Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, Dr. “At the very least the President’s first stops should be meetings with internationally-recognized dissidents: U.S. “Unless the Castros are compelled to change the way they govern the island and the way they exploit its people, the answer to this won’t be any different: The Castro Regime will be the beneficiary. “The President has negotiated a deal with the Castros, and I understand his desire to make this his legacy issue, but there is still a fundamental issue of freedom and democracy at stake that goes to the underlying atmosphere in Cuba and whether or not the Cuban people – still repressed and still imprisoned – will benefit from the President’s legacy, or will it be the Castro Regime that reaps the benefits. “Instead of having the free world’s leader honor Latin America’s only dictatorship with a visit, he could have visited one of the 150 countries which he has not visited, including several in Latin America that are democracies. “But that is obviously not the case, which is why the Boston Globe’s headline on February 25 th says it all: Obama Breaks Pledge – Will Visit Cuba Despite Worsening Human Rights. If we’re going backwards, then there’s not much reason for me to be there.’ It is that freedom I had hoped President Obama was referencing when he said: ‘What I’ve said to the Cuban government is – if we’re seeing more progress in the liberty and freedom and possibilities of ordinary Cubans, I’d love to use a visit as a way of highlighting that progress. “I rise in memory of all Cuban dissidents who have given their lives in the hope of Cuba, one day, being free from the yoke of the Castro regime. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), senior member of the Senator Foreign Relations committee, delivered the following remarks on the Senate Floor ahead of President Obama’s visit to Cuba and provided a progress report on democracy and human rights on the island. On need to meet with Cuban Human Rights and Democracy defenders: “The President should witness their bravery, listen to their stories, feel their despair, see the fear under which they live – and stand-up with them and for them.”
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