On the recordMarch 30, 2011
I appreciate the recognition. Mr. Speaker, on March 28, former President Jimmy Carter arrived on a trip to Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban dictatorship. He arrived there, and originally in his agenda that was made public he had no meetings with any of the internal opposition leaders, no meetings with any of the civil society leaders, no meetings with anybody other than the regime. I know that he met with the dictator who's been oppressing and torturing and savaging that population without obviously having free elections for over 52 years, for over half a century. He called the dictator, Mr. Castro, his dear friend. Mr. Speaker, right before former President Carter arrived at that enslaved island, the regime went about arresting and detaining a rather large number of people, people who they wanted to make sure didn't make trouble. Now, remember, that making trouble in that totalitarian regime, Mr. Speaker, is speaking out, asking for freedom, just getting together and organizing and asking for some basic human rights. So they started systematically detaining and arresting and harassing people so that former President Carter wouldn't have to see, wouldn't have to be bothered with the inconvenience of people actually speaking out and asking for freedom and asking for democracy. {time} 2000 A group of people, Mr. Speaker, actually went in front of the old capitol building.…
