Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, last night I had the honor of presenting the International Republican Institute's 2017 Freedom Award to great freedom fighters in my native homeland of Cuba, the Ladies in White, las Damas de Blanco, although my dear friend Berta Soler, the leader of the Ladies in White, was not able to be there. Why? Because the Cuban regime refused to allow her to leave the island. We were lucky enough to have one of the organization's founding members, Blanca Reyes Castanon, with us accepting the award on the group's behalf. I have had the privilege of knowing both Blanca and Berta for so many years, and it has been an honor for me to be able to raise awareness about the brave and inspiring Ladies in White, whether I do it here from the House floor or by hosting them here in our Nation's Capital or in my district in Miami, Florida. Each Sunday in Cuba, the Ladies in White fight for their relatives and all political prisoners in Cuba, demonstrating peacefully as they walk to church. Yet each Sunday, Mr. Speaker, they are harassed. They are beaten. They are arrested by the regime's thugs. As a Cuban refugee myself, fleeing the island with my parents when I was only 8 years old, I have seen how the regime has morphed and evolved its methods of repression over the years.…”