    [House Hearing, 117 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                       HISTORIC PROTESTS IN CUBA AND THE
                         CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                     WESTERN HEMISPHERE, CIVILIAN SECURITY,
                  MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY

                                     OF THE

                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 July 20, 2021

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 117-62

                                   __________

            Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,

                           or http://www.govinfo.gov

                                  __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    45-170 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                      GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York, Chairman

    BRAD SHERMAN, California              MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Ranking
    ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey                  Member
    GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia	      CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
    THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida	      STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
    KAREN BASS, California		      SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
    WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts	      DARRELL ISSA, California
    DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island	      ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
    AMI BERA, California		      LEE ZELDIN, New York
    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas	              ANN WAGNER, Missouri
    DINA TITUS, Nevada		      BRIAN MAST, Florida
    TED LIEU, California		      BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania	      KEN BUCK, Colorado
    DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota	      TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
    ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota		      MARK GREEN, Tennessee
    COLIN ALLRED, Texas		      ANDY BARR, Kentucky
    ANDY LEVIN, Michigan		      GREG STEUBE, Florida
    ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, Virginia	      DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
    CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania	      AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
    TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey	      PETER MEIJER, Michigan
    ANDY KIM, New Jersey	              NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York
    SARA JACOBS, California		      RONNY JACKSON, Texas
    KATHY MANNING, North Carolina	      YOUNG KIM, California
    JIM COSTA, California		      MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida
    JUAN VARGAS, California		      JOE WILSON, South Carolina
    VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas		      RON WRIGHT, Texas
    BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois

                        Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
                   Brendan Shields, Republican Staff Director

                                     ------

     Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and
                         International Economic Policy

                       ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey, Chairman

    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                MARK GREEN, Tennessee, Ranking
    ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                     Member
    VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas		     AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
    JUAN VARGAS, California		     MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida
                      Alexander Brockwehl, Staff Director

                               C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                   WITNESSES

    Vivanco, Mr. Jose Miguel, Executive Director, Americas Division,
      Human Rights Watch.............................................     9
    Paya Acevedo, Ms. Rosa Maria, Director, Cuba Decide..............    18

                                    APPENDIX

    Hearing Notice...................................................    53
    Hearing Minutes..................................................    54
    Hearing Attendance...............................................    55

                 ADDITIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

    Amnesty International letter submitted for the record from
      Representative Castro..........................................    56
    Information submitted for the record from Rosa Maria Paya........    61

                RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

    Responses to questions submitted for the record..................    65

         HISTORIC PROTESTS IN CUBA AND THE CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION

                             Tuesday, July 20, 2021

                              House of Representatives,
                    Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere,
                       Civilian Security, Migration and
                          International Economic Policy
                          Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in
    room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Albio Sires
    (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
        Mr. Sires. Good morning, everyone. Thank you to our
    witnesses for being here today.
        And I would like everyone to know that this meeting was
    scheduled before what happened in Cuba. Not that I was
    prophetic. It's just that it so happens that it's very apropos
    to have this hearing today.
        This hearing, titled ``Historic Protests in Cuba and the
    Crackdown on Free Expression'' will come to order.
        Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
    recess of the committee at any point and all members will have
    5 days to submit statements, extraneous materials, and
    questions for the record, subject to the length limitation in
    the rules.
        To insert something into the record, please have your staff
    email the previously mentioned address and contact subcommittee
    staff.
        As a reminder to members joining remotely, please keep your
    video function on at all times, even when you're not recognized
    by the chair. Members are responsible for muting and unmuting
    themselves, and please remember to mute yourself after you
    finish speaking.
        Consistent with H.R. Res. 8 and the accompanying
    regulations, staff will only mute members and witnesses as
    appropriate when they're not under recognition to eliminate
    background noise.
        I see that we have a quorum and I now recognize myself for
    opening remarks.
        What we have witnessed over the last week in Cuba is
    nothing short of historic. Cubans have taken to the streets by
    the thousands to call for freedom and democracy.
        They have been clear in demanding an end to the
    dictatorship. It is important to remember that public
    gatherings are totally prohibited in Cuba. So, every individual
    who has joined these demonstrations has put their lives on the
    line.
        They have decided that it is worth--it is worth it to risk
    jail time, beatings, torture, and even death if it means that
    Cuban people might finally have the chance to be free.
        We must not lose sight of just how powerful that is. The
    Cuban people are fed up. They have had enough of a repressive
    dictatorship. We must stand with them in their quest for
    freedom.
        I appreciate the statements of strong support we have seen
    so far from President Biden and Speaker Pelosi. I am ready to
    work with the Biden Administration to translate those
    statements into actions we can take--actions we can take to
    provide immediate support to the Cuban people. We need to work
    urgently to restore and expand internet access on the island.
        Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to solve this
    problem. The regime is effective at confiscating equipment
    needed for satellite connections, and it is adapting and
    improving its censorship tools with the technical support from
    the Chinese government.
        However, I believe we can still do much more to address
    this issue by working with private companies and civil society
    to expand internet access to help Cubans use the VPN and other
    circumvention tools.
        Another immediate step we should take is to identify and
    sanction perpetrators of human rights abuses under the
    Magnitsky Act. During the current crackdown on protesters, the
    Cuban State has carried out dozens of documented beatings on
    journalists and protesters, and hundreds of arbitrary arrests.
        We also know of at least one killing at the hands of the
    State security and we support their--and we suspect there are
    others. I believe we should immediately sanction every single
    official who has committed these severe human rights
    violations.
        We should also expand our support for those protesting or
    Cuban civil rights society, more broadly. I have long advocated
    for U.S. assistance to Cuban pro-democracy organizations. We
    should deepen that support at this critical moment.
        We must remember that there was a human rights crisis in
    Cuba before July 11th. They are already 150 political
    prisoners--there were already 150 political prisoners at the
    beginning of this month, and regime has increasingly targeted
    artists from the San Isidro movement.
        I call on our allies in Europe and Latin America to step up
    and work with us to promote human rights in Cuba.
        Now it's also the time to finally put an end to the Cuban
    doctors program. This is a State-sponsored form of human
    trafficking whereby 50,000 Cubans have their passports
    confiscated, their movements restricted, and their wages
    garnished. The regime retaliates against their family members
    if they try to leave the program.
        We saw in Venezuela how the Cuban doctors were ordered not
    to provide life-saving medical treatment to people who were not
    loyal to the Maduro government. This is shameful.
        I am glad Secretary Blinken highlighted this horrific,
    horrific program when we launched the State Department's
    Trafficking in Persons report.
        The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms
    of slavery and trafficking in persons have also denounced these
    forced labor programs.
        We need countries throughout the world to stand together in
    saying they will not work with the Cuban regime to exploit
    these doctors anymore.
        I will soon be introducing my legislation to address this
    important issue and I urge my colleagues to support it.
        I will end on a personal note. I fled Cuba with my family
    when I was 11 years old and I remember how the military came to
    my house and searched my house because they accused my father
    of hoarding merchandise.
        Luckily, somebody tipped off the family--we came from a
    very small town--and my father was able to take the merchandise
    and bury it in the backyard. So as the military pulled away, we
    were very fortunate somebody tipped us off.
        I also remember the military coming into my house as soon
    as we filed papers to leave and take inventory of every single
    item that we owned, from the house to the picture on the wall.
        And when we received our exit visa, they came back and
    checked off that every single item in that house was left
    behind to the Cuban government.
        Two months later, they turned the house over to a communist
    member, a party member in the town, that my father built. It
    was not a big house. It was a very modest house. But, still,
    you had to turn every single thing that you owned to the
    government before you could leave.
        I have not forgotten that. It is because of this repressive
    regime that I have never--I was never able to return to Cuba to
    see my grandmother before she died. I have spent every day
    since I left Cuba hoping it would 1 day become a democracy. I
    hope that this is the beginning of the end of the Castro and
    Diaz-Canel dictatorship.
        But what I know for sure is that the Cuban people provide
    an inspiring example of courage, and they deserve our full
    support.
        Thank you, and I will now turn to the ranking member, Mark
    Green, for his opening statement.
        Mr. Green. Thank you, Chairman Sires, and thank you for
    sharing your personal story as well. Thanks for holding this
    hearing and thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
        I especially want to thank Ms. Rosa Maria Paya. Rosa Maria.
    we applaud your courage in the face of tyranny. The testimony
    we're about to hear from her is from a courageous individual
    whose family has been permanently scarred.
        On July 22d, it will be 9 years since her father, Oswaldo
    Paya, and his colleague, Harold Cepero, were extrajudicially
    killed by the Cuban regime. He was a brave man and,
    regretfully, joins the ranks of many others who've died at the
    hands of the regime and under suspicious circumstances.
        Last Sunday was a momentous and an inspirational day. Tens
    of thousands of Cubans all throughout the country took to the
    streets demanding freedom from the communist dictatorship. Some
    even waved the American flag as they demanded libertad.
        Since 1959, Cuban people have been trapped by the iron grip
    of Fidel Castro, his brother, and its handpicked successor.
    Despite brutal and violent crackdowns from the regime, many
    courageous Cubans continued demanding their God-given right to
    liberty and democracy, something three generations and millions
    of Cubans have been deprived of.
        Let's be clear. This is not about COVID-19. This is not
    about the embargo. What are the Cuban people shouting in the
    streets? Libertad.
        Cubans are sick and tired of being oppressed and they are
    in the streets openly and bravely demanding an end to
    communism. Even prior to these recent protests, anti-regime
    sentiment has steadily increased in the country.
        In November, the communist regime broke up a hunger strike
    led by the San Isidro movement, a collective of artists,
    musicians, writers, and scholars. This led to a large protest
    by hundreds of artists and activists in front of the regime's
    Ministry of Culture.
        These protests have been dubbed by some observers as an
    awakening of civil society in Cuba, and it sure looks that way.
    A new generation is rising up and they want to live in freedom.
        I am in awe of the courage of the Cuban people and the many
    risks they take protesting the violent and brutal dictatorship.
    We must not ignore the dangers they face.
        An untold number of peaceful protesters and activists
    remain in prison. Demonstrators risk jail, degrading treatment,
    torture, even death, all for liberty.
        Additionally, the communist regime uses Chinese technology
    to block and censor internet service and disrupt communications
    across the island. These violations of basic human rights are
    absolutely unacceptable.
        We must demand action. This is a crisis that requires a
    bipartisan response. And, Chairman Sires, I know this issue
    hits home for you and I know you hear, as no one else can, the
    Cuban people's cries for liberty and dignity.
        Holding the communist regime accountable for its repressive
    policies while supporting the people's quest for freedom and
    democracy is crucial.
        I hope we can prioritize this issue for the good of all
    Cubans and for the good of the Western Hemisphere, at large.
    The Cuban people have never experienced the kind of self-
    government and freedom that many Americans take for granted.
        As the freest and most prosperous nation in the world, the
    United States must unequivocally stand with the Cuban people
    against the communist regime.
        There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and Cuba has
    never been closer. When will the Cuban people finally be free?
    When people of faith are no longer afraid of arbitrary
    detentions, threats, and harassment from communist officials,
    that is liberty.
        When artists, musicians, and writers can freely express
    their political opinions in song without fear of retaliation,
    that is liberty. When parents do not have to wait hours in line
    for basic staples like rice and beans just to feed their
    starving children, that is liberty.
        When the dying communist regime breathes its last breath,
    when a sovereign republic takes its place, and when separated
    families are reunited in a free Cuba, that is liberty.
        Mr. Chairman, the people of Cuba are looking to the United
    States for help and guidance. I look forward to working with
    you to answer their cries.
        Thank you, and I yield.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you very much, Ranking Member Green.
        I will now yield to Ranking Member McCaul for his opening
    statement.
        Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Chairman Sires and Ranking Member
    Green, for your passionate remarks this morning, and for
    holding this important hearing on historic protests that we are
    seeing in Cuba.
        I think this is a pivotal point in history. It's a moment
    in time, and we need to take advantage of it.
        Since last Sunday, tens of thousands of brave Cubans from
    all around the country have protested the communist
    dictatorship that has repressed them for over 60 years, and
    despite being met with brutal violence and censorship, they
    continue risking their lives to fight for freedom.
        And as freedom-loving Americans, we stand with them. The
    people of Cuba were promised communism would work. They were
    told to sacrifice their freedoms and ambitions in exchange for
    a utopia of equality and world-class health care.
        Instead, three generations over 60 years have been doomed
    to misery and shortages as a result of this failed ideology.
    Brave Cubans have woken up to the lies and propaganda fed to
    them by Fidel Castro and his cronies, and the world must bear
    witness and recognize the significance of this historic time.
        And they are protesting the dictatorship waving the
    greatest symbol of liberty, libertad, known to man, the
    American flag, because they know and the regime knows that
    America stands for everything the Cubans are fighting for:
    freedom, liberty, and democracy.
        Regime thugs are snatching innocent Cubans from their homes
    simply for calling for freedom, and we know the Venezuelans are
    in there, too, with their military as they crack down--they
    knock doors down and take people out of their homes and throw
    them in prison.
        The idea that a protester will be sentenced to 20 years in
    prison for simply exercising what we--what is sacred in this
    country and it's the right to free speech, and they are
    violently cracking down and violating the religious freedoms
    and liberties of the Cuban people.
        They're also using Chinese technology to block and censor
    internet access from the island, and this committee will be
    working with technologies within the State Department to open
    up those lines of communication.
        We cannot let our adversaries take advantage of the
    situation and infiltrate our hemisphere. And the world is
    watching, and they're watching very closely what we do at this
    moment in time.
        These human rights violations cannot and will not go on
    punished. Cubans deserve liberty and all that it entails, and
    we must do everything in our power to fight with them for their
    freedom.
        And that work begins in Congress and it begins at the White
    House. I was proud to co-sponsor a bipartisan resolution with
    my colleagues stating our solidarity with the brave Cuban
    people.
        We must also make sure the Administration is doing
    everything it can to provide uncensored internet access around
    the country. We need to work with the Biden Administration to
    lead the international effort for Cuban freedom and freedom
    fighters, supporting the democracy leaders and activists on the
    island.
        Simply put, we have a moral obligation and a duty to
    support their aspirations. We need our democratic and freedom-
    loving allies around the world and peace-loving people around
    the world to stand with the people of Cuba, to support them
    against this oppressive regime.
        I want to take this moment to commend our witness, Rosa
    Maria Paya, for her strength, for her advocacy. Almost 9 years
    ago her father was murdered by the Cuban regime, and we are so
    sorry, Ms. Paya.
        And many others were, too, and many sit in prison rotting
    in jails because of this monster and his successors. He was an
    internationally known Cuban dissident, your father, and to this
    day, his death has never been properly investigated.
        Your family, like many others, who dare to speak to the
    truth to power has paid the ultimate price in your struggle for
    freedom, and I have to say, Ms. Paya, I admire your bravery. I
    want to thank you for being here today.
        What is happening in Cuba is all the proof we need that
    communism and socialism are bankrupted ideologies that can only
    lead to utter failure and human misery.
        So, in closing, as Cubans continue to stand up and reject
    communism and the dictatorship that has doomed three
    generations of Cubans, we just say we will stand with them as
    they bravely fight for freedom. Cuba libre.
        I yield back.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Ranking Member McCaul.
        I will now introduce Mr. Jose Miguel Vivanco, who is a
    leading expert on human rights issues throughout Latin America
    and the Caribbean. He is an executive director of the Americas
    Division at Human Rights Watch.
        Mr. Vivanco previously worked as an attorney for the Inter-
    American Commission on Human Rights at the Organization of the
    America States. He is also the founder of the Center for
    Justice and International Law.
        Mr. Vivanco studied at the University of Chile and
    Salamanca Law School in Spain and holds a Masters of Laws
    degree from Harvard Law School.
        Mr. Vivanco, we welcome you to the hearing.
        We will then hear from Ms. Rosa Maria Paya. She is a widely
    recognized Cuban activist and a vocal advocate for freedom and
    human rights in Cuba.
        She serves as the director for Cuba Decide, an organization
    focused on restoring democracy and the rule of law to Cuba.
        She is the daughter of Aldo Paya, a well-known dissident
    who dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom in Cuba and
    who was killed at the hands of the regime in July 2012. Ms.
    Paya holds a degree in physics from the University of Havana.
        Ms. Paya.  thank you for joining us today.
        I ask the witnesses to please limit your testimony to 5
    minutes, and without objection, your prepared statements will
    be made part of the record.
        Mr. Vivanco, you are recognized for your testimony.

