Rubio Comments On Obama’s Latest Concession To Castro Regime

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Rubio Comments On Obama Administration’s Latest Concession To Castro Regime 

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, issued the following video statement (click here to watch) regarding the Obama Administration’s latest concession to the Castro regime by de-listing Cuba from the United States’ State Sponsors of Terrorism List:

“President Obama and his administration continue to give the Cuban regime concession after concession, in exchange for nothing that even remotely resembles progress towards freedom and democracy for the Cuban people, or assurances that the regime will discontinue working against America’s national security interests. I simply don’t understand how the President can, in good conscience, continue these giveaways to the Castro regime and how he can be thinking of sending an ambassador to Cuba when there are still many unanswered questions and security gaps that will affect their safety and their ability to do the job that our ambassadors all over the world are being asked to do.”

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Senador Marco Rubio: “No veo nada que vaya a cambiar la situación política dentro de Cuba.”

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Rubio: Trade With Cuba is "Trafficking in Stolen Goods"

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From Farm Futures:

Sen. Rubio calls trade with Cuba 'trafficking in stolen goods'

Sen. Marco Rubio shares his concerns over opening trade with Cuba with state Farm Bureaus.

Imagine if someone came in and stole your farm. The thieves are growing crops on that farm using your land, equipment and investments. Then 15 years later, they sell the crops to the country you used to market to for a profit.

This scenario will play out if the U.S. expands trade with Cuba, according to Sen. Marco Rubio. "Every single piece of farmland in Cuba today, every major agricultural crop was once owned by private owners including American companies," the senator from Florida explained. "They were stolen. They were confiscated. If you allow the import of agricultural goods from Cuba into the United States, you are allowing them to traffic in stolen goods."

While Rubio was not making any presidential announcements to the members of four state Farm Bureau delegations gathered at the Capital Visitors Center, he was talking ag trade with Cuba. Missouri has been on the forefront of petitioning Congress to lift the embargo on Cuba and pursue trade opportunities.

Just last month, Missouri 's First Lady Georganne Nixon, along with Missouri Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce and members of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba traveled to Havana to discuss the possibility of opening trade. In all, 75 individuals accompanied them on the trade mission, of those, 30 represented Missouri agribusiness and agriculture commodity interests.

If the U.S. lifts the embargo, estimates show that $4.3 billion in goods could be sold to Cuba annually.

Fordyce said that Missouri wants to be there to capture some of those dollars. "Missouri's agriculture diversity gives us a real competitive advantage because many of the current imports into Cuba are exactly the things we are growing here in Missouri," he said. Missouri is a leading state in producing corn, soybeans, rice, beef, pork, poultry, apples and wine. "These same goods are top imports of Cuba," Fordyce added. "Missouri is well-placed to go into the country."

But despite the room being filled with farmers and ranchers from Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas, Rubio made it clear that the path some state Farm Bureaus want in regard to lifting the embargo on Cuba is not one he wants to take.

Cause for caution

Rubio's own family comes from a farming background in Cuba. "They were sharecroppers," he said. "They grew tobacco." However, that property his family relied on for a source of income today is completely under the control of the Cuban government.

Rubio shared how the Cuban government through its military's holding company named Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. or GAESA owns the entire Cuban economy. "They own hotels. They own farms. They own everything," he said. "To do business with Cuba would require you to do business with a military dictatorship. And doing business with them is not a two way street."

Currently, there are agriculture goods sold to Cuba, but only on a cash basis, never on credit. "There is a reason why," Rubio told the group. "They don't pay. That is a big problem." He noted that there is $7 billion worth of American claims with Cuba that remain unpaid.

Changing lives

Rubio shared with Farm Bureau members that there is more than just agriculture trade at stake.

"What I primarily care about are the Cuban people," he said.

He explained that if the United States lifts the embargo against Cuba, it loses the political advantage to free the Cuban people from a communist dictatorship. It is a country where the average salary of a government employee is $20 per month.

The embargo serves as "leverage" to require the Cuban government to pursue a democratic society. Rubio wants to see things like independent political parties, individuals to be able to speak out openly and the ability to have freedom of the press. Without these changes, he said, the United States should not pursue trade with Cuba.

