[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 27063]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING TO INVESTIGATE 
           INVOLVEMENT OF CASTRO REGIME IN TORTURING OF POWS

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on International 
Relations will hold a hearing to investigate the involvement of the 
Castro regime in the torturing of American prisoners of war in North 
Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. The atrocities committed by Castro's men in a 
prison camp known as ``the Zoo'' resulted in the death of Air Force 
Captain Earl Cobeil, one of the 19 POWs held captive there. The family 
of Captain Cobeil and the other POW airmen who were part of what was 
later called the Cuba Program deserve that their government do 
everything it can to bring the guilty individuals to justice. This 
hearing is an essential step in the probe and should pave the way for 
additional investigations by the Department of Defense, the FBI and 
other Federal agencies.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for his 
tremendous support during the preliminary phase of this investigation. 
There should be no statute of limitations when it comes to bringing to 
justice international war criminals who brutally abused our U.S. 
military officers. I thank the gentleman from New York for his decision 
to hold this important hearing. It is a testament to his leadership and 
to his character.

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