       STATEMENT OF MR. JOSE MIGUEL VIVANCO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
                 AMERICAS DIVISION, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

        Mr. Vivanco. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the
    subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on
    this very, very important matter for human rights in the
    Western Hemisphere.
        This hearing could not be more timely. Since July 11th,
    thousands of Cubans have taken to the streets across the
    country in landmark demonstrations, protesting long-standing
    restrictions on rights, freedoms, the scarcity of food and
    medicines, and the government's response to the COVID-19
    pandemic.
        The Cuban Government has reacted with brutal repression and
    censorship. Since the protests began, several organizations
    have reported countrywide internet block and restrictions on
    social media and messaging platforms.
        Cuban rights groups report that around 500 people have been
    detained. Human Rights Watch has conducted thousands of
    interviews to document the government's response to the
    protests.
        We have received credible reports of police beatings and
    documented multiple cases of arbitrary detention of protesters,
    activists, and journalists, including many who have been held
    incommunicado and some whose whereabouts remain unknown.
        People detained include members of the San Isidro and 27N
    movements to coalitions of artists and journalists who have
    been facing a government crackdown.
        In recent months, Human Rights Watch has been continuously
    documenting abuses against them including arbitrary detention
    and restrictions of movement and communications.
        Victims include people who have performed in or even simply
    played or promoted ``Motherland and Life,'' a song by Cuban
    artists that challenge the Cuban government's old slogan,
    ``Motherland or Death,'' patria o muerte, and criticize the
    repression in the country.
        We found consistent and repeated patterns in the abuses,
    which strongly suggest a plan by the Cuban authorities to
    systematically repress these independent artists and
    journalists.
        Mr. Chair and members of the subcommittee, even as the
    Cuban government insist on its decades-old repression, Cuba is
    changing.
        Thousands of Cubans are overcoming their fear of the
    government, and despite the government's attempts to restrict
    communications, increased access to the internet has enabled
    many to organize protests and reports on abuses in ways that
    were virtually impossible only a few years ago.
        At this critical juncture, we urge the U.S. Congress and
    the Biden Administration to take the necessary steps to
    dismantle the embargo and abandon the ongoing policy of
    isolation, which has been--which have produced no improvements
    on human rights in the island.
        For too long, the U.S. embargo has provided the Cuban
    government with an excuse for its problems, a pretext for its
    abuses, and a way to garner sympathy abroad with governments
    that might otherwise have been willing to condemn the country's
    repressive practices more vocally.
        Rather than isolating Cuba, the policy has isolated the
    United States, impeding the multilateral and coordinated
    approach that is needed to press the Cuban government to end
    its repressive policies and practice.
        I urge the U.S. Congress and the Biden Administration to
    take steps toward a new approach in Cuba, including, one,
    progressively dismantling the policy of isolation toward Cuba;
    two, collaborating with governments in Latin America and the
    European Union to ensure a multilateral and coordinated
    approach; three, working with these governments to monitor and
    denounce restrictions on access to internet in Cuba.
        Cuba is changing and it's past time the U.S. policy
    changes, too.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Vivanco follows:]

                              STATEMENT OF VIVANCO
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. Sires. Thank you.
        Ms. Paya.  I now turn to you for your testimony.

    STATEMENT OF MS. Rosa Maria Paya.ACEVEDO, DIRECTOR, CUBA DECIDE

        Ms. Paya. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, and thank you so
    much to all the Members of the Congress for this opportunity
    and for your kind words.
        My name is Rosa Maria Paya.from the citizen initiative Cuba
    Decide to promote human rights. Our network on the ground have
    seen explosive growth over the last 16 months.
        My father, Oswaldo Paya, was killed in Cuba under the
    orders of the Castro brothers on July 22d, 2012. The Cuban
    peoples are in the streets fighting for freedom. In at least 45
    cities massive protests took place. This regime has responded
    with brutal repression, causing countless arrests, injuries,
    and death.
        On national TV, Miguel Diaz-Canel has called for a war in
    the streets and to fight using any means. In the eastern
    provinces, the police shot one protester in the head. It is on
    video. The name of the victim is still unknown.
        Daniel Cardenas was shot inside his home in the city of
    Cardenas. His wife was present. It's on video.
        Diubis Laurencio was shot in the back and killed in
    Naranjo. It's on video. He was 36 years old and his family is
    now denouncing that officials precisely called him a
    delinquent.
        Videos show people arriving at hospitals badly hurt by
    police beatings and bullets, one shot in the arm, another in
    the leg, another in the stomach. The victims are workers and
    students, not only members of the organized opposition.
        FDP has documented at least 532 detained and missing
    persons, but we estimated the actual number to be in the
    thousands. The regime has its days numbered and the world is
    watching.
        In this context, to lift the sanctions against the Cuban
    regime is to fund the Cuban police and military who oppress the
    people in the streets, obeying top government officials like
    General Raul Castro, Miguel Diaz-Canel, General Rodriguez
    Lopez-Callejas, General Alvarez Casas, Minister of Interior,
    General Lopez Miera, Minister of the Armed Force.
        It is a moral imperative to stop the regime abuses after 62
    years of crimes against humanity perpetrated by a military
    dictatorship that has never been accountable.
        Despite the lack of food and medicine, the protesters are
    demanding freedom, human rights, and democracy. They were
    shouting, ``No more fear,'' ``Change is possible,'' and ``Down
    with the dictatorship.''
        None of them mentioned the U.S. embargo, but instead
    homeland and life, patria y vida, the alternative to the Castro
    slogan of ``Homeland or death.''
        To accept the blackmail of the migratory crisis by the
    Cuban regime is to fail the Cuban people. We urge the U.S.
    Government not to make unilateral concessions to the regime
    but, rather, demand the release of all political prisoners, an
    end for the repression, and respect for our fundamental
    freedoms, including the legalization of all political parties.
        I would like to share five policy recommendations from the
    majority of the Cuban civil society on and off the island.
        We humbly ask to the U.S. please, the U.S. should apply
    individual sanctions, making full use of the Global Magnitsky
    Act, targeting top officials and individuals involved in human
    rights abuses.
        The U.S. should replicate its approach to the South African
    apartheid and require all companies in relations with Cuba to
    mandatorily embrace the Sullivan principles.
        The U.S. should take action to break the regime's
    communication monopoly by enabling independent access to
    internet to Cubans, bypassing the censorship of the regime.
        The U.S. should invite the European Union and the
    Organization of American States--all the members of the
    Organization of American States to take similar steps and use
    all available tools, including the Inter-American Treaty of
    Reciprocal Assistance to address the threat posed by the Cuban
    regime.
        The regime is illegitimate and should continue to be
    excluded from the Summit of the Americas until it complies with
    the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
        The U.S. has the ability to stop the impunity of the regime
    and protect persons from its brutal repression. All options
    within the international law must be on the table to protect
    civilians' lives in Cuba.
        My father said that the American and the Cuban people
        [Spanish language spoken]. We want to be free and we want
    to be friends. Thank you for this opportunity, and thank you to
    the American people.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Paya follows:]

