[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 113 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4269-S4270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 754--COMMENDING THE COURAGE, BRAVERY, AND RESOLVE OF 
 THE FATHERS, MOTHERS, SONS, AND DAUGHTERS OF CUBA, WHO, 3 YEARS AGO, 
   STOOD IN THE FACE OF BRUTAL HARASSMENT, BEATINGS, AND TORTURE TO 
 PROTEST AGAINST THE COMMUNIST CUBAN REGIME, DEMANDING ACCESS TO THEIR 
            FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS TO LIFE, DIGNITY, AND FREEDOM

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Rubio) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 754

       Whereas July 11, 2024, marks 3 years since the historic, 
     pro-democracy demonstration in Cuba when thousands of 
     courageous Cubans took to the streets in more than 40 cities, 
     across all provinces, to demand access to their freedoms and 
     civil liberties and call for an end to communism, censorship, 
     and the oppression imposed by the totalitarian Cuban regime;
       Whereas, in an attempt to silence the Cuban people and 
     prevent future protests from taking place, the Cuban 
     dictatorship responded with a wave of terror, repression,

[[Page S4270]]

     and criminalization and detained and persecuted more than 
     1,400 protestors, including women and children;
       Whereas, in a crude and savage effort to silence the Cuban 
     people, the Communist regime cut internet connectivity and 
     mobile services throughout Cuba, which hindered the Cuban 
     people from organizing and hid from the outside world images 
     and videos of the oppressive and brutal crackdown by the 
     regime;
       Whereas totalitarian regimes such as Communist China, 
     Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Nicaragua surveil and repress 
     their citizens in a similar manner to the Cuban regime, with 
     China, according to reports, even establishing an electronic 
     eavesdropping facility in Cuba to spy on Americans and 
     citizens of China abroad;
       Whereas the ongoing imprisonment of Jose Daniel Ferrer 
     Garcia, a Cuban human rights and democracy activist who has 
     worked tirelessly to advocate for fundamental civil liberties 
     for the Cuban people, has suffered from the tactics of the 
     brutal, despotic regime in Cuba, which aims to silence anyone 
     who would dare speak out against its cruelty and barbarity;
       Whereas, according to Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia's family in 
     January 2022, since his unlawful arrest on July 11, 2021, he 
     had been subjected to months of solitary confinement, 
     physical and psychological torture, and inhumane treatment 
     from Cuban operatives, resulting in dire health conditions;
       Whereas Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia suffers from severe 
     headaches, breathing problems, mouth bleeding, malnutrition, 
     vision loss, and bouts of coughing with an inability to 
     sleep, can barely sit in a chair properly, and shows physical 
     signs of repeated torture;
       Whereas, 3 years into his ongoing and unjust imprisonment 
     by the Communist regime, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia continues 
     to be subjected to evil, inhumane treatment and has not had 
     contact with his family;
       Whereas, like Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, 3 years after the 
     historic demonstration, an unknown number of protesters 
     remain in prison, including minors, many are being held 
     without access to or communication with family members, 
     international human rights organizations, or legal counsel, 
     and some have even been disappeared;
       Whereas, in an effort to intimidate Cubans from daring to 
     protest again, the Cuban regime has held mass sham ``trials'' 
     that lack any semblance of due process and has imposed 
     disproportionate prison terms of up to 25 years for ill-
     defined charges such as ``public disorder, contempt, or 
     violence such as rock-throwing,'' according to media reports;
       Whereas the brutal and illegitimate Communist regime is 
     terrified of the brave and resilient men and women of Cuba 
     who stand resolute in speaking out against the regime's 
     humanitarian crimes and efforts to persecute, kidnap, 
     torture, and eventually kill anyone who stands up against its 
     tyranny;
       Whereas unilateral concessions to the Cuban regime in the 
     form of weakened economic sanctions have effectively rewarded 
     malicious governance, leading to more despicable and resolute 
     repression of the Cuban people;
       Whereas the corruption and failures of Cuba's closed, 
     Communist economy, in which many industries are run by the 
     Cuban military, have failed the people of Cuba; and
       Whereas the international community should stand in 
     solidarity with the Cuban people in condemning the human 
     rights atrocities committed by the brutal, illegitimate, 
     totalitarian, Communist regime and should demand freedom and 
     democracy for the men, women, and children of Cuba: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the 
     members of the pro-democracy movement and all freedom 
     activists in Cuba for risking their lives to bring freedom to 
     the Cuban people;
       (2) condemns the repression of the hundreds of pro-
     democracy activists and political prisoners, including 
     children, that the Cuban regime is unjustly detaining and 
     subjecting to physical and psychological torture, and calls 
     for their immediate and unconditional release;
       (3) condemns the Cuban regime's brutal, totalitarian 
     dictatorship and demands an end to the suffering of the men, 
     women, and children of Cuba and the impunity of the regime's 
     human rights abusers;
       (4) calls for the international community to stand with the 
     Cuban people and speak out against Cuba's repressive acts and 
     infringement on fundamental freedoms, such as expression, 
     belief, and assembly; and
       (5) urges the Biden administration to put democracy, human 
     rights, and civil liberties at the core of its Cuba policy by 
     ceasing to provide unilateral concessions to the oppressive 
     Cuban regime and by reimposing sanctions on the Cuban regime 
     until all conditions in United States law for removing 
     sanctions are met.

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