the red and blue in Old Glory. He occasionally waves a simple white flag instead, especially when dealing with America’s enemies.

In Cuba last week, Obama — the first U.S. head of state to visit there since 1928 — maintained his penchant for criticizing America while giving murderous dictators Fidel and Raul Castro a free pass on their numerous misdeeds. The Castros have mistreated Cuban citizens since they seized control of the nation in 1959.

Obama visited Cuba to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and “change” its behavior after a longtime embargo failed to produce any fruits of democracy. Unfortunately, the Castros will likely be lining their pockets with U.S. taxpayer money very soon without having to change their merciless methods one bit.

For instance, Iran’s leaders and citizenry kept chanting “Death to America” and “Israel must be annihilated” after being promised $150 billion to postpone the development of nuclear weapons last year.

According to U.S. News & World Report, the Castros’ ruthlessness is on the rise since Obama announced his intention to engage with Cuba in December 2014. There have been at least 2,555 political arrests this year already, totaling almost a third of the 8,616 that took place in all of 2015.

Undoubtedly, the Castros will snatch anything they can glean from Obama’s outstretched hand, but it is foolish to expect them to alter their ways or allegiances. Communist and terrorist leopards don’t change their spots after nearly six decades in power.

Prior to the president’s arrival in Havana on Monday, the Cuban government, which has been caught smuggling weapons to North Korea, characteristically rounded up beggars, prostitutes and people who disagree with the regime and imprisoned them. On the day after Obama’s three-day stay ended, police officers beat citizens who voiced their desire for democracy at virtually the same spot the president stood to give a speech.

Regrettably, Obama’s visit handed the Castros a victory on the battlefield of propaganda. Raul Castro didn’t show up to greet the president when Air Force One touched down on Cuban soil. He was on hand, however, when former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited a few years ago, indicating his presidential pecking order.

It is a shame that — instead of extolling the virtues of George Washington and other American founding fathers — Obama visited favorite Cuban memorials and stood in front of buildings adorned with murals of Marxist murderer Che Guevara. The president’s ill-advised sightseeing didn’t enable him to view one important fact — appeasing dictators is an ineffective way to get rid of them.