[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CUBAN DISREGARD FOR INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, today, February 24, marks the 
anniversary of a tragic case of the Cuban regime's blatant disregard 
for international legal and moral standards.
  Two years ago today, three U.S. citizens and a U.S. resident exiled 
in the United States died at the hands of the Cuban Air Force. The 
Cuban regime did not care that these were civilian planes. The regime 
in Cuba did not care that they were flying over international waters. 
The illegal Cuban government did not care that these four men were 
keeping a vigilance in search of Cubans risking their lives in these 
treacherous waters. The corrupt dictator, Fidel Castro, did not care 
then, nor does he care now.
  What many are not aware of is that the violations in this case did 
not end with the shootdown of these four brave men. The grandniece of 
one of the victims was still in Cuba. This 11-year-old girl was 
suffering from Reye's syndrome. Her ailments were affecting her sight, 
and the pain to her fragile body was intolerable. But as the niece and 
the granddaughter of individuals who had fled Castro's claws, she was 
denied basic medical attention.
  When a visiting doctor began tending to her suffering, the Cuban 
regime detained him and threatened his family. Castro did not care 
about the pain of the defenseless child, and the regime did not care, 
nor does it care now, about basic human rights.

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