        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Mr. Sires. Thank you very much.
        Before I begin questions, I ask unanimous consent that
    Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Val Demings, Nicole
    Malliotakis, and Scott Perry participate at today's hearing
    after all subcommittee members have had the opportunity to
    participate in questioning the witnesses.
        I will now begin questions by recognizing myself for 5
    minutes.
        The State Department in 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report
    reports for Cuba maintained Cuba as a Tier 3 country. In his
    remarks at the launch of the report, Secretary of State Anthony
    Blinken said that the regime has profited from its exploitive
    overseas medical missions.
        What are some of the conditions that Cuban doctors are
    subjected to as part of this medical mission and what does the
    international community need to do to put an end to this
    exploitation?
        Mr. Vivanco?
        Mr. Vivanco. Mr. Chair, the Cuban doctors deployed in
    different parts of the world provide a valuable service to many
    communities in Latin America, in Africa, in Asia, but at the
    expense of their most basic freedoms. That is the price.
        To the point that we believe that the use of these doctors
    amount to the practice of forced labor, the Cuban doctors are
    subject of draconian rules that violate the right to privacy,
    freedom of expression and association, liberty of movement,
    among several other freedoms that are restricted during their
    missions when, you know, they are deployed in different
    communities and the Cuban government profits substantively with
    their service.
        Mr. Sires. Do you have an estimation of how much they
    profit? How much it makes for the island?
        Mr. Vivanco. It's quite difficult to get a number, for lack
    of transparency. So there are different type of figures out
    there. However, we are looking into a very, very significant
    income for the government of Cuba.
        Mr. Sires. And when these doctors are sent to these
    countries, they're sent by themselves? Families are left
    behind?
        Mr. Vivanco. Their families are left behind and they even
    restrict access to the money that they are supposed to be
    making until the conclusion of the mission.
        In other words, their promised payment, which is 10 times
    or more what they will be able to earn in their practice as
    doctors in Cuba. That is the attraction, of course.
        But the way that the Cuban government pay them and their
    family is conditioned to their performance in their communities
    and to the conclusion of the full program, usually after one or
    2 years.
        Mr. Sires. And if they ask for asylum in the country that
    they're serving, what happens?
        Mr. Vivanco. They lose the money that they're supposed to
    earn. That's why they pay at the end. They keep paying some
    small portions for them to be able to survive in the local--in
    the community--in the local country, as well as for the family
    to get some, you know, a stipend.
        But they might lose all the benefits and their family are
    not going to be able to leave the country. The Cuban doctor, if
    he's lucky, might get some political asylum in that country,
    but isolated for who knows how long from their family.
        Mr. Sires. Because he's never going to be able to bring the
    family to where he has asked for asylum?
        Mr. Vivanco. It will be very, very difficult.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you.
        You know, during the protests, the Cuban government shut
    down internet access in entire areas of the island. I know you
    made some recommendations on what this country can do. Can you
    expand on that?
        Ms. Paya. Yes, of course. Thank you so much.
        We have known that the United States and--for United
    States--and I'll thank you again--private enterprises are able
    or could have the capacity to provide internet access--
    satellite internet access, bypassing the censorship of the
    regime.
        In this moment, we ask United States to move quickly and to
    enable the Cuban citizens with a way of communication that in
    this moment has the capacity of saved lives.
        Mr. Sires. Now, the reports are there are over 50 cities
    the people turned out while the--was the internet shut off in
    all those cities?
        Ms. Paya. Almost in all the island. Almost in all the
    island.
        Mr. Sires. The entire island?
        Ms. Paya. Almost the entire island. People just started
    communicating using wi-fi hotspots through VPNs. But it was
    very, very difficult to get any access to communication.
        Mr. Sires. Do you know the reaction of the EU to the
    shutting down of the internet and the people demonstrating on
    the island?
        Ms. Paya. Well, there have been--there have been reactions
    from the European parliament and from the European
    parliamentarians that have been very, very solidarios with the
    Cuban people.
        But I do not know of any response from the European
    External Action Service actually in the direction of supporting
    the Cuban people. Actually, they insist in maintaining a
    cooperation agreement that includes political dialog that have
    been already violated by the Cuban regime, which human rights
    laws have been already violated.
        Mr. Sires. My time is up. Thank you very much.
        Congressman Green?
        Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Rosa Maria.
        We often hear that the United States embargo is the
    primary--is the primary cause of lack of prosperity and
    democracy on the island.
        We hear that Cuban entrepreneurs would succeed only if they
    could trade and engage with their American counterparts. In
    previous testimony, you informed Congress, and I quote, ``There
    cannot be free markets where there are no free persons.''
        Could you elaborate on that?
        Ms. Paya. Yes, that's actually a phrase of my father, and
    thank you so much for your words about him. And I think that
    the best answer to your question is coming from the Cuban
    people in the streets.
        They were not asking for the end of the embargo. They were
    asking for the end of the dictatorship. The end of the
    dictatorship is a demand of the Cuban people. That's the demand
    alone, and that's the demand that we need solidarity to.
        Mr. Green. So just to make sure I heard you correctly, the
    people that are in the streets protesting, they're not
    protesting an embargo. They're protesting the communist regime
    that's in charge and a dictatorship over their--over their
    country?
        Ms. Paya. They have been shouting, ``Change is possible.
    Down with the dictatorship. No more fear. Freedom. Freedom.
    Freedom.'' I think that's eloquent enough.
        Mr. Green. It is. Thank you.
        It's interesting that small fringe elements of the left
    here are trying to say that it's the embargo. But truth be
    known, it really has nothing to do with the embargo.
        If you look at 90 percent of the companies in Cuba, they're
    held by military holding companies, meaning the Cuban military
    runs 90 percent of the economy in Cuba.
        Well, there's a law in the United States that says an
    American company cannot do business with the Cuban military. So
    if we lift the embargo, we cannot even do business with them.
    And where does the money go if 90 percent of the companies are
    held by the Cuban military?
        Well, it just empowers the dictatorship. This insane notion
    that lifting the embargo is going to somehow provide freedom
    for the Cuban people is crazy. It's absurd.
        And the only reason you would say that is unless you're
    trying to hide behind socialism and communism as an effective
    model. But everywhere else it's been in the world it's been
    disproved.
        Let's look at North Korea. They cannot get rice. They're
    starving. Remember, the USSR and Berlin? They built a wall to
    keep their people in. And socialism, look at Venezuela.
        It is not the embargo, Mr. Chairman, that is causing the
    people of Cuba to suffer under this totalitarian dictatorship
    and lifting it will only empower them. Cuba's egregious
    religious freedom violations well documented and they are
    widespread.
        The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has
    called for Global Magnitsky Act sanctions on the head of Cuba's
    Office of Religious Affairs, Caridad Diego, for her direct role
    in leading campaigns of repression against Cuba's religious
    communities.
        Can you both share examples of how the regime restricts and
    penalizes religion in policy and practice?
        Sir, if we could start with you.
        Mr. Vivanco. The exercise of fundamental freedoms in Cuba
    depends on the degree of tolerance of the Cuban government.
    There is no rule of law in Cuba. There is a total concentration
    of power, no independent judiciary. The judiciary is under the
    subordination of the executive branch. If the government
    believe that is----
        Mr. Green. If I could--if I could interrupt you just a
    second. I think I understood you to say there's no rule of law.
    It's just total power concentrated in the hands of the
    dictatorship.
        Mr. Vivanco. Exactly.
        Mr. Green. How then--I'm going to--I'm going to flip back
    to my previous question, because you supported lifting this
    embargo.
        How then if the total power is all in the hands of one
    individual does lifting the embargo free the people? I do not
    understand.
        Mr. Vivanco. Congressman Green, in foreign policy, you have
    multiple options. If you want to influence, if you want to have
    impact on the record of any given country, the option that you
    have chosen for over or close to 60 years is the isolation.
    That policy has bring no change in Cuba. I believe----
        Mr. Green. Well, I would submit to you right now there's
    change happening. There are thousands of Cubans in the streets.
    There's a spotlight on the Cuban government. The world is
    crying for the internet to be open so we can see and see with
    transparency what's going on.
        We're at a point right now that may just be a great
    opportunity, for two reasons--one, to show exactly what's going
    on in Cuba under this totalitarian dictatorship, happened
    because of the embargo, and two, to once again put another head
    of a communist dictator on the wall.
        And I mean that proverbially, for all the people that are
    going to go out there and say Green is espousing some kind of
    violence. I am not.
        I am saying--but here's another failed communist regime.
    That's what I think. Two great opportunities. That system does
    not work and we can free the Cuban people.
        And, unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, I'm out of time. Thank
    you.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman Green.
        Congressman Castro.
        Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you, Ranking
    Member, for organizing this hearing today.
        And before I address my questions to our witnesses, I want
    to reiterate my support, most of all, for the Cuban people.
        I continue to be moved by their plight for their freedoms
    and their fight for their freedoms, their COVID-19 assistance
    and an end to hunger in their nation, and I expressed my
    solidarity with them, especially with those brave Cubans who
    remain disappeared who have been imprisoned for standing up for
    their human rights and for their families.
        And I join U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle
    Bachelet in her call to the Cuban government to immediately
    release those arrested during the protests.
        I also think it's necessary for the United States to, as
    President Obama said during his visit to Havana, ``Bury the
    last remnant of the cold war in the Americas and pursue a Cuba
    policy that improves the lives of the Cuban people.''
        And so I wanted to ask a few questions of our witnesses, or
    actually, before I do that, I know there's a debate about the
    embargo and how much that's responsible versus the Cuban
    government and so forth.
        And most of all, we support the freedom of the Cuban people
    and their right to choose the leadership of their nation. As
    Americans, we want to be as helpful to that as possible.
        But in this debate about communism and socialism and so
    forth, our biggest trading partner of the United States is a
    communist country, China. We have no embargo against China.
    That's our biggest trading partner.
        So I have a question to Mr. Vivanco. Thank you for your
    testimony today, and a question that remains after the mass
    protests across Cuba is what the U.S. Government can do to best
    improve the lives of the people of Cuba.
        In his historic speech and diplomatic trip--in his historic
    speech and diplomatic trip to Havana, President Obama discussed
    at length how the United States embargo and policy of isolation
    toward Cuba was not working, saying, quote, ``The embargo is
    outdated and should be lifted.''
        So, Mr. Vivanco, what is the current purpose of the U.S.
    embargo on Cuba and how does it help or hurt the Cuban people?
        Mr. Vivanco. Congressman Castro, thank you very much for
    your question.
        In my view, following human rights conditions in Cuba for
    over 30 years, my conclusion is that it's time for the U.S. to
    take a different approach. It's the only country in the world
    that enforce a policy of isolation.
        That policy is rejected unanimously for the rest of the
    world. Even conservative governments from Europe and Latin
    America has never agreed with the policy of embargo because it
    impose indiscriminate sanctions against the people of Cuba and
    has showed to be absolutely ineffective.
        If you want to bring change to Cuba and transition from
    dictatorship to democracy, you need to create a multilateral
    approach, a new type of approach to create the right type--kind
    of incentives and pressure for the Cuban to take those steps.
        Cuba is not isolated for the rest of--from the rest of the
    world. Tourists from Europe, Canada, or any country in Latin
    America could spend time, money, their money. They could invest
    in extractive industries in Cuba.
        The only one that is isolated from Cuba is the U.S. The
    only one that is isolated in this debate at global level on the
    Cuban affairs is the U.S.
        Why? Because the policy of isolation made the position of
    the U.S. actually kind of impotent with regard to the debate on
    Cuba.
        Mr. Castro. I also wanted to ask you about remittances, the
    ability for folks to send money to Cuba. You know, remittances
    are a vital lifeline to millions of Cubans, especially the most
    vulnerable, like the elderly, and are used to purchase basic
    necessities like sanitary items and food, and even obtaining--
    for obtaining access cards to have access to the internet.
        The Trump administration imposed restrictions on
    remittances and pushed the largest receiver of family
    remittances in Cuba, Western Union, to abandon operations on
    the island. Unfortunately, these harmful policies continue
    today.
        So I wanted to ask you, can you describe how remittances
    help the most vulnerable of Cubans to survive and obtain daily
    necessities?
        Mr. Vivanco. It is absolutely essential to facilitate the
    use of remittances. The sent of--the ability of Cuban families
    and friends to send money for their relatives to be able to
    survive in the country, to be able to buy the minutes to use
    wi-fi and internet, which is available in Cuba and is one of
    the vehicles that explain this mobilization in Cuba, I think is
    the right approach to reestablish the ability of Cuban families
    to send money to their relatives in Cuba.
        Mr. Castro. Thank you. I yield back, Chairman.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman Castro.
        Representative Pfluger.
        Mr. Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to both
    of you for your testimony.
        Ms. Paya.  thank you for your personal story.
        For over 60 years, the Cuban people have been oppressed by
    the worst impulses of a brutal regime and failed promises of
    communist propaganda, and what we're seeing today is those
    people saying enough is enough.