Sen. Rubio to Kerry: Cuba Harbors Terrorists Who Have Killed Americans

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In a letter today, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, urged Secretary of State John Kerry to not recommend the removal of Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List.

Below is the letter:

March 5, 2015

The Honorable John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretary Kerry,

I am greatly disturbed by recent media reports that you are considering recommending to the President that he de-list Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List (SSTL). I believe that there should be no consideration of such a step while Cuba still harbors fugitives labeled “terrorists” by the FBI, provides support and safe harbor to members of terrorist groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and continues to flout international norms with respect to weapons smuggling and an ongoing relationship with North Korea.

Cuba continues to provide a safe haven for convicted terrorists like William Morales, a Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional Puertorriquena (FALN) bomb maker who was implicated in a string of bombings in the United States in the late 1970s that resulted in the deaths of four Americans. Morales escaped U.S. custody after his initial imprisonment and has apparently been provided safe harbor by the government of Cuba since the 1980s. Morales is just one of many fugitives who have left a wake of murders and bereaved families in their path, while many others have committed fraudulent acts against hard-working Americans. Another prominent case is that of convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard, who remains on the FBIs Most Wanted list and has been openly harbored by the Castro regime, which again this week vowed never to return her to the United States.              

Cuba also provides support to ETA by refusing to extradite terrorists Angel Urtiaga and Jose Ignacio Etxarte. They have been wanted since 2010 in a probe into alleged links between Venezuela, ETA and the Colombian rebel group FARC. Last week, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo stated that Spain would like the United States to have these terrorists extradited to Spain as part of any talks regarding removing Cuba from the SSTL.

The United States cannot in good faith remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List while the Castro regime harbors terrorists who have killed Americans, actively supports designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by harboring their members and continues to flout international law through clandestine weapon transfers with a rogue regime like North Korea.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

Hearing on U.S.-Cuba Policy Assessment [Full]

State, Treasury, and Commerce Department officials testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Obama’s administration’s decision to shift U.S. foreign policy to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

Rubio Holds Hearing On The Impact Of U.S. Policy Changes On Human Rights And Democracy In Cuba

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Three Cuba Hearings on Capitol Hill

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From The Miami Herald:

Cuba hearings to begin Tuesday on Capitol Hill

The first in a series of congressional hearings examining the potential impact of President Barack Obama’s new Cuba policy gets underway Tuesday in the Senate.

Later in the week, the action switches to the House with two hearings: the main show — “Assessing the Administration’s Sudden Shift’’ — before the Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and a subcommittee hearing on human rights in Cuba on Thursday.

The common theme for this week’s hearings seems to be whether Obama gave away too much without getting enough from Cuba as the two countries work toward restoring diplomatic relations.

That’s the position of Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere subcommittee called the first Cuba hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

In an opinion piece he wrote Monday for CNN, Rubio recalled a line from The Godfather Part II in which mob character Michael Corleone responds to the demands of a U.S. senator by saying, “My offer is this: nothing.”

“In recent months, I’ve made clear that I believe the president and his allies in Congress are misguided for supporting a policy that gives away practically all the leverage the United States has to bring about democratic change in Cuba in exchange for virtually nothing,” wrote Rubio.

The senator said he wants answers on what the administration has done to secure the repatriation of an estimated 70 fugitives from U.S. justice who now live in Cuba as well as “what exactly the Castro regime has done in exchange for Obama’s softening of travel and banking regulations that will now allow more U.S. dollars to fill the Castro regime’s coffers.”

Rubio, who is testing the waters for a possible presidential run, called the hearing the same day he assumed the subcommittee chairmanship last week.

Among those scheduled to testify at the Senate hearing are Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson, who recently headed the U.S. delegation during normalization talks in Havana, and Tomasz Malinowski, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor.

Rosa María Payá, of the Cuban Christian Liberation Movement, also is scheduled to testify. She is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá, one of Cuba’s most respected dissidents when he died in a mysterious 2012 car crash.

She’ll be joined by activists Berta Soler, Miriam Leiva, and Manuel Cuesta Morúa.

