[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CASTRO'S TRAVELING ROAD SHOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Ros-Lehtinen] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this week the Nation was witness to a 
great traveling road show which arrived from Havana. Its main star was 
the Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro, in his never ending campaign to reform 
his image from a ruthless dictator, which he is, to a harmless 
politician, which he is not.
  Even though Castro's acting is cruelly trite and cynically 
predictable, it hypnotized much of American media, business leaders 
and, I am disappointed to say, some Members of our body. It was quite 
revolting to see how this dictator, who leads a regime that our State 
Department characterized as ``sharply restricting basic political and 
civil rights, including the rights of citizens to change their 
government, the freedoms of speech, press, association, assembly and 
movement, as well as the right to privacy and various workers rights,'' 
well, he was warmly greeted in the Bronx by three of my colleagues from 
the other side of the aisle who hail from New York City, including the 
dean of the city's delegation.
  This group of Congressman ignored the well-known repression of the 
Castro regime, repression which is condemned by human rights groups 
like Amnesty International, which said about Castro's regime that 
``members of unofficial political human rights and trade union groups 
continue to face imprisonment, short-term detention and frequent 
harassment.''

                              {time}  1930

  Instead, the congressional groupies accepted Castro with open arms. 
My Democrat colleague from the Bronx hosted a rally for the dictator on 
Monday evening telling the Cuban tyrant that he would always be 
welcomed in that city. My favorite however, was another Member of this 
body from that city's delegation who, even though she was forced to 
wait in line to attend the rally, stated that she did not mind waiting 
in line to see Fidel Castro.
  You would think that such enthusiasm is reserved only for movie 
stars, but not in this instance. It is a shame that Members of this 
body carry such low respect for our democratic system that they would 
salivate over the leader who has gone to great extremes to destroy 
democracies around the world, and who stills speaks negatively of 
political pluralism.
  Sadly, another one of my colleagues has accepted Castro's invitation 
to travel to Cuba, along with a delegation of representatives of 
American corporations. How can our Federal official authorize such a 
business trip? Let us hop that they do not.
  Mr. Speaker, similarly outrageous was the reception that the United 
Nations gave Castro. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali warmly 
embraced Castro as he entered the organization. This shameful portrayal 
made by the United Nations leader is symptomatic of the hypocrisy 
embodied in that body, as it speaks of freedom and human rights, but 
then goes ahead and turns its back on the millions of Cubans who suffer 
under Fidel Castro.
  This same organization now wants to implement global taxes to fund 
its inefficient bureaucracy. Reports have emerged recently that the 
United Nations wants to implement taxes on international currency and 
stock transactions, as a means to gain greater revenue for its 
activities. This initiative would gravely affect American citizens and 
businesses who already are the biggest contributors to the United 
Nations. This is a dangerous phenomenon which grossly expands the scope 
and mission of the organization and one which the Congress should raise 
its voice against.
  The great missing link in Castro's visit were questions about his 
regime. None of the American media, congressional Members or business 
leaders bothered to ask Castro about the repressive nature of his 
regime. Nobody asked him about the political prisoners. No one asked 
him about the fate of Rev. Orson Vila Santoyo, who continues imprisoned 
for practicing his religious faith. No one asked him of the fate of 
Nilvio Labrada, who was put in a mental institution for demonstration 
against Fidel Castro. No one asked Castro when he would leave power, 
conduct elections, allow freedom of expression, allow opposition on the 
island. Nobody. Instead, those who fraternized with Castro had a 
mission. Business leaders want to make a quick buck off the Cuban 
workers sweat in Castro's plantation economy. The media continued its 
romanticized description of Castro, ignoring his human rights offenses, 
and my liberal congressional colleagues were just willing political 
pawns in Castro's propaganda.

  Mr. Speaker, Castro came and went but his repression against the 
Cuban people remains today. This should always be the bottom line when 
dealing with Castro, and it is unfortunate that many sold their soul to 
the devil for, in the end, their mission will be unsuccessful. The 
Cuban people will be free someday, and they will remember, together 
with history, who stood for freedom and who preferred to prostitute 
themselves to the whims of the tyrant.

                          ____________________