[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CONGRESS SHOULD SUPPORT SANCTIONS AGAINST CASTRO

  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I take the floor today because a most 
distinguished colleague of ours took the floor earlier this morning and 
said that he had a meeting with dissidents in Havana, Cuba, last week, 
and he mentioned a couple of names of dissidents who were opposed to 
our sanctions against Castro.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not fair to mention those names and not mention 
that in that same meeting, in that same meeting, the most prestigious 
members of the internal opposition of Cuba came out in favor of 
sanctions and in favor of our Helms-Burton bill. I think that is only 
fair to mention.
  It is also fair, and I have got the names. I only have 1 minute, so I 
will submit them into the Record. I have the names of those people who 
got up and told our colleague that they supported sanctions. Also, 
another most prestigious member, Osvaldo Paya Sardinas, when an aids of 
our colleague wanted a show of hands, said, ``That's an internal 
intervention into our affairs and if the Congressmen of the United 
States want to support Cuba, they should support the internal 
opposition, support democracy, and start getting on the issue or 
putting pressure on Castro,'' like we have done on other dictatorships 
in the past, such as South Africa or Chile.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to set this record straight.

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