[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 72 (Friday, June 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                  CUBA

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, last weekend, a boat with dozens of Cubans 
fleeing Castro's tyranny was attacked by Cuba's Coast Guard. Four 
people were wounded by gunfire in the attack, at least one of them a 
child. The ship was eventually rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in 
interntional waters, and made it to safety. The Cuban Government will 
even attack children fleeing Castro's island prison.
  This is just the latest example of what more than 30 years of 
repression has done to the Cuban people. But after three decades, 
Castro's dictatorship is teetering. He has lost his patrons in the 
Soviet Union. His efforts to spread revolution in Latin America failed 
dismally. His troops are out of Africa. The Cuban economy is in a 
shambles while the Cuban jails are full.
  It is no wonder discontent with Castro's rule is higher than ever. 
The Cuban Air Force knows the flight path to Key West and regularly 
flies in. Refugees are fleeing at a rate of 500 a month. Now is the 
worst possible time to ease the pressure on Cuba. If the West had not 
held firm in the cold war, the Soviet Union would still exist. Yet, 
there are some who want to lift the embargo in Cuba. Madam President, 
the embargo is working. Pressure is working. Castro's options are 
reduced every day. And every day, Cuba's freedom grows closer.

  The embargo on Cuba is fundamentally different from the embargo on 
Haiti. Haiti has not seized American property. Haiti has not 
destabilized its neighbors, or built armed forces able to project power 
around the world. Haiti has not, fortunately, descended into the 
totalitarian nightmare of Cuba. Human rights violations in Haiti are 
deplorable, but the Haitian Government has not fired on boats of 
Haitians leaving. In Haiti, the border with the Dominican Republic is 
not mined the way approaches to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are. Haitians 
build boats to flee without interference from the army or police. No 
one should compare the two situations.
  I hope that maintaining the embargo on Cuba is a foreign policy 
promise this administration keeps. And if they do not, I believe the 
Congress will ensure there is no weakening or lifting of the embargo 
against Castro's Cuba. America should not bail out Fidel Castro and 
Cuban communism.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. MITCHELL addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.

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