        We must stand with them and finally rid the Western
    Hemisphere this hegemonic oppression. And, unfortunately, the
    Biden Administration is sending very dangerous and mixed
    signals through both policy and rhetoric to those that wish to
    flee this brutal regime.
        But if you're fleeing a communist regime where defectors
    are silenced or shot, and everyday citizens are starving to
    death, you're not welcome in America.
        This is the message that Secretary Mayorkas, who himself
    was born in Havana, gave last week when he remarked that Cuban
    refugees attempting to flee by the sea will not be permitted in
    the United States.
        This message is echoed again by acting assistant secretary
    at the State Department when he remarked that the protests were
    peaceful and rooted only in concerns about rising COVID cases
    and medicine shortages.
        This is false. The Cuban people, as you've mentioned, are
    shouting ``Libertad.'' They're waving the American flag.
    They're standing for freedom. They're not shouting, down with
    an embargo.
        While our administration downplays the severity of the
    crisis in Cuba and pledges to turn away Cuban refugees,
    President Biden has simultaneously thrown open the southern
    borders to cartels, coyotes, and others.
        Meanwhile, the Administration advocating for socialist
    policies right here in the United States, when we see massive
    government control over society simply does not work.
        Cuba is showing us in real time and the world how quickly
    communism collapses and leads to a spiral of deadly conditions
    of poverty, starvation, and hopelessness, causing enough
    desperation that right now Cubans are staring down the
    oppressors in the streets and risking their lives to cross
    treacherous waters on homemade rafts to reach the shores of
    liberty, the symbol of freedom, the United States of America.
        The United States remains the beacon of freedom and
    democracy around the world and we must do everything within our
    power to support those who are valiantly standing for liberty,
    and we must do it right here at home.
        There have been a chorus of this very body right here in
    Congress supporting the Cuban people in their efforts and I,
    certainly, support that effort as well.
        And instead of throwing our doors open to human traffickers
    on our southern border, President Biden must take decisive
    action to bolster the pro-democracy movement and support the
    brave Cubans who are fighting in their own streets for liberty.
        Ms. Paya.  how important is it to have freedom of speech?
    What does it mean to have freedom of speech?
        Ms. Paya. Thank you so much.
        It is--it is fundamental and it is--it is the root of what
    is going on in Cuba. The people of Cuba have n't wait for the
    Cuban regime to authorize them to speak. They are shouting
    ``freedom'' in the streets.
        And if I make a call, a request, for all of you, is to
    please to listen to what the Cuban people is demanding on the
    street. At the highest possible risk, which is life, they are
    demanding freedom. They are demanding the end of the
    dictatorship.
        Please do not politicize that. It is not about politics and
    not--it is not about right and left. It is about the main
    contradiction that the Cubans have experienced, which is not
    the embargo or any other contradiction between the military
    dictatorship and any other country. It's the main
    contradiction.
        The root of the suffering of the Cuban people is the
    conflict between a group of militaries that have held power in
    illegitimate way for more than 62 years and a whole population
    that is demanding a change, that is demanding a transition
    process, that is demanding democracy.
        And now United States and the rest of the world have the
    opportunity and the challenge to take sides with that Cuban
    people to hold accountable--help the Cuban people to hold
    accountable that region and to bring about freedom in Cuba.
        That also means democratic stability and also means getting
    rid of one of the threats that the national security of this
    country has in this hemisphere.
        Mr. Pfluger. Thank you for that.
        And I just want to go back to one of the remarks that you
    made, that you said that lifting sanctions is, basically,
    funding terrorism. It's funding the dictatorship to do what
    they want through military action.
        And I appreciate your comments on that, and Mr. Chairman, I
    know I'm out of time. Thank you again for holding this hearing.
    I yield back.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you very much.
        Congressman Andy Levin, you're on.
        Mr. Levin. Thanks so much to the chairman and ranking
    member for holding this really important hearing this morning.
        You know, one of the subjects of the protests has been
    access to COVID vaccines. In my view, this is an area where the
    U.S. might be able to actually heed the Cuban people's call.
        But it's my understanding that sending vaccines to Cuba
    would require a special license, at least from the Department
    of Commerce and perhaps also Treasury.
        Last week, Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba
    Study Group tweeted, ``Everyone trying right now to coordinate
    aid to the Cuban people is running into a morass of OFAC and
    Commerce shipping and banking restrictions. This is how current
    U.S. policy does not help.''
        Mr. Vivanco, do you believe that current sanctions and the
    current sanctions regime makes the delivery of humanitarian aid
    to the Cuban people more difficult?
        Mr. Vivanco. Indeed, I believe that the measures that the
    Biden Administration and this Congress could take to facilitate
    access to medicine and vaccine even to alleviate these painful
    times of the Cuban people who have no access to vaccine.
        I believe also that the Cuban government has been reluctant
    to accept vaccines from Russia and China for dogmatic reasons.
    They are--they were hoping to develop their own vaccine.
        Mr. Levin. Right.
        Mr. Vivanco. And if the U.S. Government could help and
    provide some relief for the Cuban people with access to
    vaccine, I think it will be terrific.
        Mr. Levin. And it would really have a big impact on our
    relationship directly with the people, right?
        Mr. Vivanco. Exactly.
        Mr. Levin. Yes. And, you know, given the crackdowns that we
    have seen on the protesters--horrible crackdowns--it seems that
    the kind of sanctions that we're talking about here, the kinds
    that are not targeted, have not prompted the government to
    improve its human rights record. Would you agree?
        Mr. Vivanco. I agree 100 percent.
        Mr. Levin. So what--tell us, in your view, what do you
    think the best approach would be for us to influence the Cuban
    government on its human rights record, something you've devoted
    your career to, including the crackdowns on protesters?
        If we want to get away from ideology and talking points and
    actually help improve the human rights record there, what
    should we do?
        Mr. Vivanco. Actually, Congressman Levin, I do believe that
    the best way to support the dictatorship is keep the status
    quo. In other words, change nothing. Insist on a policy that
    has failed, the policy of isolation. The policy of sanctions
    has bring no improvement on human rights in Cuba.
        My sense is that the U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba is not
    inspired on the need to improve human rights and democracy in
    Cuba. It is just a policy that reflect the preferences of the
    electorate in Florida and has nothing to do with the goal to
    improve human rights in Cuba.
        Mr. Levin. So do you think there are things we can do, and
    what are they? Because I'm with you. I agree with you. But what
    should we do?
        Mr. Vivanco. What you should, you know, try to do,
    especially now that you have the majority in the House, is to
    take the necessary steps to at least open up a debate about the
    lack of effectiveness of a policy of isolation toward Cuba and
    to empirically help establish whether there is any other
    democracy in the world that has been willing to join forces
    with the U.S. in the policy of isolation.
        You will conclude that the rest of the world every year
    systematically condemned that policy, and only Israel and the
    U.S. support the policy of isolation on Cuba.
        So if you could take internal steps to at least open up a
    debate about the lack of effectiveness, the impotence of the
    U.S. Government in affecting Cuban human rights conditions in
    Cuba, I think that will be very, very helpful.
        Mr. Levin. Well, thanks. You know, obviously, there are
    strong policy disagreements on this subject. But I think we all
    agree on our commitment to the Cuban people and their well-
    being, and I hope that in the interest of that commitment we're
    able to have a nuanced and honest conversation about what
    policies are helpful and which are harmful.
        And you're making a very strong case that we have been
    beating our heads against the wall for 60 years, not helping
    the human rights situation in Cuba. So we really have to find a
    more effective way.
        And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman.
        Congresswoman Salazar.
        Ms. Salazar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Jose
    Miguel Vivanco, for being here, and Rosa Maria Paya.
        And your family paid the highest sacrifice. Your father,
    Oswaldo Paya, stood up for a free Cuba. That is something that
    the Castro regime fears. They killed him and they covered it
    up, saying that it was a car crash so that we will never know
    the truth.
        I met him twice when I was a news reporter, and he was the
    epitome of decency. I can say that. And I'm glad that you're
    here today because of your bravery and your commitment to his
    memory.
        After a week of silence, now the Biden Administration is
    saying they're going to review the effect of the remittances.
    That is very embarrassing. It's a slap in the face to you, to
    your father, to all the Cuban people and to us, the elected
    officials, who were not informed or consulted.
        The people of Cuba, as we have said, they're not shouting
    ``[Spanish language spoken] embargo, no more--we want more
    remittances.'' They're shouting ``Libertad.''
        The bare minimum the Biden Administration could do is to
    connect the internet because that way the world will be able to
    know and see the truth and they can communicate among
    themselves.
        They will also know that they're not alone and that the
    United States is with them.
        The Biden administration could enhance the wi-fi from
    Havana embassy or from Guantanamo and this can be done in
    minutes. Also, the private sector has developed--there's
    balloons that can carry wi-fi directly to the island.
        I'm going to say this message in Spanish.
        [Spanish language spoken.]
        Ms. Salazar. Now, my question is, I'm going to--if I have
    more time, I'm going to ask you questions, but I would like to
    talk to Mr. Vivanco and ask you a simple question.
        I was a news reporter, and I saw when Obama lifted all
    restrictions. For two and a half years he gave the opportunity
    to the Cuban government to really join the international
    community, and they spit on Obama. Two years.
        Dozens of American companies wanted to do business in Cuba
    and the Castros did not allow it. Madonna went to celebrate her
    birthday in the--while the Damas de Blancos were being beaten
    on the streets. Mick Jagger went to do a big concert.
        I interviewed dozens of American companies who wanted to do
    business with the Cuban government, and during the Obama years
    the Cubans said no. No. I do not know. Let me see. Because they
    are in the business of power.
        So when you're telling me, Mr. Vivanco--and you have a
    fantastic organization that you represent, looking out for
    human rights--when you tell me the embargo is the solution,
    Obama proved it, and they spit on him, which was lamentable.
        So why do we have to lift the embargo? Please.
        Mr. Vivanco. I never said that the embargo is the solution.
    I say that the embargo is the problem. It's not the solution.
    And if you want----
        Ms. Salazar. What do you mean by that?
        Mr. Vivanco. Well, because, you know, and second,
    Congresswoman Salazar, the--part of the problem is the
    perception, the notion that there is some sort of quid pro quo
    relationship with the Cuban government. The Cuban government, I
    do not think, is interested in lifting the embargo. I think the
    embargo help the Cuban government to keep that notion, that
    narrative, that they are a victim of the U.S. Government. But--
    --
        Ms. Salazar. But if the United States wants to do business
    and the American companies want to do business in Cuba, if the
    tiering isn't going to let them it does not matter if there was
    an embargo or not. They just simply cannot go. Home Depot or
    Sheraton.
        Mr. Vivanco. What you need is to create the conditions for
    the international community, for the rest of democracies in the
    world, to----
        Ms. Salazar. Obama created it, sir. Or didn't he?
        Mr. Vivanco. Right? No, but what you need is to create the
    conditions for democracies in Latin America and Europe to join
    support for human rights in Cuba. They are not crossing that
    line because the policy of isolation that day----
        Ms. Salazar. Sir, Obama lifted the policy of isolation for
    two and a half years and the Castro regime did not respond.
        Mr. Vivanco. I do not think Obama----
        Ms. Salazar. They gave everything in exchange of nothing.
    Let's look at the empirical evidence. Obama allowed for any
    American company to go and invest in Cuba----
        Mr. Vivanco. I do not think that----
        Ms. Salazar [continuing]. Whether it was construction,
    hotel, hospitality, and they--and the Cubans did not sign the
    contract.
        Mr. Vivanco. Right. But----
        Ms. Salazar. There was a ferry. I remember--I was there
    was. I was a news reporter. A ferry that wanted to go from Key
    West to Havana. The Cubans never allowed it. So what are you--I
    just would like to understand your position so maybe I can
    support it.
        But I do not see it because history proved it already with
    President Obama. So now if you lift the embargo, what's going
    to happen is the China model, and the Chinese model is the
    worst thing that could happen to the Cubans.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congresswoman.
        Ms. Salazar. Sorry.
        Mr. Sires. On the second round you'll be able to continue
    your questioning.
        Ms. Salazar. Thank you. Sorry.
        Mr. Sires. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is recognized.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank
    the gentleman for his indulgence in waiving on--allowing us to
    waive on to the committee.
        I had a chance to watch the subcommittee proceedings
    remotely. There was a couple of things I think it's important
    to point out.
        First is that President Biden has proposed additional
    sanctions and left the sanctions from the previous
    administration in place. He declared himself, in his own voice,
    Cuba as a failed State.
        He gave voice to the Cuban protesters, issuing a clarion
    call for freedom and he has stood solidly since the protests
    broke out and before that in support of a free Cuba.
        I also think, and Ms. Paya, I really want to agree with you
    about how important it is that this issue be nonpartisan. Not
    bipartisan, but nonpartisan. So you'll forgive me if I defend a
    few things prior to going back to what should be a nonpartisan
    issue.
        I really think the audacity of those in the Republican
    Party who widely across this country support voter suppression
    and have supported the suppression and the--and thrown
    obstacles in the path of people across this country who simply
    want to cast their lawful and constitutional right to vote and
    who have denied that January 6th was an insurrection have a lot
    of nerve suggesting that they are the champions of freedom in
    another country when they are engaging in suppression of the
    people's right to vote and freedom here.
