[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H5731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      POLITICAL PRISONERS IN CUBA

  (Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today is Dr. Oscar 
Elias Biscet's 49th birthday. This physician and peaceful advocate of 
freedom has dedicated his life to defending human rights and advancing 
democracy in Cuba, and for that he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
  So while Dr. Biscet and thousands of political prisons sit in 
Castro's gulags, the Castro regime is using political prisoners as a 
bargaining chip in a calculated attempt to gain concessions from the 
United States and the European Union.
  Even more troubling, however, is the evident collaboration between 
the Cuban Catholic Church and the Castro regime. The church is 
cooperating with the regime and reaching out to only those families of 
political prisoners that the regime asks them to talk to, while Dr. 
Biscet and others don't even get a call from the church.
  Mr. Speaker, we must continue to stand tall, to stand with the Cuban 
people, and to demand the release of every single political prisoner in 
the Cuban gulags. Until every single one is released, we cannot shut 
up, we cannot stop speaking.
  The United States should not be fooled. We will continue to stand 
with the political prisoners.

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