[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 111 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1382-E1383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CASTRO'S INVOLVEMENT IN DRUGS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 25, 1996

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this morning the south Florida 
community woke up to new evidence, in addition to the vast amounts 
which now exist, of the involvement of the Castro regime in drug 
smuggling into the United States.
  The Miami Herald reported that the Drug Enforcement Agency is 
investigating a link between Castro and a drug shipment of over 5,000 
pounds of cocaine which was confiscated in Miami on January 9.
  The Miami Herald reports that the drugs were apparently off loaded 
inside Cuban waters, to speedboats destined to the United States, from 
a freighter which originated in Colombia, which had previously docked 
in Havana to off-load cargo. The Herald story adds that United States 
law enforcement agencies have apparently also found pictures of the 
individual responsible for smuggling the drugs with Cuban tyrant Fidel 
Castro.
  Mr. Speaker, no longer can the United States turn its back on 
Castro's aiding and abetting drug traffickers, because the mounting 
body of evidence connects Castro with drug trafficking. These 
allegations deserve to be examined and investigated thoroughly by our 
drug enforcement agencies.

[[Page E1383]]

  Castro is desperate for hard currency, especially because of the 
chilling effect that the Helms-Burton law has had on foreign investment 
on the island, so it is to be expected that the tyrant will increase 
his involvement in illicit activities to finance his regime.
  Every day it becomes increasingly clear that unless our Government 
addresses Castro's role in drug smuggling, we will never succeed in the 
war against drugs. It is time to expose the tyrant's involvement and 
lift the veil of silence on his complicity in drug smuggling.
  President Clinton wants to continue to ignore Castro's drug ties 
because this United States administration wants to avoid a 
confrontation with the dictator in this election year, but the time for 
turning your cheek is over.
  It is time to step up our efforts to stop the cooperation that Castro 
provides the drug barons of our hemisphere. Unless this is done, our 
borders, especially in the southeast, will continue to be invaded by 
these diabolical drugs which impart so much harm on our youth.
  So there are many important questions that we must ask:
  Where is the criminal indictment against Fidel Castro for his help in 
the illegal shipment of drugs?
  What are our U.S. agencies doing to gather hard evidence against the 
dictator?
  Where is the follow-up on all of the allegations, reports, and 
accusations we have been reading about for years?
  How much more evidence is needed and what is being done to gather 
this evidence?
  The only sounds we hear are the dragging of the feet of our agencies 
because the leadership at the top is not there.
  Is this a case of see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil?
  Are we willing to ignore the facts in order to avoid a confrontation 
with Castro?
  These and many other issues must be explored by our antidrug 
agencies.
  And they must be explored now. We are writing, Mr. President. Our 
community, indeed our Nation, is plagued with the deadly poison of 
drugs. The finger points to Fidel Castro.
  Does the Department of Justice and the President not see this? Or do 
they choose to not see this?

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