        Okay. So setting aside that partisan--that partisan moment
    for a second, I want to ask Ms. Paya if you could talk with me
    about Afro-Cuban--the Afro-Cuban environment, which I think is
    so under reported and so few people are aware of.
        According to the University of Pennsylvania's Professor
    Amalia Dache, almost 70 percent of the Cuban population is of
    African descent. Let that sink in for a moment.
        The State Department's 2020 Human Rights Report suggests
    that Cubans of African descent suffer significant racial
    discrimination, including subjection to racial slurs and
    beatings by security agents in response to the political
    activity.
        Many have also reported employment discrimination,
    particularly for positions of prominence within the tourism
    industry, media and government.
        Despite this, Afro Cubans have historically been at the
    forefront of the fight for Cuba's democracy and freedom, even
    though there has been a significant erasure of Afro-Cubans from
    history.
        Can you share with us the specific challenges or threats
    that Afro-Cuban activists face on the island, and how has the
    economic crisis in Cuba and the COVID-19 pandemic
    disproportionately affected Afro-Cubans?
        Ms. Paya. Thank you--thank you so much for that question
    because, actually, Afro-Cubans are also the largest population
    in jail, are also the largest population with access--with
    families that comes from situations of vulnerability, and are
    also--within the Cuban opposition, the Cuban civil society, we
    have seen it with all the actions that Movimiento San Isidro
    has made have been also one of the most affected and targeted
    by the Cuban regime.
        It was already a challenge 1 week ago to be of African
    descent and walk by the streets of Havana without actually
    being asked for the ID to--just to check it.
        Actually, he was a Havanian or he needed to be deported to
    the eastern provinces. That's what Cubans of African descent
    actually endure in our country. And I think it's a very
    important and relevant point because this is widely ignored or
    not commented on about the race systems of the character of
    this communist regime that have been--that have been using its
    propaganda as a machinery actually to get to Cuban rights
    defenders around the world when they are actually trying to
    suppress those rights.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. May I just interrupt you for a
    moment and just ask you to confirm, you know, while the Cuba
    regime has declared racism ended, you know, after the
    revolution, isn't it true that they have completely banned and
    prohibited any African or Black activism organization from
    existing and functioning on the island?
        Ms. Paya. They have prohibited any independent organization
    asking for rights of Cubans of African descent. Yes, that's
    actually true.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you. Thank you for the----
        Ms. Paya. Of course--of course, they have entitled
    themselves as the defenders of those rights.
        [Laughter.]
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Right. The irony.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for your indulgence, and I just
    also want to point out that I, myself, have been a longtime
    opponent of lifting the embargo.
        I yield back the balance of my time, which I no longer
    have.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congresswoman.
        Congressman Perry, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Perry. Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, you seat in
    here as far as I know, and I appreciate it. But I think the
    good representative from New York should be next and----
        Mr. Sires. It goes by seniority.
        Mr. Perry. I'm happy to defer.
        Mr. Sires. You're older.
        Mr. Perry. No, I can go. I can go.
        [Laughter.]
        Mr. Sires. Do you want to defer to her?
        Mr. Perry. Yes, I think it'd be appropriate.
        Mr. Sires. Yes, but before her I have Demings.
        Why do not you just go and we'll take care of it.
        Congressman Perry?
        Mr. Perry. All right. All right. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
        Well, I appreciate the opportunity to speak before this
    subcommittee regarding what I think is the evil dictatorial
    regime of the Cuban Communist Party, and I'll be clear about
    that.
        Before I continue, I want to pay tribute to one of our
    witnesses here today, Rosa Maria Paya. and thank you for all
    the work that you've done to give the Cuban people a democratic
    voice.
        I know I speak for everyone on this committee in condemning
    the despicable murder of your father, Oswaldo, at the hands of
    the Castro regime nearly 9 years ago on July 22d.
        It is long past time for an independent investigation to be
    commissioned into Mr. Paya's death. You have our word and our
    commitment that we will do everything we can to bring this
    grotesque regime to account for its numerous crimes against
    humanity.
        Those who have lived through the evils of the Cuban regime
    could tell us what little regard the Castros have for the
    dignity and worth of every human life. We know that they
    sadistically tore apart families, imprisoned and killed
    thousands of political dissidents, supported groups like the
    FARC and Sendero Luminoso, who we--who decapitated people live
    on television and destroyed Cuba's economy.
        I recall November 2016, when the far-left apologists like
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted that Cuba,
    under Castro, was actually a progressive egalitarian utopia.
        I could only shake my head at the stomach-churning
    ignorance of a prominent Head of State. This is unacceptable at
    any level at every level.
        What most folks do not know is that compared with the
    average monthly income of approximately $20 for a Cuban
    citizens, Fidel Castro boasted a $900 million net worth in
    2006--$900 million.
        Egalitarian is, certainly, not a word I would use to
    describe Cuba under Castro. Castro also sent doctors abroad on
    so-called humanitarian missions to bolster his own finances,
    all while the hospitals in Cuba remain chronically under
    supplied and even lack such basic products as aspirin and
    blankets.
        The Castros are both self-serving tyrants and their puppet
    successor, Mr. Diaz-Canel, is cut from the same oppressive
    communist cloth. You'll hear from apologists that excessively
    long wait times at Cuban hospitals due to medicine shortages
    and lack of economic opportunity is entirely the fault of the
    American embargo.
        Couldn't be further from the truth. The embargo is the only
    reason Cuba isn't thriving economically, they'll say.
        What these apologists won't tell you is that Cuba trades
    extensively with almost every country in the rest of the world.
    The U.S. embargo does not prevent Cuba from trading with other
    countries or non-American companies.
        Indeed, Cuba trades extensively with China, Spain,
    Venezuela, and Russia. Gross mismanagement and dictatorial
    policies are to blame for Cuba's current state, not the
    embargo. In a true fashion, it is the little people in Cuba--it
    is the average citizen that suffers under socialism, under
    communism, under this dictatorship, and it is the people at the
    top that thrive.
        And just as an aside, that's what some of the people in
    this government in the United States of America want to bring
    to America.
        Today, we are, thankfully, able to bear witness to the
    tenacity and character of the Cuban people as they rise up to
    tell their evil government that they've had enough.
        Freedom has been subverted for generations in Cuba but not
    for 1 day longer, if the Cuban people have anything to say
    about it.
        I wish to iterate a word of caution to my colleagues. We
    must not undermine the efforts of Cuba's pro-democracy anti--
    socialist movement. While the Cuban people languished under the
    progressive Castro regime, former President Obama reengaged the
    ``wet foot dry foot'' policy for the Cuban people in
    retaliation for Cuban Americans voting overwhelmingly
    Republican in the 2016 election.
        We can only hope that President Biden eschews such
    atrocious and blatantly obvious political retribution and
    instead commits the full resources of the U.S. Government to
    benefit those yearning to be freed from tyranny 90 miles away
    from our shores.
        Now, Ms. Paya, can you tell us how internet access would
    bolster the pro-democracy movement in Cuba right now and what
    America can do right now to make sure that happens?
        Ms. Paya. Thank you so much.
        Actually, it has already done that. They're very censored,
    and as far as internet access existing in Cuba has already give
    empowerment to the Cuban people and now there are more Cubans
    that actually know in 3 hours--last Sunday, just in 3 hours the
    protests replicated around the whole island, 3 hours after
    there was no internet at all in the island, or it was almost
    cutted completely.
        So yes, to give internet access, satellite internet access
    with the capacity of bypassing the censorship or just being out
    of control of the Cuban regime has the possibility now also to
    save lives because we are going to be able to, for instance,
    verify all the atrocities that we haven't been able actually to
    put in numbers, and a--and to put in the reports to the Inter-
    American Commission of Human Rights or to the--or to the U.N.
    because we have no communication.
        We have no connections, and that connection and that
    freedom of speech that we were just talking previously is the
    only tool that the Cuban people right now. That, and their own
    bodies, and they are putting those bodies on the streets and
    they are demanding freedom and the end of the dictatorship.
        If I may, I want to mention that last year, we collect 45
    tons of food and medicine as humanitarian aid, and we sent it
    to the island without any obstacle from the American government
    or institution. The only obstacle was the Cuban regime that
    confiscated all that humanitarian aid and actually they just
    stole it.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you.
        Mr. Perry. I thank the chair and the ranking member--
    committee's indulgence.
        Mr. Sires. Congressman Demings? Congresswoman.
        Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank
    you to you and the ranking member for allowing me to
    participate in today's very important hearing.
        The testimony and responses to our questions have been
    powerful, and I believe they are so necessary to our
    understanding of the dictatorial communist and socialist regime
    in Cuba.
        On July 11th and since, Cubans have bravely told us what
    they want for their future, and that's freedom. Let's be clear
    about that. We, as a Nation, know or we should know that people
    are willing to sacrifice everything--to be beaten, to be in
    prison, to even die--for the sweet taste of freedom, and we as
    a nation have another opportunity, yet another opportunity, to
    get this right. And I am hoping that we will stay focused on
    freedom and not the destructive politics of the day.
        I, too, am specifically interested, first of all, on the
    unique challenges that Afro-Cubans face. And my colleague did
    ask about that.
        But Mr. Vivanco, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the
    unique and specific challenges that Afro-Cubans face.
        Mr. Vivanco. Yes, the Afro-Cuban community is large in Cuba
    and has been historically discriminated in spite of the
    official line that Cuba is not--I mean, it's a racial
    democracy.
        It's not--we know that it's not a democracy. We know that
    it's a dictatorship. And we know that they discriminate against
    those ones who comes from the Afro-Cuban community.
        And you see that when, as Rosa Maria Paya said, on the
    streets in control--police control and as well as in the
    prisons, in Cuban prisons, Cubans' access to--Afro--Cuban
    access to education and as well as the top positions within the
    dictatorship.
        Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much.
        And I'd also like to ask about Cuban LGBTQ rights activists
    who were arrested and beaten by plainclothes security officers
    in May 2019 for organizing an unauthorized demonstration after
    government officials had canceled a planned annual march
    against homophobia.
        How would you evaluate current legal protections for LGBTQ
    individuals in Cuba and the level of societal discrimination
    against them as well?
        Mr. Vivanco. As my colleague, Rosa Maria Paya said,
    everything depends on Cuba whether you are independent or
    you're part of the official machinery. So an LGBTQ organization
    that try to develop their own approach, their own policies, and
    they're trying to make an effort so, for instance, to monitor
    human rights conditions for their own community are not
    allowed, are prohibited, and are subject of all sort of, you
    know, sanctions and persecution in Cuba unless you're part of
    the official structure.
        Mrs. Demings. Ms. Paya, anything you'd like to add there?
        Ms. Paya. Yes. I think it was very well established and
    occurred, and if I--if I just ask, there are many members of
    the LGBT community, many Cubans of African descent within the
    opposition movement, and the--and the Cuban civil society.
        We Cubans, we understand that all of us, we need the
    fundamental human rights. But I need to say that those that are
    members of LGBT community or the Cubans of African descent have
    an extra challenge when they have to face the repression of
    the--of the Cuban State security.
        And just briefly mention the case of Hector Luis Valdes
    Cocho. Actually, he's a Cuban of African descent and he's a
    member of LGBT community, and he was almost raped during a
    arbitrary detention a few days ago.
        Mrs. Demings. Thank you both so very much for your
    testimony.
        Mr. Chairman, I do yield back.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you for participating.
        Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.
        Ms. Malliotakis. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
        Despite my Greek last name, many of you may not know that
    I'm of Cuban descent. My mom is a Cuban refugee. My grandfather
    had his gas stations and small business home taken away from
    him by this regime.
        I still have family that are living there, and I could just
    say that this--because I've heard one of my colleagues earlier
    talk about COVID vaccinations. That is the least of their
    problems, Okay.
        Nobody needs COVID-they need them, perhaps, but it's not--
    it's not the issue and that is not what they're fighting for.
    They want freedom. They are starving. They need access to
    medicine. They do not have any of these things because the
    regime takes it all.
        And with regards to the embargo, you know, I very much
    disagree with you, Mr. Vivanco, because Cuba does business with
    nearly every other country in the world, hundreds--at least
    $100 billion in trade annually for that small island. The
    regime takes everything.
        The regime takes everything. Anything that comes into this
    island, whether it's money, whether it's food, whether it's
    medicine, the regime takes it and lifting the embargo will do
    nothing except prop this communist regime, this murderous,
    brutal communist regime, which you understand as someone who is
    an advocate for human rights, further up, and it will do
    nothing to actually help the people.
        And so my question is, first, to someone who truly
    understands as a dissident herself, Ms. Paya. Can you please
    explain to my colleagues how this regime weaponizes anything
    that comes into this island against their own people?
        Ms. Paya. Yes, thank you. Thank you so much for that
    question, because one of the things that the regime weaponized
    are actually human beings, Cubans, and I think that everybody
    here already understand that the Cuban regime can be thinking
    on blackmailing the United States with the migratory--with the
    migratory crisis.
        To be--to get into that trap in this moment is to fail the
