[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          RECENT TRIP TO CUBA BY ILLINOIS GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN

  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 would like to say a few words, just a 
few, about Mr. Ryan, the Governor of Illinois, and his recent 5-day 
propaganda junket to Cuba.
  I know that Mr. Ryan was motivated by large business interests which 
hope to profit from deals with the Cuban dictatorship, but that does 
not excuse his conduct.
  Mr. Ryan displayed a pathetic lack of sensitivity and common sense 
that history will record as constituting a great disservice to the 
freedom loving people of Illinois.
  For example, Mr. Ryan knows that there is a system of medical as well 
as of tourism apartheid in Cuba. He was specifically made aware of the 
case of a 2-year-old Cuban child, Christian Prieto, who fell from the 
second story of a building some months ago and was denied medical 
treatment at the CIMEQ hospital in Havana, a hospital with the 
necessary facilities to treat the child's severe neurological injuries, 
because the child is Cuban and his parents are not tourists with 
dollars or high ranking officials of the Cuban dictatorship. Only they 
have access to the CIMEQ, tourists with dollars or members of the 
regime's hierarchy.
  Yet, after bringing up the case of this 2-year-old Cuban child, Mr. 
Ryan just accepted the hysterical explanations of the case brought 
forth by Castro.
  Mr. Ryan refused to acknowledge the medical and tourism apartheid 
that the Cuban people have to suffer. In fact, Mr. Ryan demonstrated 
cold-hearted cynicism when, after referring to hospitals that he 
visited in Cuba as not meeting conditions that would make them 
certifiable anywhere in the United States, and knowing that Cubans are 
denied adequate medical care in that country because it is only 
available to tourists with dollars and the family of high government 
officials, Mr. Ryan nonetheless referred to Castro's health care system 
as an inspirational model for the entire Western Hemisphere.
  Mr. Ryan demonstrated another trait, cowardice, when he delivered a 
speech at the University of Havana. His written prepared remarks 
included various eloquent quotes from Abraham Lincoln about human 
dignity and freedom. The Cuban dictator, however, unexpectedly showed 
up to listen to the speech and sat in the front row. Ryan then 
proceeded to omit the calls for human rights. But, oh, yes, he did 
reiterate his brave call in front of Castro for an end to the cruel 
U.S. embargo on the Castro regime.
  Notice how Castro refers himself now to the Ryan speech. Mr. Speaker, 
if my colleagues want to learn the truth with regard to anything that 
Castro says, look for the opposite of what he says.
  So what does Castro say now about Ryan? ``Governor Ryan is a man of 
firm character, a man of frankness.'' Castro says that Ryan ``gave a 
great speech, it is nothing like the speeches we are used to hearing, 
it was without arrogance or superiority, he said rational things, and 
he was greatly applauded.''
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is shameful that an elected official from the 
United States of America be held in such high regard by this 
hemisphere's last decrepit dictator.
  Nevertheless, despite what Castro now says of Ryan, the Cuban 
dictator did not fail to embarrass Ryan while the Governor was in Cuba. 
When Ryan gave Castro a letter asking for the release of Cuba's four 
best known political prisoners, Castro publicly joked that he would put 
the letter in the same stack with the hundreds of other letters that he 
has received asking for the release of those four dissidents.
  Castro ridiculed Ryan, but Ryan simply responded by continuing to 
ridicule himself, repeatedly calling for the number one foreign policy 
and economic objective of the Cuban dictator, the unilateral lifting of 
U.S. sanctions with absolutely no conditions, no call for the release 
of political prisoners in exchange for lifting sanctions, no call for 
the legalization of political parties or labor unions or the press, 
there was no call for free elections in exchange for lifting U.S. 
sanctions from Mr. Ryan.
  No, Mr. Speaker. I do not know what business deal Ryan is seeking 
from Castro for himself or for a family member, but have no doubt that 
seeking a business deal for himself or a family member he is.
  Also have no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that, when the Cuban people are 
free, they will refer Mr. Ryan to make certain that his Cuban business 
dreams remain unfulfilled.

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