[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1283-H1284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            CASTRO'S TYRANNY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Diaz-Balart] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank from the bottom of my 
heart Congresswoman Meek and, of course, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen. I 
heard also earlier today Congressman Menendez and Congressman Goss and 
perhaps I missed others, but I want to thank them all for their concern 
on this, about this horrible tragedy that occurred on Saturday. There 
is so much to say. I really think it is important to put it in 
perspective.
  This is connected, this horrible crime by Castro, is connected to a 
crackdown that he began on the 15th of February against the internal 
opposition in Cuba. Over 130 of the dissident groups in Cuba had 
announced that they were going to meet on February 24th, this last 
Saturday, peacefully, and seek ways to achieve a democratic transition. 
They even asked Castro for permission. The answer came in by way of a 
massive crackdown.
  The elected leaders of the opposition and most of the delegates who 
were already on their way for the February 24 meeting were arrested. 
The chairman, the national chairman of this group called the Cuban 
Council, was arrested and summarily sentenced to a prison term, as was 
the vice chairman. Another vice chairman, a lady, was arrested and 
taken to a hospital for surgery that the regime called necessary 
surgery. No one has heard yet from her since. And as I mentioned, the 
chairman, Leonel Molejon Almagro was sentenced to a prison term. His 
mother was able to see him once. He was arrested on the 15th of 
February. She says she fears that he is receiving electroshock torture. 
And Castro wanted to send a very strong message, spine chilling message 
to the Cuban people, and he did so on Saturday by murdering Americans 
who are in unarmed airplanes in international waters on the high seas.
  Why did he do that? The message is clear that Castro is sending to 
the Cuban people. He is saying, if I can kill Americans in 
international waters with impunity, imagine what I can do to you, the 
Cuban people. That is the message that he is sending. Every once in 
awhile Castro needs a dose of blood to scare, terrorize the Cuban 
people and maintain his totalitarian grip.

                              {time}  1600

  But what we have to ask ourselves is to what extent are we going to 
permit and until when are we going to permit Castro to act with 
impunity. Mark my words, Mr. Speaker, if President Clinton does not 
make it clear to Castro that any further attempts at blackmailing the 
United States will be met inevitably with a total blockade of Cuba, 
including oil shipments, mark my word we will see in the next hours 
another attempt by Castro to blackmail President Clinton.
  Mr. Speaker, Castro's crimes against humanity began at the very 
beginning of his regime in 1959 with show trials that seemed, that 
recalled, the spectacles of the Roman Coliseum, and the crimes continue 
to this day. In addition to the drug trafficking and the money 
laundering and counterfeiting and all the crimes that Castro is engaged 
in, there are additional crimes Mr. Speaker, that clearly qualified as 
crimes against humanity.
  Today I received a message from one opponent within Cuba who is not 
under arrest at this time, and his suggestion is that we, the United 
States Government, support the indictment of Castro as a war criminal; 
in other words, for crimes against humanity in the International Court 
of Justice in the Hague. 

[[Page H1284]]
That would be, Mr. Speaker, the clearest way not only to label Castro 
as what he is, a criminal who engages in crimes against humanity, but 
there are few things that could give more hope to the Cuban people and 
hasten the return of democracy than to label the Cuban tyrant as the 
war criminal that he is. It is necessary, Mr. Speaker, that Castro be 
told in no uncertain terms that further blackmail against the United 
States will not be permitted and that a blockade will ensue forthwith 
once he begins his campaign of blackmail.
  These four young men who were murdered on Saturday, my personal 
friends and constituents, will never be forgotten, and their debts 
cannot be in vain. We cannot permit the Cuban tyrant to now appropriate 
the Florida Straits for himself and not only continue with a campaign 
of terror against the Cuban people, but act as though he is also the 
ruler and the owner of international waters as well.
  President Clinton yesterday announced some steps, which we obviously 
thank him for, but they were woefully, tragically insufficient. He must 
sanction truly, truly sanction the Cuban dictatorship, by supporting 
our Helms-Burton bill, which we are going to pass, we are going to pass 
in Congress in the next days, and by stating clearly that any attempts 
by Castro to blackmail the United States will inevitably be met with a 
total unilateral American blockade that will hasten the collapse of the 
dictatorship and the return of democracy to Cuba.

                          ____________________