[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8816]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      IMPRISONMENT OF SONIA GARRO

  (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, I rise to speak out for Sonia Garro, a 
member of the pro-democracy group, Las Damas de Blanco--the Ladies in 
White--who has languished in one of Castro's prisons for over 2 years.
  Her case is one of many that demonstrates the dismal condition of 
human rights under the Castro tyranny in my native homeland of Cuba.
  In 2012, Sonia and the Ladies in White sought an audience with the 
Pope, but, unfortunately, were imprisoned in the wave of repression 
leading up to the visit of His Holiness.
  I, along with many of our congressional colleagues, have asked 
Amnesty International to designate Sonia as a prisoner of conscience. 
The Castros cannot tolerate dissent and use violence to silence calls 
for democracy by beating and imprisoning dissenting voices.
  The Cuban people are courageous, Mr. Speaker, and they will continue 
to fight for liberty, for human rights; and we must help them in their 
struggle for freedom.

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