[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             A TRIBUTE TO GILBERTO WONG, NICARAGUAN PATRIOT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Gilberto Wong, a leader in the Nicaraguan exile community in south 
Florida who returned to Nicaragua to help his native country develop 
economically and consolidate its hard-fought democracy.
  Educated in both Nicaragua and the United States, Mr. Wong earned 
degrees from the Instituto Pedagogico de Managua and Saint Edward's 
University in Austin, TX. Once he arrived to exile in Florida in 1979, 
Mr. Wong made a name for himself and quickly rose in the ranks of the 
financial community, becoming vice-president of a prestigious financial 
institution as well as president of the Nicaraguan American Bankers and 
Businessmen Association. The Wong family has deep roots in the south 
Florida community, and Gilberto's brother, Juan, is co-owner of Los 
Ranchos, an extremely popular chain of Nicaraguan steak houses in 
Miami-Dade County.
  In the early 1990s, Mr. Gilberto Wong returned to his homeland to 
become general manager of the newly-founded Banco de la Exportacion, 
headquartered in Managua. This bank opened in 1992, specializing in 
trade finance services, including letters of credit and collections. 
That same year, Mr. Wong was awarded the great honor of being named 
Nicaraguan-American banker of the year.
  Based on his extensive experience in both the financial and trade 
arenas, in 1997 Mr. Wong was appointed executive secretary of the 
state-owned Corporation of Free Trade Zones of Nicaragua. These export-
processing zones are among the major employers in Nicaragua, and they 
provide over 12,000 jobs, with close to three-fourths of the positions 
being filled by women.
  Now that Mr. Wong's term has expired as general manager of the 
Corporation of Free Trade Zones, he has been named director of 
communications for Nicaragua's President, His Excellency the Honorable 
Arnoldo Aleman. Mr. Wong is active in numerous associations, including 
the China-Nicaraguan Association, which he serves as president, the 
American Chamber of Commerce of Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan-American 
College and the Association of Friends of the National Police.
  I have been honored to know the Wong family for almost twenty years 
and my friendship with Gilberto runs very deep, Mr. Speaker. It is with 
a great sense of privilege that I rise today to honor this great 
patriot, Gilberto Wong, and to congratulate him for the numerous and 
extraordinary accomplishments that he has already achieved despite his 
youth.

                          ____________________