[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21920]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 JAILED CUBAN INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST OSCAR ESPINOSA CHEPE MUST NOT BE 
                 ALLOWED TO LANGUISH IN CASTRO'S GULAG

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2003

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I bring to the 
floor of the U.S. House of Representatives the case of Cuban political 
prisoner Oscar Espinosa Chepe. This 62 year old independent journalist 
was one of 28 independent journalists and more than 100 other 
opposition members detained in a massive crackdown in March by the 
dictatorship.
  In April, Mr. Espinosa Chepe was sentenced to 20 years in prison 
because he wrote press stories, spoke to foreigners and interacted with 
the foreign press, things we take for granted in this country. In the 
past 6 months he has been moved through several prisons in the Cuban 
gulag, and various serious medical conditions have been left untreated. 
He is currently being held at the Carlos Finlay Military Hospital--a 
facility visited by some members of this Congress--and is suffering 
from untreated hepatitis, liver failure, cirrhosis, and high blood 
pressure. According to his wife who is allowed to see him only every 3 
months, all of these conditions were under control before his arrest 
and she fears he may die.
  In the past week, she has also said that Mr. Espinosa Chepe is being 
held in solitary confinement in an unventilated room, and also believes 
he is being given psychiatric drugs against his will. The misuse of 
psychiatric drugs and electroshock therapy against political prisoners 
considered ``anti-social elements'' by the Cuban dictatorship has been 
well-documented. The Center for a Free Cuba, the Committee to Protect 
Journalists and Amnesty International have all issued urgent appeals 
for the life and freedom of Oscar Espinosa Chepe.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to stop and focus on cases such as this. 
Some in Congress say that tourist travel to Cuba will cause the regime 
to change. Yet we see a dictatorship that happily collects millions of 
tourist dollars and refuses to change. We see a regime that will host 
Members of Congress who oppose U.S. policy, but imprisons Oscar 
Espinosa Chepe for speaking to foreign journalists. We see Members of 
Congress who dine with Castro, but often fail to even raise the issue 
of the hundreds of political prisoners suffering in the dictatorship's 
prisons.
  It is my hope that Mr. Espinosal Chepe will one day soon be free. 
Sooner than later, Cuba will be free, journalists will not be jailed, 
and the Cuban people will be free to express their opinions.

                          ____________________