There’s expected to be an overflow crowd when the House Foreign Affairs Committee convenes at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“The Obama administration’s sudden shift on Cuba policy raises many concerns, including how hard the United States pressed the Castro regime on its abysmal human-rights record during the secret White House negotiations that cut out the State Department,” said Republican Rep. Ed Royce, a Californian who chairs the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

“When it comes to the unilateral concessions provided to the Castro regime, the Obama administration has much to answer for. From the commercial goodie bag provided to the Castro regime to the pardons bestowed upon three convicted spies, one of whom was responsible for the murder of American citizens, the concessions provided to these Caribbean despots is pathetic,” said South Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

“I look forward to hearing from State, Treasury, and Commerce and questioning the basis for normalizing relations with an unworthy regime that continues to detain dissidents,” she said.

In addition to Jacobson, John E. Smith, deputy director of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Matthew S. Borman are slated to testify.

During a Thursday morning hearing on human rights before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, Jorge Luis García Pérez, an anti-Castro activist known as Antúnez, will testify.

Rubio Op-Ed in CNN: Cuba Taking Advantage of U.S.

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By U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in CNN:

Cuba taking advantage of U.S.

In "The Godfather Part II," Michael Corleone famously responds to a U.S. senator's demands by saying, "My offer is this: nothing."

Since President Barack Obama announced his normalization deal with the Cuban regime in December, life appears to be imitating art. Last week, Cuban President Raul Castro declared that his regime would not even entertain the Obama administration's requests to normalize ties until the United States abandons our naval base at Guantanamo Bay, ends the trade embargo, ceases pro-democracy radio and television broadcasts into Cuba and compensates the regime for "human and economic damages" the U.S. has, according to him, inflicted on the Cuban people. Last month, the regime's lead negotiator summed up its position even more succinctly after the first round of U.S.-Cuba normalization talks in Havana, saying, "Change in Cuba is not negotiable."

In other words, emboldened by the first wave of concessions Obama gave the Castro regime in the form of access to more U.S. dollars, it wants even more in exchange for nothing.

When dealing with tyrants, you can't wear them down with kindness. When that approach is attempted and one-sided concessions are made, tyrants don't interpret them as good faith gestures. They interpret them as weakness. This is a lesson the Obama administration has failed to learn from its dealings with Iran, North Korea and Russia, and even terrorists such as the Taliban.

On Tuesday, the American people will have their first opportunity to hear from the Obama administration about its dealings with the Castro regime when I chair a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere affairs. I look forward to hearing the perspectives of State Department officials, even though I am already concerned by the administration's reluctance to allow the American people to hear directly from the two White House officials who negotiated the deal with the Castro regime over the course of 18 months of secret negotiations, and without the input of our government's top diplomats and negotiators.

Many important questions remain about what exactly the Castro regime has done in exchange for Obama's softening of travel and banking regulations that will now allow more U.S. dollars to fill the Castro regime's coffers. For example, it's unclear why, with all the economic leverage it initially brought to the table, the administration apparently accepted a deal to free conditionally 53 political prisoners -- many of whom were released, but with charges pending or were threatened with more jail time if they renew their pro-democracy work. Indeed, some have already reportedly been rearrested in addition to hundreds of new detentions since the December announcement.

Questions also remain about what, if anything, the administration has done to secure the repatriation of what the FBI estimates to be more than 70 fugitives from justice being provided safe harbor in Cuba, including known cop killers such as Joanne Chesimard. Also unknown is what, if anything, the administration intends to do to secure billions of dollars' worth of outstanding American property claims and judgments against the Cuban government. The list of questions and concerns like these goes on and on.

In recent months, I've made clear that I believe the President and his allies in Congress are misguided for supporting a policy that gives away practically all the leverage the United States has to bring about democratic change in Cuba in exchange for virtually nothing. While reasonable people can disagree on the merits of what U.S.-Cuba policy should be in the 21st century, no serious person can argue that America is stronger when we give a cruel regime such as the one in Cuba everything it wants from the United States, including money it uses to repress its opponents, while we get nothing in return except more anti-American bluster from a geriatric dictator.

