[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1963-H1964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SUMMITS OF THE AMERICAS

  (Mr. RIVERA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RIVERA. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I attended the Summits of 
the Americas, where Western Hemisphere leaders were in attendance to 
discuss regional policy issues and challenges. Leftist regimes 
repeatedly criticized the United States for our strong opposition to 
communist Cuba participating in the summits.
  This summit is and should be reserved only for democratic nations, 
not totalitarian, dictatorial terrorist regimes like the Castro 
dictatorship. We should continue our commitment to the Cuban embargo 
and reiterate the importance of condemning a regime that refuses to 
grant its citizens the freedoms every human deserves: human rights, 
civil liberties, and free elections.
  The illicit drug operation in our hemisphere contributes to the 
problem of increasing violence and terrorism in

[[Page H1964]]

the regime. Legalizing drugs is not the answer. Instead, we must 
bolster regional security and directly target drug gangs and violent 
narcotraffickers. America must stand strong against these efforts and 
in favor of democratic values.

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