[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1256-H1257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CASTRO'S ACT OF MURDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Ros-Lehtinen] is recognized 
during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, as the international community now 
knows, this past Saturday Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro once again 
demonstrated his brutal nature after his thugs shot down two United 
States civilian planes belonging to the humanitarian group, Brothers to 
the Rescue, killing four innocent young men including American 
citizens.
  Knowing of the long track record of repression and cruelty that the 
Castro regime has exhibited against the Cuban 

[[Page H1257]]
people for over three decades, this deplorable act should not surprise 
anyone. The Clinton administration took some positive steps, but 
unfortunately they are not strong enough to respond to Castro's cold-
blooded act of murder. Instead of seeking an international embargo 
against Castro similar to the one implemented against Haiti over a year 
ago, the administration settled for lukewarm sanctions which will not 
do enough to push Castro out of power. How many more people have to be 
harassed, persecuted, and killed before the administration and the 
international community realize that Castro's tyranny deserves the same 
if not tougher international sanctions as the ones that were taken 
against undemocratic regimes in Haiti, in South Africa, in Iraq?
  That is why we have asked the President to impose a naval blockade 
similar to the blockade that was placed against the illegitimate 
military regime of General Raoul Cedras in Haiti. That is why we have 
asked the President to go to the U.N. Security Council to get an 
international embargo against Castro's dictatorship.
  For over three decades, a veil of sorrow and despair has covered the 
island of Cuba. The waters of the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean have 
been transformed by the blood of the thousands of Cubans who throughout 
the years have fallen prey to the brutal regime of Castro, a dictator 
whose appetite for power has victimized not only the people of Cuba but 
has held the principles of freedom and democracy hostage throughout the 
Western Hemisphere.
  That beast, Fidel Castro, angered by displays of strong will and free 
thinking, by manifestations that the Cuban people are determined to 
defend their right to liberty, planned and executed the murder of four 
innocent civilians, members of that humanitarian organization, Brothers 
to the Rescue. There are no mitigating factors, there are absolutely no 
excuses that the Cuban regime can manufacture which could justify such 
a blatant act of aggression against innocent Americans whose only sin 
was to care about the welfare of those risking their lives to flee the 
Castro tyranny.
  However, this most recent action sends a message to the Clinton 
administration that the United States should not negotiate with 
terrorists. It reinforces the notion to the Clinton administration and 
to foreign governments who support this policy of appeasement with 
Castro that democratic nations built on safeguarding the most basic 
fundamental rights of its citizens cannot and should not deal with 
pariah states.
  It further emphasizes the need for further strengthening the United 
States embargo on Cuba through passage of the Helms-Burton legislation. 
The Castro regime must be further isolated. As the Castro regime's 
circle of friends continues to diminish, the pressure exerted by the 
Helms-Burton bill will be the devastating blow which could force the 
Castro regime to succumb to the realities of a free world.
  Clearly the time to act is now. We hold one of the keys to unlocking 
the chains that bind the Cuban people, and that key could very well be 
the Helms-Burton legislation. We must not enter into a new millennium 
with the people of Cuba in bondage. Let us support the Cuban people in 
their days of struggle.

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