[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FREEDOM FOR JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ LEIVA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a pro-democracy activist 
``sentenced'' by a sham court yesterday in totalitarian Cuba.
  Mr. Gonzalez Leiva is a blind lawyer who has devoted his life to the 
cause of human rights and liberty for every Cuban. He is the president 
of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. Though Mr. Gonzalez Leiva is 
unable to see, his vision of a free Cuba is an inspiration to freedom 
loving people throughout the world.
  On March 4, 2002, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva was savagely beaten and locked 
in the totalitarian gulag for drawing attention to a journalist who had 
been admitted to a local hospital after being attacked by the tyrant's 
thugs. For over two years, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva languished in Castro's 
totalitarian gulag. His cane and Bible were confiscated; he was forced 
to sleep on the floor of his diabolical cell; the thugs who run the 
gulag threatened his life; and he was tortured with chemical 
substances. In a letter recorded by his wife, and that I brought to the 
attention of the House, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva describes the heinous 
conditions of the totalitarian gulag in this translated excerpt from 
that letter:

       State security used inmate Joe Prado, as he calls himself, 
     to throw in my cell a substance that produced a burning 
     sensation on the skin and nasal congestion, a great deal of 
     phlegm and bronchial inflammation. The situation still 
     continues.
       Since January, they have added another substance to the 
     sawdust they throw at me. This one gives me the sensation of 
     millions of bugs constantly running all over me. It causes a 
     great deal of itching and prevents me from sleeping. I do not 
     know if this is a biological substance or chemical agent, but 
     I know it is not insects because when I touch my skin there 
     are no actual bugs that I can feel, although this sensation 
     is palpable.
       Normally the sawdust shower is a daily occurrence. 
     Yesterday it started around 6:00 p.m. when I was on my knees 
     praying. The sensation is that of a multitude of bugs 
     suddenly coming down on my face and my body. This torment 
     continues until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.

  Mr. Gonzalez Leiva was trapped in these brutal conditions for over 
two years before he was ever tried. I want to repeat that, Mr. Gonzalez 
Leiva was locked in the totalitarian gulag for over two years before he 
was even brought before a sham court.
  According to an AP story that appeared in the April 28 edition of The 
Miami Herald, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva ``was released on parole shortly after 
being sentenced to four years in prison.'' Let us be very clear about 
parole in totalitarian Cuba. Parole is not freedom; it is a temporary 
release, conditioned on constant observation, before being locked in 
the gulag again.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Gonzalez Leiva has been imprisoned for over two 
years without trial and ``convicted'' by a sham court because he 
believes in basic human rights for every Cuban. My Colleagues, we must 
demand true freedom for Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, every prisoner of 
conscience languishing in the totalitarian gulag, and every Cuban 
suffering under the nightmare called the Castro regime.

                          ____________________