    Cuban people. The root of the problem--the root of the problem
    is the dictatorship and the Cuban people understand that, and
    that's why they are--they are demanding the end of the
    dictatorship.
        Regarding all the things that are sent to the island, I
    have to say we want to send everything to the island but under
    the condition of no interference of the Cuban regime and that
    condition is just because when the regime interferes, that
    sends hard currency or humanitarian assistance or whatever it
    is. Doesn't end in the hands of the Cuban people but in the
    hands of the repressors.
        So it's very important. It's very important that this
    country help us, not to give money to the repressors but to
    help--but to help the Cuban--but to help the Cuban people.
        If I may, to make this discussion about the embargo is to
    take the old approach. The Cuban people is in the streets.
    Something has changed.
        In July--July 11, a week ago, the people is--the whole
    island demanding freedom, demanding the end--the end of the
    dictatorship. And there are many things, many new things, many
    fresh things that this administration, that the members of the
    OAS, that the European Union could do and should do to help the
    people.
        And I will repeat, please, targeted individual sanctions
    rise because of the repression, targeted the--targeting the
    individuals, the generals that are commanding those killings
    and those detentions.
        Replicate the South African experience. When we said,
    please, put consequence to the enterprises that actually enrich
    the regime, we're not asking for any sort. We're asking for the
    Sullivan Principles, the same experience that actually worked
    to end the apartheid.
        Why we cannot have that in Cuba now when the Cuban people
    is demanding that?
        Ms. Malliotakis. Thank you very much. So yes, the communist
    regime, if you are one of them, one of the communists, if you
    join their communist revolution then you will be taken care of
    somewhat by what's coming into this island.
        If you are someone who is a dissident or just an average
    Cuban, you get absolutely nothing. That is the--that is the
    false promise of communism, that everything would be equal,
    right? That's what socialism claims. We want equality.
        Yet, it could not be further from the truth. The communist
    dictators, the ruling class live like kings, and everyone else
    lives in squalor. And that is what we're trying to end by
    pushing for freedom on this island and allowing them to
    determine their own future.
        Mr. Vivanco, I will, though, ask you a question, because as
    someone who is involved in Human Rights Watch, I would love to
    know your opinion about Cuba, along with China and Russia and
    Venezuela, the most egregious human rights violators, being
    members of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
        Mr. Vivanco. Do I have a second to answer your question?
        Mr. Sires. Sure.
        Mr. Vivanco. Look, a couple of points. I'm not in
    disagreement with you on the first point that when you
    mentioned that Cuba is not isolated. I fully agree with you.
    That is precisely the problem.
        You have failed to persuade the rest of the international
    community that you have to isolate Cuba. Cuba is not isolated.
    It is trading with, you know, with any other country, including
    Brazil. Brazil is the most important source of food for Cuba.
        And so the trouble is that you are insisting on a policy
    that create fundamental disagreement for the rest of
    international community, and the challenge for me is to create
    conditions to bring in those democracies to exercise pressure
    on the Cuban government.
        But the line of the--of the isolation and the embargo is
    not supported for the--by the rest of the world. That is,
    essentially, the problem that you have here. It's a pragmatic
    problem.
        You need to look at this one with different eyes to see
    what could be--what will be the most effective policy from the
    U.S. to improve human rights conditions to force the
    dictatorship to transit from dictatorship to democracy.
        And, certainly, the approach that--you know, that the U.S.
    has taken for 60 years is not working. That is my point.
        Ms. Malliotakis. They're doing business with everybody in
    the world and it's not working. But if you could respond to my
    human rights question----
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congresswoman. We're going to have
    second--we're going to have a second round. Thank you very
    much.
        I'm going to ask a second round of questions, if you do not
    mind, and I'll start by saying this. I'm so happy that
    Congresswoman Demings raised the Afro-Cuban situation in Cuba,
    because for many years the propaganda machine in Cuba has told
    the world how in Cuba there is no racism, that the Afro-Cuban
    is equal to the white Cubans.
        I mean, this propaganda machine it's incredible throughout
    the world, because I have traveled extensively and people tell
    me--I said, that's not--that's not accurate. You know, just--
    you know, just like they have five vaccines in Cuba.
        Well, why do not they use them? Just like when they said
    they've discovered oil off the island of Cuba. Well, how many
    barrels have they extracted? You know, it made the whole east
    coast of this country in a panic thinking that they were going
    to have drilling 90 miles from----
        So the propaganda machine in Cuba, it's the best in the
    world. So I was so happy that you touched upon that point. That
    is a lie about how equal the society in Cuba is.
        And as far as the vaccine, I am all for sending vaccines to
    Cuba. My problem is that what you're going to have is the same
    situation you had in Venezuela.
        We sent vaccines to Venezuela. The government takes it, so
    it does not get to the people. It just gets to the people who
    support this dictatorship.
        So how do you get around that, Mr. Vivanco? How do you get
    around the government taking everything you send to the island
    to help ease the situation on the island when the government is
    just a taker?
        Mr. Vivanco. Mr. Chair, best vehicle to address that
    challenge is to do it through United Nations. United Nations,
    when they--when they come in into humanitarian crises like the
    one facing in Venezuela, one of the fundamental preconditions
    is that the distribution, access, and administration of all the
    food or medicine is done under the U.N. flag, not the local one
    because, obviously, the temptation for the dictatorship in
    Venezuela as well as in Cuba is to take advantage of that, one,
    and two, you know, to take advantage to do some more propaganda
    by using that type of support.
        So I do not see a way that the U.S. Government, even the
    Biden Administration, could provide access to or support for
    vaccine--vaccination of the Cuban people without doing through
    some sort of vehicle like the United Nations, who has the
    capacity and they know how to make those distribution according
    to U.N. principles, which are--which are, you know, by
    definition nonpolitical.
        Mr. Sires. In terms of the five vaccines that the Cuban
    claims they have, the Abdala and the other ones, vaccines, why
    do not they use it?
        Mr. Vivanco. Part of the problem is that the way that they
    have handled the COVID epidemic in Cuba has been a disaster.
        As I said before, our information revealed that they have
    rejected vaccines coming from China and Russia just because
    they want to prove and to demonstrate to their own people and
    the rest of the world that they have the capacity to produce
    their own vaccine, and then distribute that one to the rest of
    the world.
        Well, all of that, you know, plan has failed. But it's part
    of another piece of propaganda.
        Mr. Sires. Propaganda.
        Would you like to add something to that?
        Ms. Paya. Yes, just add that actually the Cuban regime also
    rejected the COVAX help--COVAX's initiative of the U.N. or in
    relation with the U.N. and they also rejected the COVID vaccine
    in a very criminal decision not to immunize the Cuban--the
    Cuban population and provoke an even deeper crisis that they
    were already--that we were already facing.
        Whether it is United Nations or the European Union or any
    other multilateral organization, the key thing is the
    nonintervention of the Cuban regime. As soon as they
    participate in the process, they are going to--they are going
    to solace in the help or they are going to weaponize that help
    against the Cuban people.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you.
        Congressman Green.
        Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the
    witnesses who are willing to do a second round.
        One of my colleagues earlier commented that China was a
    good example where the U.S. has no embargo and inferred that
    because of that it's proof--a reason why we should lift the
    embargo with Cuba.
        I'd encourage those who are supporting lifting the embargo
    and citing China as proof to go and watch the video of the
    protesters in Hong Kong. Go ask the Uighurs what it's like to
    live in China under the Communist Party of China.
        I'd like to ask you to go and talk to the churches in China
    where they're forcing them to take the cross down and replace
    it with pictures of Xi Jinping.
        The only other place in the world I can recall in my
    limited travels as a military officer and running a not for
    profit is that where the president's picture is so ubiquitous
    is Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
        Go ask the Falun Gong folks what it's like to have your
    organs forcibly removed and sold.
        I do not see the lifting of the embargo making a huge
    change there in China. Ask the student or the researcher how
    easy is it to search the internet in China? They do not call it
    the Great Firewall of China for nothing.
        So this notion that, I mean, lifting the embargo is going
    to make totalitarian dictatorships change overnight is just--it
    pales. I'm an ER physician, not a brain surgeon. So perhaps
    maybe there's something I do not know.
        But I've looked--I'm sitting here thinking. Totalitarian
    dictators in the past, how many of them with opened economic
    have actually stepped down from power and allowed for a
    republic to develop? I cannot think of one in history.
        A question for Ms. Paya. There's strong international
    consensus for restoring Venezuela's democracy. People are
    working together. Countries are supporting us and our, you
    know, actions there.
        Yet, in Cuba, as Mr. Vivanco has said, they are doing in
    Cuba--I mean, we haven't gotten others to join us there. What
    is the difference? And this is just a genuine question. What is
    the difference and why are--why are they not helping with Cuba
    but they seemed to be very helpful with Venezuela and the
    socialist dictator down there?
        Ms. Paya. I think that's a question for the rest of the
    world, because what it is--a reality is that tolerating 62
    years of the communist dictatorship in the island of Cuba does
    not only affected several generations in my country but have
    gravely and seriously affected the democratic stability of the
    whole continent.
        Actually, we wouldn't be talking about the collapse of the
    democracy in Venezuela without the support, the coordination,
    and the interference of the Cuban regime.
        Same thing with the--with the repression in Nicaragua, and
    you know history. You know about the interference programs of
    the Cuban G2, well trained by the Stasi and KGB in Latin
    America.
        So this--in this pivotal moment that we are living as a
    Nation, a nation that lives inside but also outside the island
    because of the dictatorship, our goal for the international
    community is, please, see directly to the Cuban people, to the
    suffering of the Cuban people, and to the demand of the Cuban
    people, and that demand is freedom and that demand is the end
    of the dictatorship.
        And that demand is not only going to help Cuba, but it's
    going to help peace and national security of our whole
    hemisphere.
        Mr. Green. Throughout the region. Absolutely. It seems to
    boggle the mind that the world will join us to jump on
    Venezuela, but the folks that are actually--I mean, the Cuban
    military is in Venezuela. The Cuban military is helping
    Nicaragua.
        Ms. Paya. Yes.
        Mr. Green. I mean, it just makes no sense to me that the
    rest of the world is--has joined us in this fight and yet that
    seems to be the reason why it's failed. Because we haven't
    gotten all the rest of the world involved, so let's just lift
    the sanctions. Makes no sense to me. Thank you.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman Green.
        Congressman Vargas, thank you for coming.
        Mr. Vargas. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much and thank you
    for allowing me to be here. I apologize. I had a committee
    running same time as this one. The only thing I would correct
    for the record, maybe, Dr. Green said, I'm not sure that a ER
    physician would yield to a brain surgeon in every instance.
    Maybe in this case.
        [Laughter.]
        Mr. Green. Point taken.
        Mr. Vargas. With that being said, I have great concern for
    what's going on, obviously, in Cuba. I'd like to see the
    dictatorship gone, the authoritarian rule and, obviously, have
    democracy and have people have the opportunity to vote and to
    choose whomever they want. They haven't had that opportunity.
        I'd like to see the Cuban people be able to lift their
    standards of living. Obviously, Cuban Americans, when they come
    to the United States, they do very, very well and I'm sure that
    that country would be able to lift up its standard of living if
    it had freedom, if it had democracy.
        But a lot of people ask, in a practical sense what can we
    do to really help, I mean, other--short of sending the Marines.
    I mean, how, in a practical sense, can we help Cuba in this
    moment?
        Why do not I begin with you, Mr. Vivanco?
        Mr. Vivanco. What we need is the support of the rest of the
    international community. Bringing change on Cuba and improving
    the record of Cuban human rights and democracy without the
    support of Western democracies, European democracies, Canada,
    Latin American democracies, is going to be difficult--has been
    very, very difficult.
        And normally, when you raise questions about Cuba to a head
    of a State in any Western democracy, they will ask you what
    about the embargo. That is the problem. It becomes a
    distraction.
        And they say, you know, we are not going to join forces.
    This has been told to me many times because I care about Cuba,
    and I travel the world raising questions about Cuba or
    Venezuela.
        So when you say, you know, what about those--you know, free
    speech in Cuba, freedom of religion in Cuba, free association?
    You know that we have never heard about a strike in Cuba. Why
    are there no strikes in Cuba? Because there are not independent
    unions in Cuba--are not allowed.
        So when you try to create a debate outside the U.S., in
    Mexico, for instance, which has a lot of influence in Cuba, the
    natural reaction of those ones who should be supporting human
    rights in Cuba is what about the embargo? We do not support the
    embargo.
        And then you try to divide the conversation and say, you
    know, let's discuss the embargo later. Let's focus on Cuba now,
    you know, and the rest of the world is not willing to----
        Mr. Vargas. Let me interrupt you just for 1 second, and
    thank you for that answer. I mean, a lot of people believed,
    including myself, maybe there was going to be an opening when
    the Soviet Union imploded.
        When the Soviet Union imploded, a lot of us thought, well,
    this is a satellite State, really, of the Soviet Union and
    there's going to be change in Cuba. But it didn't really happen
    because they continued to have support from other countries
    around the globe, and they continue to have it.
        So in a practical sense, when you say that Western
    democracies should kick in, well, I think they should, but if
