[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 38 (Thursday, March 8, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  16TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROTHERS TO RESCUE AIRPLANE SHOOT-DOWN BY CUBAN 
                              AUTHORITIES

  (Mr. RIVERA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RIVERA. I am here today to honor four American heroes--Carlos 
Costa, Mario de la Pena, Pablo Morales, and Armando Alejandre, Jr.--who 
tragically lost their lives 16 years ago at the hands of the Castro 
dictatorship.
  On February 24, 1996, two planes from the humanitarian organization 
Brothers to the Rescue were shot down under Fidel Castro's and Raul 
Castro's direct orders as they conducted air search and rescue missions 
for Cuban refugees trying to reach freedom.
  Raul Castro, himself, has publicly admitted to ordering the shoot-
down over international waters so that there would be no evidence of 
the crime; but the Castro brothers have yet to be indicted for their 
role in ordering the murders of four innocent Americans, and they 
continue to commit blatant human rights violations towards peaceful 
civilians every day.
  The United States should move immediately to indict the Castro 
brothers for this crime. We must not turn our backs on the Cuban 
people, who so tirelessly fight for freedom. I also ask, on this tragic 
anniversary, that we continue to push forward for democratic change in 
Cuba.

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