Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, a human rights activist in my native homeland of Cuba, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, better known as Antunez, was detained in Cuba on his way to the airport. Antunez was going to speak at an event hosted by Freedom House and Justice Cuba, right here in D.C., to educate the public on the brutal realities of what continues to occur every day in Cuba. But, instead, Raul Castro sent his thugs to detain Antunez and prevent him from boarding the plane. The regime promised Antunez that he could travel if he only ``tempered his activism.'' Mr. Speaker, anyone who knows Antunez, who spent many a year in Castro's jails, knows that he will not abandon his principles, nor should he ever be forced to do so. As Antunez always says, ``Ni me callo, ni me voy,'' which means, ``I won't stay silent and I won't leave.'' He is talking about his activism in Cuba. Mr. Speaker, the Castro regime wants to paint a picture that people on the island are free, that human rights abuses do not exist in Cuba, but we know better. That is why there continues to be, every day, arbitrary arrests and beatings to stop dissidents and activists from speaking out--that is the menu every day--reminding the world that what these activists want is freedom. That is really what transpires in Castro's Cuba for dissidents.…”