[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3619]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    A VOICE FOR THE CUBAN DISSIDENTS

  (Mr. RIVERA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RIVERA. Mr. Speaker, ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba 
next week, Cuban authorities detained about 70 members of the dissident 
group Ladies in White over the weekend, including 36 on Sunday morning 
as they attempted to attend mass.
  The Ladies in White demonstrate peacefully in solidarity with their 
loved ones who were jailed during the Black Spring government crackdown 
9 years ago. In recent days, the nonviolent efforts of the Ladies in 
White have been met with the beatings and detentions that have become 
synonymous with the Castro tyrants. Given that this is occurring on the 
eve of the Pope's visit, these events are disgraceful and should be 
universally condemned.
  Hopefully, during his visit to Cuba next month, Pope Benedict will 
meet with dissent leaders like the Ladies in White and Dr. Oscar Elias 
Biscet, who has publicly called on the Pope to engage them. By doing 
so, Pope Benedict will give voice to those who long for freedom and 
speak out in the face of brutal repercussions, and he will give hope to 
those who risk their lives so that one day Cuba may be free.

                          ____________________