With Cuba in the news recently, many Americans are asking why Cuba matters to them and why they should care. The simple answer is that what happens with Cuba has far-reaching and potentially damaging implications far beyond the island nation. Cuba is not the only rogue regime with which Obama is engaging in an attempt to end bad behavior. When America sits at the negotiating table with one tyrant or radical regime, the others -- from Iran to North Korea and elsewhere -- watch closely and learn best practices that they can apply to advance their own anti-American agendas. Just as the Cuban regime reportedly cited our swap of five members of the Taliban in the negotiations for Alan Gross' release, the Iranians watched how North Korea exploited U.S. diplomacy, slow-walked negotiations and ultimately achieved their goal of developing a nuclear weapon.

There should therefore be no doubt that regimes around the world will be looking to emulate the Castro regime's so far successful efforts to take advantage of Obama's weaknesses and to undermine the U.S. role as the world's leading economic and military power.

When the President settles for one-sided deals with the Castro regime, it hurts the Cuban people and their aspirations for freedom. When Obama allows the Castro regime to get the best of him in negotiations, it emboldens tyrants around the world. As the President's engagement with the Castro regime continues, I will do all I can to ensure that his "normalization" does not come at all costs, becoming yet another instance of a failed foreign policy that makes America weaker in the world and, ultimately, less safe.

El senador Marco Rubio presidirá audiencia sobre Cuba

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El senador republicano por la Florida, Marco Rubio, fuerte crítico del Gobierno de Raúl Castro y posible candidato a la Presidencia del país en 2016, presidirá el próximo martes la primera audiencia sobre el deshielo de las relaciones con Cuba que se celebra en el Senado tras su anuncio.

Rubio fue hoy nombrado Presidente del Subcomité para Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental, Crimen Trasnacional, Seguridad Civil, Democracia, Derechos Humanos y Asuntos Mundiales de la Mujer, ante el que se celebrará dicha audiencia.

"Siendo de Florida, he visto cómo los acontecimientos en el Hemisferio Occidental no sólo impactan en nuestro estado sino en toda nuestra nación. Durante demasiado tiempo, el Congreso y la Administración no han logrado priorizar nuestras relaciones en este hemisferio", dijo Rubio tras su nombramiento.

"Esta falta de atención nos ha impedido aprovechar las oportunidades de una clase media en ascenso, ha envalentonado a los tiranos, ha permitido que actores no estatales erosionen valores democráticos y que competidores globales profundicen su influencia en el continente", aseveró el Senador, citado por la agencia EFE.

Rubio alertó, asimismo, sobre que Estados Unidos ha perdido su capacidad para responder ante la proliferación de la delincuencia organizada en las Américas.

"Como presidente del subcomité –añadió–, promoveré medidas audaces que mejoren los intereses económicos y de seguridad, abordando los crecientes llamados a la región para contar con instituciones transparentes, acceso a una educación de calidad, competitividad del sector privado, y respeto por la libertad política y económica para todos".

El legislador, gran escéptico sobre el proceso de acercamiento entre La Habana y Washington, resaltó también que trabajará por defender los Derechos Humanos en los países americanos, especialmente en Venezuela y Cuba.

Rosa Maria Paya to Join Senator Rubio at State of the Union

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Rubio Announces Rosa Maria Paya as His Guest for State of the Union

Ms. Payá is daughter of slain Cuban democracy leader Oswaldo Payá

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today announced that Cuban activist Rosa María Payá will be his official guest for Tuesday evening’s State of the Union address by President Obama. Payá is the daughter of the late Oswaldo Payá who, along with Cuban youth activist Harold Cepero, was killed in an automobile accident on July 22, 2012, in Bayamo, Cuba.

Since then, the vehicle’s driver has alleged that the car was deliberately targeted by Cuban government officials. However, the Cuban regime has denied all requests to conduct an independent investigation.

In announcing Ms. Payá as his guest, Rubio issued the following statement:

“For years, Oswaldo Payá courageously traveled throughout Cuba collecting tens of thousands of signatures from ordinary Cubans on a petition that came to be known as the Varela Project, which sought a peaceful democratic transition. All Oswaldo Payá wanted was a better future for Cuba and the Cuban people, and the Castro regime assassinated him for it.

I’m honored that Rosa María Payá will join us in the Capitol on Tuesday evening as the president addresses our nation. Since her father’s murder, Rosa María has honored his legacy by continuing to advocate for a free and democratic Cuba and also fighting to bring his murderers to justice. In 2013, Rosa María visited the Senate and met with several senators who pledged their assistance in her search for justice.

