[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING ON CASTRO TO RELEASE POLITICAL PRISONERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to once again express 
my concerns regarding the inhumane treatment of political prisoners in 
Cuban jails.
  Almost exactly 1 year ago today, Castro began his devastating 
crackdown on Cuba's pro-democracy movement. Knowing that his actions 
would be overshadowed by world events in Iraq, Castro took the 
opportunity to arrest over 70 nonviolent human rights advocates, pro-
democracy leaders and independent journalists. Inside of a month, the 
detainees were tried, sentenced, and locked away in Cuban prisons.
  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to call attention specifically to the 
plight of 20 of the prisoners arrested in the crackdown last year. 
These 20 dissidents, many in their 50s and 60s, are suffering from 
advanced illnesses, and in many cases are being denied medical care. 
They suffer from a variety of serious health problems, including kidney 
disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and extreme weight loss; 
and many of their conditions have worsened.
  I would like to relay the account of one specific prisoner, Oscar 
Espinosa Chepe, a 63-year-old economist sentenced to 20 years in the 
crackdown. Espinosa is suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver 
and has lost over 40 pounds since being jailed. In a recent interview 
with The Washington Post, his wife, Miriam Leiva, says of his 
condition, ``They are killing these people. I am convinced he was taken 
out of our little house for a death sentence which is supposed to be 
slow and painful. I do not know if I will be able to see him tomorrow 
or next month, or if they will just come to me and say, `You may come 
and visit his grave.' ''
  Leiva gave her husband's account of a cell, stating that it has no 
windows or running water and that the lights are left on 24 hours a 
day. She states that her husband is unable to eat and has a fungal 
infection covering both of his legs.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not an isolated account of one prisoner. Many 
similar stories of neglect and subhuman conditions have been reported 
by prisoners themselves and through their families.
  Several prisoners who suffered heart attacks before being jailed are 
now suffering from worsening heart disease because of the lack of 
medical care. Another prisoner now requires a kidney transplant because 
prison conditions have further damaged his already weak kidneys.
  And chances are, more stories like this are going to continue to come 
out of Cuba's jails. You see, about half of the 75 jailed in the 
crackdown last year remain in so-called ``punishment cells'' that 
measure only 3 feet by 6 feet, have no ventilation or running water, 
are subject to the extreme summer heat, and are infested with insects 
and rats. And even those prisoners who enter jail healthy will likely 
face health problems in the near future.
  Mr. Speaker, as expected, Castro continues to deny the Red Cross and 
other human rights organizations access to these jails. He remains 
defiant about the arrests even as Cuba's relationship with friendly 
nations continues to deteriorate.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in calling on Castro to 
immediately release the most gravely ill prisoners and to grant the Red 
Cross immediate access to Cuban jails. It is critical that Congress not 
stand by and allow these human rights atrocities to continue and allow 
Castro's mistreatment of his prisoners to go unchecked.
  A year ago when this crackdown occurred, there were many of my 
colleagues, some who actually are sympathetic to Castro, who came down 
to the floor and expressed outrage over what was going on with these 
prisoners. I am just afraid that a year passes and now all of a sudden 
there is not much mention or thought about them because people tend to 
forget. The bottom line is that the situation is growing worse and 
Castro has not shown any interest in doing anything to turn the 
situation around. I think it is important that we continue to speak out 
and point to the prisoners' plight, lest they be forgotten.

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