[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17574]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  FREEDOM FOR FELIX GERARDO VEGA RUIZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2006

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak about Felix Gerardo Vega Ruiz, a political prisoner in 
totalitarian Cuba.
  Mr. Vega Ruiz is a member of the Cuban Democratic Workers Union and 
the Pro Human Rights party. As a courageous member of the opposition, 
he has steadfastly demanded freedom, democracy, and human rights for 
the Cuban people. He has bravely denounced the cruel policies of the 
tyrant and demanded that the people of Cuba be allowed their 
inalienable rights.
  According to The Assembly to Promote Civil Society, Mr. Vega Ruiz was 
arrested by the dictatorship in 2003 and, after a sham trial, thrown 
into the totalitarian gulag. According to multiple sources, Mr. Vega 
Ruiz was sentenced to 7 years in the gulag. Let me be very clear, Mr. 
Vega Ruiz has been incarcerated in the gulag for daring to dream of and 
to work on behalf of a democratic Cuba.
  According to NetforCuba, Mr. Vega Ruiz has continued to oppose the 
tyrannical regime while locked in the gulag. He has conducted hunger 
strikes, including one that lasted 83 days and nearly killed him, to 
call attention to the horrific abuses of the dictatorship. He has also 
been stabbed while in the gulag. Let me say that again, Mr. Vega Ruiz 
has been stabbed while he languishes in the abhorrent gulag, and yet he 
continues to steadfastly oppose the gangster regime in Havana.
  Mr. Vega Ruiz is a brilliant example of the heroism of the Cuban 
people. Mr. Vega Ruiz knows the violence, abuse, and repression that 
will be used to try to break him. Yet he stands strong in the strength 
of his conviction that the people of Cuba should be and will be free. 
Mr. Vega Ruiz is one of the many heroes of the Cuban democratic 
movement who are locked in the dungeons of the dictatorship for their 
beliefs. They are symbols of freedom and democracy who will always be 
remembered with respect and admiration when freedom reigns again in 
Cuba.
  Mr. Speaker, this courageous man is locked in the tyrant's gulag for 
failing to keep silent about the nightmare that is the Castro regime. 
It is unacceptable that, while the world stands by in silence and 
acquiescence, pro democracy activists like Mr. Vega Ruiz are 
systematically tortured. My Colleagues, we must never forget those who 
are locked in gulags because of their desire for freedom for their 
countries. We must demand the immediate and unconditional release of 
Felix Gerardo Vega Ruiz and every prisoner of conscience in 
totalitarian Cuba.

                          ____________________