In his remarks, I expect the president will bring up his new Cuba policy, especially since his administration is heading to Havana this week to discuss giving the regime legitimacy and greater access to American dollars it will use to fund its machine of repression – the very machine that harassed Oswaldo Payá for years, eventually murdered him and pays hush money to potential key witnesses.

While I disagree with the president’s new Cuba policy, I hope Rosa María Payá’s presence on Tuesday night will at least remind him that her father’s murderers have not been brought to justice, and that the U.S. is now, in fact, sitting at the table with them. I hope the administration takes the opportunity to demand reforms and changes in Cuban behavior before relations are normalized. At the very least, President Obama and his administration should push the Cuban regime to allow an impartial, third party investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo and Harold.”

Senators Question Legality of Cuba Regulatory Changes

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With today's changes in Treasury and Commerce regulations to implement President Obama's Cuba deal with dictator Raul Castro, the following questions raised by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Dan Coats (R-IN) are particularly important:

January 14, 2015

The Honorable Jacob J. Lew
Secretary of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury

Dear Secretary Lew:

We are deeply concerned that several aspects of the President Obama’s new approach to Cuba, especially those related to unilaterally easing U.S. sanctions, violate the letter and spirit of several U.S. laws, and increase the moral and financial risk to the American taxpayer and financial system of doing business through Cuba’s government-controlled financial system.  We ask that you explain in detail how the Treasury Department plans to implement the President’s announcement under current law.

On December 17, the President announced that “U.S. institutions will be permitted to open correspondent accounts at Cuban financial institutions to facilitate the processing of authorized transactions.”

As you know, Section 7207 of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) explicitly prohibits U.S. assistance and financing to Cuba. Moreover, it contains no Presidential waiver. Also, Section 103 of the LIBERTAD Act prohibits any financing of transactions involving confiscated property belonging to U.S. nationals.

Given these stark differences between the letter of the law and the Administration’s announcement, we ask that you provide clear answers to the following questions:

• What legal authority does the Administration have to allow establishment of correspondent accounts in Cuba, and the use of U.S. credit and debit cards by travelers to Cuba?
• How would the opening of correspondent accounts and the use of U.S.-backed credit cards expose U.S. financial institutions and affect legal action from Americans who have outstanding judgments rendered against the Cuban government by U.S. courts?
• How would these regulatory changes impact U.S. obligations to protect U.S. trademark holders, namely those who had their intellectual property confiscated?
• Less than three years ago, Cuba blocked access to the Cuba-based correspondent bank accounts of its European trading partners and confiscated their cash.  Can the Administration ensure that this will not happen to U.S. accounts?

The President also announced that “Telecommunications providers will be allowed to establish the necessary mechanisms, including infrastructure, in Cuba to provide commercial telecommunications and internet services.”

• While Congress has authorized certain transactions to improve telecommunications services between the United States and Cuba, U.S. law prohibits U.S. investments in Cuba’s domestic telecom infrastructure.

Specifically, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 USC 6004) includes a direct prohibition on “investment in domestic telecommunications services.”  Moreover, it states that an “investment” in the domestic telecommunications network within Cuba “includes the contribution (including by donation) of funds or anything of value to or for, and the making of loans to or for, such network.”  The LIBERTAD Act subsequently reinforced this “no investment” in telecom prohibition (22 USC 6032(g)).

• What legal authority does the Administration have to allow U.S. investments in Cuba’s telecommunications infrastructure?
• How would such investments affect legal action from Americans who have outstanding judgments rendered against the Cuban government by U.S. courts?

Also, as part of the President’s announcement, general licenses will be issued for all 12 categories of authorized travel in the existing categories.  However, TSREEA codified the ban on tourist activities, which are defined as any activity not expressly authorized in the 12 categories of travel set forth in the regulations. It further specified, “as such regulations were in effect on June 1, 2000.”  At the time of codification, non-academic educational travel (“people-to-people”) was only permitted via specific license.

• Under what authority will the President license travel beyond the June 1, 2000 levels?

Under the travel codification, trips related to activities that are primarily tourist-oriented -- including self-directed educational activities intended only for personal enrichment -- are illegal.

