[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 136 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FREE LEONARDO MIGUEL BRUZON AVILA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 30, 2003

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on 
behalf of a political prisoner in Cuba. Today I ask Congress to 
remember the name Leonardo Miguel Bruzon Avila.
  Mr. Bruzon Avila is currently incarcerated without trial in Castro's 
inhumane prison system because he desires freedom. Mr. Bruzon Avila is 
the president of the 24th of February Movement, named for both the 
commencement of the glorious Cuban War of Independence in 1895, and the 
day in 1996 when two civilian aircraft carrying four members of the 
Brothers to the Rescue movement were shot down over international 
waters by the Cuban dictatorship's fighter jets. The 24th of February 
movement desires and struggles for freedom in Cuba.
  Mr. Bruzon Avila was jailed on February 22, 2002, two days before he 
was set to peacefully commemorate the day when Castro's regime murdered 
four innocent human beings in 1996. Mr. Bruzon Avila has yet to be 
taken to trial.
  Mr. Bruzon Avila began his first hunger strike on March 15, 2002 to 
protest the fact that he had not yet been charged with any crime. On 
August 27, 2002 Mr. Bruzon Avila and 26 others began a second hunger 
strike to demand they be informed of the charges against them or 
released at once.
  Mr. Bruzon Avila's health has been rapidly deteriorating. According 
to reports, Mr. Bruzon Avila is suffering from vitamin deficiency, he 
is losing his vision, and he can no longer move his right arm. Mr. 
Speaker, Mr. Bruzon Avila is dying in Castro's gulag.
  Mr. Speaker, Leonardo Miguel Bruzon Avila is in a dungeon because he 
desires freedom for Cuba. If Mr. Bruzon Avila continues to deteriorate, 
he will die for his love for a free Cuba.
  My colleagues, we must cry out for the immediate release of Leonardo 
Bruzon Avila and all prisoners of conscience in the totalitarian Cuban 
gulag.

                          ____________________