    they do, how would that really make a difference if they're
    getting support from these other countries--if Cuba is getting
    support from other countries?
        Of course, they do not like us very much. It still seems
    like they will carry on. I mean, that's what people want to
    know. How, in a practical sense, can we make a difference with
    the reality on the ground there and the international reality
    as it is? How can we make a difference?
        Mr. Vivanco. The only--look, I sound like a broken record.
    But the best way to contribute constructively to the Cuban
    debate is by looking into your own policy and make a very
    objective empirical assessment of the--whether that policy has
    been effective or has failed.
        My conclusion is it has failed because, you know, you have
    a very strong dictatorship in place. So it's time to introduce
    some adjustments. Former President Obama didn't lift the policy
    of isolation. What he did was to reestablish diplomatic
    relations with Cuba.
        But the heavy lifting--the work needs to be done here in
    Congress. If this policy is not subject of a real and serious
    objective nonpartisan, you know, evaluation, we will keep the
    status quo and I bet you that nothing will change in Cuba.
        Mr. Vargas. Thank you. I have more questions, but my time
    is up. So I will yield. Thank you.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman.
        Congresswoman Salazar.
        Ms. Salazar. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I have a
    couple of questions for both of you. Let me start with you,
    Rosa Maria.
        Basically, yes or no--if the White House gives green light
    to connect internet either through Guantanamo or Raven Company
    or the U.S. embassy in the middle of El Malecon, will the
    Cubans go back into the streets?
        Ms. Paya. The Cubans are already in the streets and----
        Ms. Salazar. But more and more.
        Ms. Paya. Of course. Of course. I mean, that connection
    allows communication and allows coordination.
        Ms. Salazar. Do you think that then more Cubans will feel
    emboldened because they know that the world is watching them
    because of the wi-fi?
        Ms. Paya. That's very important. That's key. I do think
    that and I do think that everybody needs to send a message to
    the Cuban people that they are not alone.
        Ms. Salazar. But if the Biden Administration is not saying
    clearly that they are with--that the Biden Administration or
    the U.S. Government is with the Cuban people, are they
    receiving that information?
        Ms. Paya. The best way to deal with the Cuban people is
    with real actions and internet is one of them.
        Ms. Salazar. Right. Now, what else can we do besides
    forcing the Biden Administration to give the green light so we
    can turn on the internet right now, which is the most effective
    manner, through the embassy or in Guantanamo with a tower, a
    wi-fi tower?
        We're talking about Netflix quality video. We're talking
    about just the ability to lift the videos that show how they're
    being beaten on the streets. What else could we do besides
    that?
        Ms. Paya. You could, please, help us to put these
    recommendations on the radar of the--of the president and,
    please, also do it as not just personal recommendations but,
    actually, these are the suggestions, the recommendations of the
    majority of the Cuban civil society in opposition that took
    part of a platform called Pasos de Cambio, and----
        Ms. Salazar. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration is not
    paying attention to us or to the Cuban people, which is the
    most important part.
        So then I go to Mr. Vivanco. Were you saying--you're
    saying--I've been hearing you repeat once and many times that
    we need the international community to join the United States
    in order to create change in Cuba.
        But then my question is now, putting the embargo aside,
    putting politics aside, where is the international community
    now when they see that the people are shouting on the streets?
    That has nothing to do with the Americans or with the embargo.
    Where is that international community?
        Mr. Vivanco. Unfortunately, the reaction of the
    international community is not, you know, up to the level that
    is required.
        Ms. Salazar. And why is that? Why is that? Why do you think
    that is?
        Mr. Vivanco. Because, unfortunately--let me give you--let
    me cite you an example. The president--the current president of
    Argentina----
        Ms. Salazar. Okay.
        Mr. Vivanco [continuing]. Alberto Fernandez----
        Ms. Salazar. Yes.
        Mr. Vivanco [continuing]. He says, I have no idea what is
    going on in Cuba but I am against the embargo. So that is a
    very unfortunate reaction, right. He is the leader of a
    democratic country. He is not a dictator. So this is not--you
    know, we are not looking into Russia or China.
        This is one of the biggest democracies in Latin America.
    And he, you know, he seems to be, you know, somebody who should
    be aware about what is going on in Cuba.
        Ms. Salazar. So everything is the embargo. But then if you
    are telling me that he does not even know what's happening in
    Cuba. So that means that they do not care what's happening. And
    like I repeat, what's happening in Cuba has nothing to do with
    the embargo.
        But then--and I want you to tell me where I'm wrong in this
    statement. You lift the embargo, as you're advocating the
    United States to do. Then the Castro brothers will have access
    to loans, specifically from the World Bank from and the IMF,
    and everybody will be doing business with Cuba because there is
    no more American embargo on it. Right?
        And then what happens then? Then, accordingly, so I go back
    to Obama. Then what happens next? We will then have given
    oxygen to a repressive apparatus to continue repressing the
    Cubans. And then where's the democracy in this whole picture?
        Mr. Vivanco. Let me--let me answer your question, and I
    think it's also relevant for the comment made by Congressman
    Green. He said--and I believe and I agree with you, Congressman
    Green. You said, I do not believe that lifting the embargo will
    bring change and democracy overnight in Cuba.
        Ms. Salazar. So then we have to wait, what, 50 years----
        Mr. Vivanco. I agree--I agree 100 percent. I agree 100
    percent. So, in other words, this is not a trickle-down
    economics. It's not like you lift the embargo, then bingo, you
    have democracy in Cuba the following day.
        What you need is the multilateral pressure and you need to
    build that one, and that will take time to build that, you
    know, diplomacy with democracies in the world who care about
    human rights in Cuba.
        Ms. Salazar. But that depends on those democracies. And I
    agree, that depends on those democracies and you just pointed
    out the fact that those democracies are just not tuned in.
        So we do not--if they will, at some point. So one way or
    the other, we do not know when democracy is going to get to
    Cuba. But in the meantime, the Cubans are on the street and no
    one is paying attention including the Biden Administration.
    That's reality.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congresswoman.
        Ms. Salazar. Thank you. Sorry. Thank you for the time.
        Mr. Sires. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I'd
    like to turn to the subject of Cuban doctors and just reference
    a March 2019 report by the New York Times that detailed how
    members of Cuba's medical mission in Venezuela said that they
    were told to provide oxygen tanks and other desperately needed
    medical assistance only to individuals who committed to voting
    for the Maduro regime.
        In multiple cases, they described being ordered to withhold
    lifesaving treatment to individuals who hadn't proven their
    political loyalty to Maduro.
        Are these medical missions still going on in Venezuela, and
    what has been their impact?
        To either one of you.
        Ms. Paya. Yes, they have--they have been taking place in
    Venezuela and in many other--and in many other countries, and
    it is very important that not only--not only United States, not
    only the United Nations that actually issued a report elevating
    the Cuban medical brigades' treatment to the treatment of
    forced labor.
        And it's very important that the rest of the world restrain
    for participating in these kind of activities that are designed
    to give money to the Cuban repressors as in over the life and
    the human rights of the Cuban doctors.
        But you made a very good point because it's not this--these
    international missions that the Cuban regime has around the
    world and not just for--and not just for money. Also for
    espionage, and I have a very--a specific data from the Cuban
    medical missions that took place in Bolivia during the Evo
    Morales--during the Evo Morales presidency.
        From 503 medical doctors are supposed--medical doctors
    working on Venezuela, 497 were not medical graduates. So that
    the impression that the Bolivian State was making in medicine
    or health was actually being made on espionage and given a
    State security.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. And Senor Vivanco, you mentioned
    earlier that the exploitation of Cuban doctors has been helpful
    in some countries. But compare that with the information coming
    out of Cuba in terms of the reality of health care on the
    island, where in--even in Havana, pregnant women are required
    to bring their own sheets, that they actually have to bring
    cleanser so that they can clean the feces off of the walls and
    the toilets so that they can have some semblance of sanitary
    conditions to give birth.
        Can you--can either view describe the facade, the real
    lies, fabrications, of the wonderment that is portrayed of how
    excellent the Cuban healthcare system is compared to the
    reality of it being rationed and individuals, particularly of
    Afro-Cuban descent, are actually discriminated against when it
    comes to access to health care?
        Mr. Vivanco. Just a couple of points. I do believe that the
    Cuban doctors, those ones who are doctors--I'm not talking
    about spies--Cuban doctors are heroes and should--and deserve
    as much respect as we could give them because they go----
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Right, and this is not of them.
        Mr. Vivanco. Say it again.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. My criticism is not them.
        Mr. Vivanco. No. No. No. That's right.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. I think they're being enslaved.
        Mr. Vivanco. It's very important to make that distinction
    between the doctors who goes to, you know, remote and poor
    communities all over the world to service them from the
    machinery, the structure used by the Cuban government where the
    doctors become actually victims, and they have no rights, no
    right to, you know, privacy, free speech, association, and so
    on and so forth.
        By the way, the chair of the subcommittee asked me before
    what happened if those--any of those doctors applied for
    political asylum, for instance, and abandoned----
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. But if you could focus--if you could
    focus specifically on the actual--the reality of healthcare
    access and conditions on the island.
        Mr. Vivanco. I do not have that data, the current data of
    reliable data of the current----
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Do you? Ms. Paya, do you?
        Ms. Paya. Yes, I do not have data because we do not have
    any statistics. But we have seen videos and we are in total
    connection with the Cubans in the island and the--and the
    reality seems to be of a total collapse of the healthcare
    system, at least in the provinces Matanzas, the people were
    even--Matanzas, yes--the people were even dying in the aisles
    and in the entrance and in the houses without proper medical--
    without proper medical attention.
        We are facing a very--a very high prices of the sanitary
    system, of the healthcare system, and it's clear that the
    authorities of the dictatorship are not--are not capable of
    actually solving the problem. They are not prepared or they are
    not willing to.
        Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Mr. Chairman, the portrayal of the
    Cuban healthcare system is mythological, that is one that
    provides all kinds of free and wonderful access to health care
    to people on the island. That is simply untrue.
        And in addition to that, the reason that we do not have the
    information that we need is because they deny access to the
    data, unlike free countries which universally share data so
    that everyone can have access to it and see what's really going
    on in terms of the treatment and the health and well-being of
    their people.
        I yield back the balance of my time.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congresswoman.
        Congressman Perry.
        Mr. Perry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank the
    witnesses.
        I read a book one time entitled, ``And the Russians
    Stayed,'' talking about Cuba.
        Now, the folks that are for ending the embargo--so I'm
    sitting at the table, some on the other side of the aisle here
    in this building, and most, I think, importantly and
    vociferously the Chinese, the Russians, and the Cuban
    dictatorship. I think that's an interesting coalition and it's
    important to recognize it for what it is.
        Ms. Paya.  can you--can you describe to us, if you can,
    because we have heard the reports but it's hard to get
    verification, what are the Venezuelans and the Russians and the
    Chinese doing in Cuba right now to stomp out this freedom
    movement?
        Ms. Paya. Yes. And again, we only--we only know what is
    public. We only know what the anecdotes of the witness in Cuba
    mentioned. But just taking into consideration what is public,
    Russia issued a statement in the first days of last week,
    encouraging Miguel Diaz-Canel, the puppet of Raul Castro, which
    holds the charge of president of the dictatorship, encouraging
    Diaz-Canel to use all the measurements available within the
    Cuban law to a stop the protest. That were not the exact words,
    but that was the message.
        And I have to say to use all the measurements within the
    Cuban law includes the--includes the violence, includes the
    weapons against the Cubans--the Cubans that are actually trying
    to change the system because, actually, the Cuban constitution
    that was imposed in 2019 in the Article 4 that constitution
    allows anyone to fight even using the--they call it lucha
    armada, even using weapons to fight anyone that is trying to
    change their political and economical system that that
    constitution established, which is the Cuban Communist Party as
    the Director of the Society and the State.
        So, basically, Putin was giving his endorsement to the
    killing of the Cubans in the streets if they were trying to
    change the--to change the system.
        Having said so, Cuba--the Cuban regime has been the gateway
    to the intelligence service of Chinese, of Russians, and the
    connections, the coordination, the kind of a relationship that
    the Cuban regime passed over the Maduro dictatorship have been
    widely documented.
        And they are in charge, for instance, of the counter
    intelligence, specifically, the military counter intelligence.
    So that's there now.
        Mr. Perry. So everyone knows that the Russians and the
    Chinese have their most important listening stations located in
    Cuba, and so with people are saying, well, Mr. Vivanco, the
    embargo is not working.
        And I agree with you to a certain extent that doing the
    same thing over and over again and expecting different results
    is insanity. And for 60 years, and before that Bautista, the
    same thing, right? Dictatorship and us with the embargo now and
    hoping it will work.
        But I would submit to you that while I agree with you that
    it's not working under its current form, because other
    countries are happy to trade with Cuba, they're happy to trade
    because there's something in it for them.
        There's money in it for them. There's influence. There's