• How will Treasury enforce violations of travel for self-directed educational activities and by groups that sponsor people-to-people trips, which seek to engage primarily in tourist activities?
• How do certain travel activities, including staying at confiscated properties by U.S. travelers, not violate the ban on trafficking, and “indirect financing,” of confiscated property in LIBERTAD?

The fact that the Administration has been unable to answer these and many other questions almost a month after the President’s announcement, raises serious concerns about the process which preceded it.  We thus would like to know whether the Treasury Department was even consulted regarding these significant policy changes regarding Cuba, and if so, on what date.

We appreciate your prompt answers to these questions.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
Daniel Coats

Senator Marco Rubio Statement on U.S.-Cuba Policy Changes

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Rubio Comments On Reports Of Change In U.S. Policy Toward Cuba, Release Of Alan Gross

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding reports that President Obama is set to dramatically change U.S. policy toward Cuba following the release of Alan Gross, an American who was held hostage by the Castro regime in Cuba for five years:

“Today’s announcement initiating a dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Cuba is just the latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all cost.

Like all Americans, I rejoice at the fact that Alan Gross will be able to return to his family after five years in captivity. Although he is supposedly being released on humanitarian grounds, his inclusion in a swap involving intelligence agents furthers the Cuban narrative about his work in Cuba. In contrast, the Cuban Five were spies operating against our nation on American soil. They were indicted and prosecuted in a court of law for the crimes of espionage and were linked to the murder of the humanitarian pilots of Brothers to the Rescue. There should be no equivalence between the two, and Gross should have been released unconditionally.

The President’s decision to reward the Castro regime and begin the path toward the normalization of relations with Cuba is inexplicable. Cuba’s record is clear. Just as when President Eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Castro family still controls the country, the economy and all levers of power. This administration’s attempts to loosen restrictions on travel in recent years have only served to benefit the regime. While business interests seeking to line their pockets, aided by the editorial page of The New York Times, have begun a significant campaign to paper over the facts about the regime in Havana, the reality is clear. Cuba, like Syria, Iran, and Sudan, remains a state sponsor of terrorism. It continues to actively work with regimes like North Korea to illegally traffic weapons in our hemisphere in violation of several United Nations Security Council Resolutions. It colludes with America’s enemies, near and far, to threaten us and everything we hold dear. But most importantly, the regime’s brutal treatment of the Cuban people has continued unabated. Dissidents are harassed, imprisoned and even killed. Access to information is restricted and controlled by the regime. That is why even more than just putting U.S. national security at risk, President Obama is letting down the Cuban people, who still yearn to be free.

I intend to use my role as incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee to make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt by the President to burnish his legacy at the Cuban people’s expense. Appeasing the Castro brothers will only cause other tyrants from Caracas to Tehran to Pyongyang to see that they can take advantage of President Obama’s naiveté during his final two years in office. As a result, America will be less safe as a result of the President’s change in policy. When America is unwilling to advocate for individual liberty and freedom of political expression 90 miles from our shores, it represents a terrible setback for the hopes of all oppressed people around the globe.”

Senator Marco Rubio Holds Press Conference On Changes In U.S. Policy Toward Cuba

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Rubio to Kerry: U.S. Must Defend Summit's Democracy Clause

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October 21, 2014

The Honorable John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Kerry:

With the Seventh Summit of the Americas quickly approaching, I am deeply concerned that the Administration has sent mixed messages to the Panamanian government regarding the participation of undemocratic countries. During the 2001 Summit in Quebec City, the United States made a formal commitment that a democratic system is an “essential condition of our presence at this and future Summits”. Thus, as a non-democracy, Cuba should remain excluded from the Summit.

Just last month, State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, stated: “[O]ur view is that at the 2001 Summit of the Americas, all participating governments agreed to consensus that ‘The maintenance and strengthening of the rule of law and strict respect for the democratic system are at the same time a goal and a shared commitment and are an essential condition of our presence at this and future summits.’ So we should not undermine commitments previously made, but should instead encourage – and this is certainly our effort – the democratic changes necessary for Cuba to meet the basic qualifications.”

