Former Diplomats, University Professors,
Representatives of Cuba’s Democratic Opposition on the Island and in Exile, and
Former Corporate Leaders Write to Congress on President Obama’s New Cuba
Policy.
Fifty-eight former diplomats, university professors,
leaders of Cuba's democratic opposition on the island and in exile, and former
corporate leaders wrote an open letter to Congress objecting to President Obama's
efforts to remove the Castros’ regime from the State Department list of
governments supportive of terrorism.
The letter: “The New Cuba Policy: Breakthrough or
Bailout?,” was distributed on Capitol Hill today and says that “increasing U.S.
travel to Cuba under the Castro-manipulated people-to-people program will
benefit the military which owns all of Cuba’s hotels and tourist
infrastructure.”
Among those signing the appeal to Congress are Paula
Dobriansky, former Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs,
James Cason, former U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay and former Chief of Mission at
the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, Ambassador Phillip Hughes, former
Executive Secretary, National Security Council and former U.S. Ambassador to
the Eastern Caribbean, Everett Ellis Briggs, former U.S. Ambassador to
Honduras, Panama, and Portugal and former President of the Council of the
Americas and Americas Society, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
John Bolton.
“Removing
Cuba from the list of terrorist states will reward the Castro regime for
smuggling 240 tons of heavy weapons to North Korea, training and equipping
Venezuela’s repressive forces, offering Russia’s Putin an espionage listening
post in Cuba, and harboring dozens of fugitive terrorists and criminals,
including one of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorists, Assata Shakur,” they
said. They added that “Cuba is the only “state-sponsored of terrorism” nation
to openly harbor a fugitive on the most-wanted terrorist list.”
The corporate community was
represented by: Emilio Alvarez-Recio, former Vicepresident Worldwide
Advertising of Colgate-Palmolive, Néstor T. Carbonell, former Vicepresident for
International Government Affairs of Pepsico, Ruben Rodriguez-Wallin, former
Chairman and CEO of Bacardi, and Alberto Luzarraga, former Chairman of
Continental Bank International.
Also signing were Michael
Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, former U.S. Senator Mel
Martinez, Robert O’Brien, Treasurer, Center for a Free Cuba, and José Sorzano,
former Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Two of the signatories: Miriam and Mario de la Peña
are parents of Mario M. de la Peña, one
of four pilots murdered by Cuban warplanes in international airspace in
1996." "One of the spies exchanged by President Obama was serving a
life sentence for his role in those murders," the letter says.
General Raul Castro, then Cuba's Minister of the Armed Forces" ordered the
murders and later awarded medals to the officers who pulled the trigger."
The project to raise this
issue with the Congress honors the “memory of Manuel Jorge Cutillas and his
lifelong dedication to the cause of freedom in Cuba."
Following
is the full text of the letter to the Congress including signatories. The
signatories have signed this letter in their personal capacities; they do not
reflect the views of their company, organization or university, current or
past. Center for Free Cuba is a 501-c3 organization
according to the Internal Revenue Service. The Center neither supports nor
opposes any legislation before Congress. If you would like to add your name then sign here.
Hundreds gathered at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables last night to pay homage to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, who will soon be returning to Cuba. Amaury Gutierrez, who in 2008 organized a concert benefit for Dr. Biscet opened the event with his music. It is a long way from those long years campaigning for his freedom. It's been five years since Bono gave a shout out for Dr. Biscet at a U2 concert in Miami. However the struggle for Cuba's freedom continues.
