[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 20 (Monday, February 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1485-S1486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FIVE POINT PLAN TO BRING FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY TO CUBA

   Mr. MACK. Mr. President, 1 year ago today, Fidel Castro 
brutally murdered Armando Alejandre, Jr., Mario de

[[Page S1486]]

la Pena, Carlos Costa, and Pablo Morales--three Americans and one a 
legal U.S. resident. These men were shot down while flying on a 
humanitarian mission over international waters between the United 
States and Cuba.
  This incident was the latest in Fidel Castro's reign of tyranny over 
the people of Cuba. The unjustified downing of the two brothers to the 
rescue planes came shortly after Fidel Castro had stopped a 
prodemocracy and human rights meeting in Havana. Dozens of prodemocracy 
Cubans were arrested, detained, and harassed. Just the year before, on 
March 13, 1994, a tugboat brimming with freedom-seeking Cubans headed 
for America was rammed by Castro's government ships until it sank. Some 
40 people died, only because they yearned to be free. Year after year, 
Fidel Castro's Cuba tightens the stranglehold it has on basic political 
and economic freedom.
  To those who believe in the cause of Cuban freedom--in libertad--it 
is unfortunate that it took an act of such callous disregard for human 
life and freedom to get the world to pay attention to Fidel Castro's 
repression of the Cuban people.
  As we honor the memory of the downed pilots today, we should take 
time to reflect upon the current state of United States policy toward 
Cuba. We must ask ourselves--are we doing everything we can to isolate 
Fidel and to save the Cuban people from the jaws of tyranny? I believe 
the answer is, unequivocally, no.
  After the attack on the American pilots, President Clinton appeared 
to reverse his policy of appeasement toward Fidel Castro by signing the 
Helms-Burton legislation. Unfortunately, the administration's actions 
since the signing have been weaker than the President's rhetoric.
  First, the President has failed to stand firm in the defense of 
freedom--not once, but twice. He has chosen to protect the interests of 
foreign companies over the cause of Cuban freedom by postponing 
implementation of a key part of the Helms-Burton law. He has 
unilaterally placed a moratorium on the right of U.S. citizens to sue 
foreign companies that profit from property those citizens owned before 
Fidel Castro stole it.
  Second, after the downing of the brothers to the rescue aircraft, 
President Clinton promised compensation to the families of the victims 
and criminal indictments against those in Cuba responsible for the 
murders. On March 7, 1996, then-Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, along 
with myself and Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen sent a letter to President Clinton urging him to ``immediately 
direct the Attorney General to seek the indictment of all those 
responsible for the heinous crime of February 24, 1996.'' Now a year 
later, the families still have not been fully compensated and the Cuban 
officials who committed these murders are still free.
  For the sake of the people of Cuba, Mr. President, the United States 
cannot waiver in its commitment to bringing an end to Castro's rule. If 
we demand of other nations that they not do business with the Castro 
government, then we must demand of ourselves a steadfast policy of 
concrete action, not just empty words.
  America must do everything we can to bring freedom and democracy to 
Cuba--not just for the benefit of Cubans, but to protect the security 
of Americans.
  Mr. President, it is with this commitment to action that I offer the 
following five points to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba, and I 
call on the President to take these steps without delay.
  First, Fidel Castro must be exposed for what he really is--an 
authoritarian dictator worried only about maintaining power at any 
expense. The Cuban people have a word for this called desenmascarar, 
which means to remove the mask. We need to remove the mask of Fidel 
Castro as a romantic and cigar-smoking friend; he is a murderer and 
drug trafficker; and he tortures and imprisons political dissidents.
  Second, we must reverse our policy since 1995 of returning freedom-
seeking Cuban refugees and political dissidents to Cuba, and promote 
the same level of compassion among our allies and friends around the 
world. At a time when our own State Department classifies Cuba as one 
of the greatest violators of human rights in the world, it is 
unconscionable for the President to order the return of these brave 
people back into the hands of their oppressor. In addition, we should 
encourage our friends and allies to exhibit the same level of 
compassion in dealing with the suffering Cuban people. We should 
further promote the efforts of the United Nations and the International 
Committee for the Red Cross in gaining access to Cuba.
  Third, we must increase our efforts to support and encourage Cuba's 
budding civil society. This is best accomplished by increasing support 
for pro-freedom and democracy groups through the National Endowment for 
Democracy and other effective groups dedicated to democratic reforms.
  Fourth, military and nuclear subsidies to Cuba must be halted. Fidel 
currently benefits economically from the presence of the Russian 
intelligence facility at Lourdes, Cuba. In addition, International 
Atomic Energy Agency money is being spent to maintain the Juragua 
nuclear power plant, in contradiction to current United States policy.
  Fifth, stop the flow of drugs from Cuba. For the past several 
decades, Cuba has served as a transhipment point for narcotics entering 
the United States. Castro uses this drug flow as a means of acquiring 
much needed cash and as a weapon against the United States. High-
ranking members of the Castro government benefit from this source of 
revenue and several are currently under indictment in the United States 
on drug trafficking charges.
  If we implement these specific actions identified in my five points 
and insist upon executing the strategy mandated by Congress in Helms-
Burton of isolating Castro and supporting the Cuban people, we can hope 
for a free and democratic Cuba.
  Mr. President, I would conclude my remarks with a plea to those who 
would appease Fidel Castro. Castro heads a government which denies 
basic freedoms to 11 million people. Fidel Castro will not change. His 
only interest is the perpetuation of his totalitarianism. He continues 
to force his people to work for slave wages; he denies them the freedom 
to read and speak freely, to associate freely, and to work hard and 
profit from their effort and intellect so that their children can live 
better lives.
  Over the years I have consistently said that freedom is the core of 
all human progress. Mr. President, on the anniversary of the downing of 
the brothers to the rescue pilots, let us honor their memory by 
fulfilling their commitment--and our American commitment--to a free and 
democratic Cuba.

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