[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17208]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        IN PROTEST OF RECEPTION FOR CASTRO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETER DEUTSCH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 21, 1999

  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to protest tonight's 
reception honoring two officials of the Castro regime, which makes a 
statement to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and the world that the United 
States considers a Communist dictator to be a good trading partner.
  I am troubled by the fact that tonight two of Castro's officials will 
be hosted at a Capitol Hill event for the first time in 40 years. Maria 
de la Luz B'Hammel and Igor Montero Brito should not have been granted 
visas to visit the United States, and they should not be welcomed as 
spokespeople for the opening up of trade between the United States and 
Cuba.
  It is important that we remain vigilant in bringing to light the 
continuing deplorable behavior of Castro and his regime. Castro uses 
food as a weapon, cutting off the rations of those who speak out 
against his destructive and oppressive policies. He has destroyed his 
own country, and trade with him will not only be an affront to American 
ideals of human rights and freedom, but will also be disastrous for our 
economy.
  There are those who look upon trade with the Castro regime as a 
panacea for the problems of our agriculture industry. In reality, trade 
with Castro will actually open up our markets to cheap products made 
with cheap labor in Cuba. Castro's agricultural products will be 
inexpensive because they will be made by overworked and underpaid 
workers in a country with no labor rights. His products may harm the 
environment, as they will be produced by a government without a system 
of checks and balances over environmental policies. And they will be 
dumped on the U.S. market, because Castro has never possessed nor does 
he now possess the ability to cooperate meaningfully with other 
nations.
  Trade with Cuba will eventually be possible, but never under this 
tyrannical regime. To suggest otherwise, as tonight's reception does, 
is to forget our commitment to the ideals of freedom and democracy--
ideals that Castro does not and will never share.

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