Mauricio Claver-Carone: “I, for one, have no problem with taking cash away from the Castro regime, and that's not a point of contention in this…”

It's really a privilege to be here and join you today to discuss these important and consequential issues surrounding U.S. trade policy toward Cuba.

We are talking about providing private financing to one company owned by the Castro regime that is going to hold food hostage over a people.

If we start acting like Canadians, Europe, and French, and everybody else, going on vacation in these Cuban military resorts and embracing this regime, we are going to lose being that beacon of hope to the United States.

But I think that brings to an important point is the reason we have these travel-related, tourism-related transactions in Cuba is because it's the Cuban military and security services' number one source of income.