    China. There's Russia. And this is the time--right now is the
    time when the United States with the embargo needs to step up
    and do even more as the Cuban people put their lives on the
    line, literally, on the streets of Cuba at the hands of the
    Venezuelans, at the hands of the Chinese and the Russians, who
    will kill them in their homes.
        And now's the time for the United States to up the ante, to
    say we--go to these other countries and say, you must stop
    trading with them. You must stop helping. Now is the time, not
    to back off, not to do exactly what the dictatorship wants.
        Ms. Paya.  certainly, the Cuban people can defend
    themselves against the Venezuelan police, the Russians, the
    Chinese. Certainly they can defend themselves. They're armed,
    aren't they?
        Ms. Paya. No, they are disarmed----
        Mr. Perry. Say it isn't so.
        Ms. Paya [continuing]. And peaceful people demanding
    freedom in the streets and they are confronting an eState with
    all its resources and the resources of their--of their other--
    of the other enemies of freedom to the world.
        Mr. Perry. Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time for the
    United States to lead, not back off on the embargo but to step
    up and force other countries, demand other countries, to step
    up and stop the insanity happening 90 miles off our coast.
        I yield the balance.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman.
        Congressman Vargas.
        Mr. Vargas. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I believe it was
    Albert Einstein who was credited with saying, if you do the
    same thing over and over again and you expect a different
    result, that's insanity. And I think that that's right.
        I mean, if you continue to do the same thing and expect a
    different result, that is insanity. I'd argue, I mean,
    everybody's putting the blame seems--not everybody, some people
    to be putting the blame on this administration.
        But I would say, hey, where was the Reagan Administration?
    Where was the George H. W. administration? Where was the George
    W. administration? Where was the Trump administration?
        If it's so easy to do, why wasn't it done? I mean, the
    reality is, I think it's very difficult to get change there and
    again, because it does have, I think, these other States that
    help it.
        I gave the chance last time to Ms. Paya.
        Mr. Vivanco, how would you do it differently? Because it
    does seem to me that nothing's going to come of all this.
    You're going to have a lot of poor people suffering in Cuba
    again.
        You're going to have this, you know, the people in the
    streets. They're going to get repressed. They're going to get
    attacked. A lot of them--not a lot of them, but a number of
    them are going to get killed. They're going to disappear.
        All the terrible things that normally happen, and nothing's
    going to change because we're going to continue to do the same
    thing.
        Ms. Paya. Congressman Vargas, I do appreciate the analysis
    of the--of the history because I do believe that we are in a
    pivotal moment, that this moment is qualitatively different
    from anything that we have seen before in the 62 years.
        We have seen massive protests across the whole island, tens
    of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of Cubans, maybe a
    million Cubans in the streets demanding freedom and demanding
    the end of the dictatorship, demanding those things from a
    dictatorship that actually is in one of the most vulnerable
    moments in history, too, for many reasons, but also because the
    access to resources have been--have been diminished during the
    last--during the last years, but especially because the Cuban
    people have fundamentally changed in its behavior, and it's
    going out in the streets and it's demanding freedom, not just--
    not just on Sunday, but only during this year til January--til
    June 30 there have been more than 1,100 protests in Cuba.
        So there are many fresh and important things that
    international community and United States can do--can do to
    help us, and one of these is rise the cost of the repression
    against the Cuban people, imposing targeted individual
    sanctions against the ones that are giving the orders to kill
    and to shut down young people in the streets. Internet access.
        Mr. Vargas. If I could interrupt.
        But I have to say, ma'am, I'm old enough to remember the
    collapse of the Soviet Union and that was also a moment like
    this, when everyone said, oh, here it comes. Here's the--here's
    where it's going to be the big change. There wasn't. There
    wasn't, and----
        Ms. Paya. So, sir, you're talking about the collapse of the
    Soviet Union and I'm talking about the Cuban people in the
    streets.
        Mr. Vargas. But, remember, Cuba--no, I understand. But the
    reason I say that is that history seems to repeat itself. I
    remember that time. Now I'm 60 years old. I do not know how old
    you are, but I'm 60, and so I remember that time very well,
    that this is an opportunity. Everybody was saying, now it's
    going to happen. There's going to be changed on the island.
    You're going to see now a democracy. The Castros are going to
    fall. They didn't.
        Ms. Paya. Again, we----
        Mr. Vargas. And now I look at it again, and I do not--I
    mean, I do not want to argue with you because I agree--I'd like
    to see the change. Probably we'd both like to see--I'd like to
    see a democracy where people can vote freely for whomever they
    want and not to have the dictatorship that they have today.
        I just fear that we're going to do the same thing again and
    nothing is going to change.
        Ms. Paya. Well, you can help us to change that and that's
    part of why we are--we are doing this. And just to clarify what
    is fundamentally different from 1900's is that it's not the
    Soviet Union collapsing. It's the Cuban people protesting in
    the streets. The product flow here does not rely on any other
    foreign country. It relied on the Cuban people. We are the
    protagonist of our--of our history. We are already being that,
    and what we are asking is solidarity with the solution and the
    demand that we are----
        Mr. Vargas. And I guess if I could--my time is about over.
    That's the problem. The solution--I mean, I think that there's
    a lot of solidarity. There was back when the Soviet Union
    collapsed, too, and nothing happened. That's my point, that the
    solidarity was there but it's the policy that does not change.
    Have you----
        Ms. Paya. Then practical things to do rise the--rise the
    cost of the repression. Impose targeted sanctions over those
    that are still commanding a repression. Give internet access.
    We saw the censorship of the--of the Cuban regime.
        Apply the Sullivan Principles and take a similar approach
    to the one that you took with South Africa to end the
    apartheid.
        Involve the international community, the European Union,
    the OAS, not under the premise of the cynicism of the--of the
    world with the embargo but on the premise of the Cuban people
    demanding freedom on the streets. I think that's--that would be
    a fresh approach.
        Mr. Vargas. Thank you very much.
        Ms. Paya. Thank you.
        Mr. Vargas. My time is up.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman Vargas. Congresswoman
    Malliotakis?
        Ms. Malliotakis. Thank you very much and I, again, want to
    thank both of you for being here today and to discuss a topic
    that is very personal and important to me. And, certainly, we
    talked a lot about what the Biden Administration should be
    doing and I echo what you say, Ms. Paya, when you say we need
    to involve the international community.
        We need to--we need the president to lead as the leader of
    the free world to push for freedom and democracy in Cuba and,
    certainly, use whatever abilities we have to engage the
    international community, the freedom-loving democracies from
    around the world, to also join that effort to push this regime
    out.
        What I want to ask, though, is what can the United Nations,
    because I've been very disappointed with their lack of interest
    in actually assisting in this situation right now, what do you
    believe the United Nations should be doing at this time to help
    this cause?
        Ms. Paya. Thank you so much for that question, and I have
    to say that I have been shut down by the Cuban--by the
    dictatorship--the Ambassador of the Cuban dictatorship in the
    Human Rights Councils in the United Nations. The fact that they
    have a seat there is very, very telling to what the United
    Nations have been doing for the Cuban people.
        Anyways, there are special rapporteurs that have to make
    his work--their work, and they have been doing it and those
    kind of technical approach as the one that reported on the
    forced labors of the Cuban doctors should be taken into
    consideration.
        My suggestion, of course, I was--I'm hoping that the High
    Representative Michelle Bachelet asks for a visit to the island
    and actually confirm with her own eyes what is taking place in
    Cuba.
        I do not have a lot of hope for the Cuban regime accepting
    that, but that should be the kind of--the kind of bold
    involvement that we are hoping for an organization that should
    be protecting the right to democracy and the human rights in
    Cuba.
        Ms. Malliotakis. You mentioned the Human Rights Council,
    and I'm glad you brought it up because one of the reasons why
    President Trump withdrew the United States from the Human
    Rights Council is because it's a farce. It's an absolute sham,
    particularly when you look at the members who sit on that
    Council.
        It's not just Cuba who, you know, allows no freedom of
    speech, no freedom of press, no freedom to demonstrate, as
    we're seeing people being beat in the streets by communist
    regime forces. They're being abducted and jailed and shot at.
    They're treated as slaves for what equates to 15 U.S. dollars a
    month. They have a dual currency system.
        When something is--they're being paid in Cuban pesos and
    yet they're being asked to purchase things in something that is
    equivalent of U.S. dollars. You know, it's a 25 to 1 ratio.
        How do you expect them to do that, and they're slaves to
    the government and they do not have the right to come and go
    from the island as they please.
        So the fact that Cuba is on the Human Rights Council along
    with China, Venezuela, Russia, the most egregious human rights
    violators.
        Mr. Vivanco, as somebody who is involved with the Human
    Rights Watch, I would love for you to comment on that.
        Mr. Vivanco. It is a shame. It is a shame. There is no
    other, you know, reaction. That is the--probably the most
    honest comment that I can give you how dictatorships are
    members of the Human Rights Council.
        But let me explain to you one little detail which is--I
    think is relevant. They get elected because every region, every
    geographical region of the world, has some chance to present,
    for instance, one or two candidates for one or two vacancies.
        Last time, when Venezuela was, you know, competing for a
    position, unfortunately, Latin America were given two posts and
    Latin America as a--as a region presented two candidates for
    two posts.
        So there was--I mean, and one of the candidates was
    Venezuela, the other one was Brazil. And Brazil, under the
    current government of President Bolsonaro, very close ally to
    President--former President Trump, you know, decided to avoid
    any further candidate from stepping in because they were afraid
    that if there were three candidates for two posts at the Human
    Rights Council Brazil will be eliminated.
        So what we did was to convince Costa Rica in the last
    minute to run to try to defeat Venezuela and Costa Rica did it.
    But, you know, it was late already, you know, and
    unfortunately, finally, Brazil was selected and Venezuela was
    selected.
        Ms. Malliotakis. Any advice you have for the Biden
    Administration at this moment when they're looking to reenter
    Human Rights Council how we can use that as leverage to try to
    change the makeup of this council?
        Mr. Vivanco. I think that if you look at the votes, the
    positions of the Human Rights Council, not the membership--the
    membership, I agree with you. I mean, at least, I do not know,
    40 percent of them are dictatorships, who get selected at the
    Human Rights Council to protect themselves, you know, to try to
    interfere in the business of the top entity that is supposed to
    supervise human rights all over the world.
        But there is still a slim majority that is committed to
    fundamental freedoms and rights. So I welcome the decision of
    the current administration, the Biden Administration, to rejoin
    the Human Rights Council because there are very important
    battles and debates that are happening precisely there.
        Ms. Malliotakis. Thank you.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you. Well, we have come to the end. I want
    to thank you for your patience. I want to thank you for coming
    and testifying before our committee.
        And we'll just have some closing remarks, then we'll close
    the hearing.
        Thank you again for joining us today. I have been inspired
    by the scenes of courage we are witnessing in Cuba. Young
    people, in particular, have been stepping up and making clear
    that they refuse to become a lost generation.
        Their creativity, bravery, and advocacy ought to remind
    that the status quo in Cuba is a tremendous waste of talent and
    potential.
        I urge the Biden Administration and my colleagues in
    Congress to rise to the occasion and seize the best opportunity
    to help the Cuban people. Nothing is more important to me than
    seeing the Cuban people finally become free.
        With that, I turn it over to my colleague, Congressman
    Green.
        Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing some
    closing comments, and I want to thank the witnesses for being
    here. I want to thank you for your intensity. I think on both--
    everybody here is excited about the opportunity that we see at
    this moment in time.
        We're frustrated and angry with the human rights abuses
    that have gone on for so many years, and I agree that with the
    embargo not working, I just--I think it's time to double down.
        I think it's time, and my criticisms aren't of the Biden
    Administration, per se, as much about, you know, earlier when I
    was talking about socialism and communism and I was referring
    to sort of fringe members.
        I think we all know the senator I'm talking about who
    supports socialism and my own colleagues here in the House who
    support socialism, and some who've advocated for universal rent
    control, which is right out of Karl Marx.
        That's not--I'm not saying that's the Biden Administration.
    I'm saying when I--my criticism there is just let's act. It's
    time, and there's a chance--there's an opportunity to bring
    freedom to another group of people and that's why I'm so
    passionate.
        But I believe very deeply that there's a lot of--I was
    listening to, you know, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, who I
    do not agree with very often.
        But as she was talking about this, I'm, like, yes, that's
    right. Those physicians are enslaved, and if they're doing that
    they'll probably sell vaccine we give them anyway, right.
        So, I mean, let's do what we can to continue to agree where
    we can, and, Chairman Sires, I just want to thank you for your
    friendship and your unbelievable leadership on this issue over
    the decades.
        You are a champion for the people of Cuba because you are
    one of them, and you have done an amazing job leading through
    the challenges of a divided government here in Washington, DC.
        Thanks for your time. Appreciate you all.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you, Congressman Green, for those remarks.
    Thank you for your comments.
        And with that, this hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:24 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

                                    APPENDIX

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                     [all]