Then, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, emphasized: “I think we have made clear that we believe the Summit process is committed to democratic governance and we think that the governments that are sitting at that table ought to be committed to the Summit principles, which include democratic governance.”

Those words will stand hollow if our country fails to stand by these principles. Furthermore, allowing a country that is a habitual violator of human rights and has not allowed a free election in over 50 years would damage everything that the Summit wishes to accomplish. Cuba should not be allowed to undermine the commitment to democracy made by the remaining nations of the Western Hemisphere during the Summit process.  Moreover, the United States should not stand idly by if Panama does indeed intend to invite Cuba to the Summit.

Unfortunately, that seems to be precisely the mixed message sent recently by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, John Feeley, who told the Panamanian media that "it’s not so important the guests at the table but the meal that’s served."

I urge you to reaffirm the United States’ position that Cuba should only be welcome to participate in the Summit when the Castro regime abandons its repression of the island’s population and to ensure that the nations of the Western Hemisphere are left with no doubt that the United States will stand firmly behind the formal commitment it made at the Quebec Summit.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

Marco Rubio: 'The Obama Presidency Is Over'

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In an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” on Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) hit President Barack Obama on the grounds of his low poll numbers, particularly as a newly released NBC-Wall Street Journal poll shows 54 percent of those polled saying they no longer feel the president “is able to lead the country and get the job done.”

Rubio agreed with NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd, who earlier in the day said the Obama presidency is effective over.

“I saw a commentator today say that these polls they reflected with the Obama presidency is over,” Rubio said. “And I agree with that. I think it is in general. Obviously he still has responsibilities that I hope he'll live up to. But whether it's foreign policy or the issue on the border, or the VA, or the IRS losing its e-mails or Benghazi before that, it seems like every day now, every other day, there's a new crisis -- almost like we're overwhelmed by the number of crisis and conflicts that are arising as a result of the incompetence and in some instances the design of this administration.”

Rubio also criticized the Obama’s handling of the unfolding crisis in Iraq. The Florida senator emphasized the need to cut off the ISIS supply lines from Syria into Iraq in his criticism and he took issue with Obama taking certain actions off of the table.

“First of all, I don't think the president should be ruling things out even if he never intends to send a single American back. And by the way I don't take that lightly, nor am I calling for that. But you don't start by telling terrorists, here's what we're not going to do. But second, I think we need to use American power, primarily air power and targeted missile strikes to wipe out the ISIS advance, particularly these supply routes that they now have in place. Again, this is not about saving Maliki. This is about preventing these guys from setting up a caliphate that they're going to use to attack us here in the United States.”

Marco Rubio cuestiona a Hillary Clinton por 'intentar ayudar al régimen de Castro'

Diario de Cuba

El senador cubanoamericano Marco Rubio (R-FL) cuestionó este viernes a la exsecretaria de Estado Hillary Clinton por haber sugerido al presidente Barack Obama que cancelara o flexibilizara al embargo a Cuba.

"Ahora vemos hasta dónde llegó la secretaria Clinton para minar a los defensores de la democracia en Cuba al intentar ayudar a que el régimen de Castro se hiciera con más dólares con los que continuar su represión", dijo Rubio, según el diario El País.

El senador aseguró que la administración de Obama "no tiene una agenda coherente para América Latina".

"Los desastres que vemos actualmente en la política exterior del presidente Obama son los frutos de las semillas que plantó Hillary Clinton cuando era secretaria de Estado", afirmó.

La exsecretaria de Estado Hillary Rodham Clinton asegura en un nuevo libro que exhortó al presidente Barack Obama a levantar o relajar el embargo contra Cuba porque ya no es conveniente para Estados Unidos ni fomentaba el cambio en la Isla.

En extractos del libro Hard Choices, obtenidos por la agencia AP antes de su publicación la próxima semana, Clinton considera que el embargo le ha dado a Fidel y Raúl Castro una excusa para no poner en marcha reformas democráticas.

Añade que la oposición de algunos elementos del Congreso a la normalización de relaciones ha dañado tanto al pueblo estadounidense como al cubano.

"Desde 1960, Estados Unidos había mantenido un embargo contra la Isla con la esperanza de sacar a Castro del poder, pero solo logró darle alguien a quien culpar por los problemas económicos de Cuba", dice.

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