On the recordJune 11, 2015
I rise this morning to support Gustavo Perez Silverio, an historian in Cuba who has had to endure continued threats from Castro's state security forces. This week, Castro's thugs threatened Gustavo Perez Silverio by telling him that he would be prosecuted for terrorist activities, but his only crime was to support activism and engagement in Cuban civil society. That is not a crime. This is not the first time he has had to endure these dire threats. While in the United States last year, Gustavo issued statements about the current difficult situation in Cuba for human rights, but when he returned to the island, he learned that he lost his job as a professor at the university where he was teaching. This is another attempt by the Castro regime to silence peaceful opposition leaders. We cannot let this continue. What is happening to Gustavo happens to dozens of Cubans every day, innocent but brave dissidents who try to speak the truth about the human rights violations occurring in Cuba, violations that go unpunished due to the undeserved concessions given to the Castro brothers by this administration. Let's stand with the oppressed, the brave dissidents like Gustavo Perez Silverio, and not stand with their oppressor, the Castro regime. Claudia Puig
