Mario Díaz-Balart

I would tell you, and again, going to how this subcommittee works, let me tell you what I expect, and I think what most of us expect.

How does doing business with the Cuban military help the Cuban people be independent of the Cuban military and its authorities?

The President said he would not visit unless human rights improved.

There were over, I just mentioned the number, 8,000 arrests, political arrests, not to mention 200 arrests every Sunday of the Ladies in White.

I just want to see if you can give us some facts of where----

If you don't solve that, you can kiss all of the $750 million good-bye.

What statutory authority do you perceive to have to authorize such transactions which are clearly inconsistent with federal law?

Your new regulations effectively authorized the Castro dictatorship to use the U.S. financial system as a flow through for their international transactions.

Mr. Secretary, again, what I am asking is what statutory authority do you have?

I am hoping that you can prove me wrong, but I will bet that you are not going to be able to.

We expect the U.S. Government to exert leverage when it is time to stand up for the interests of the United States and also for property rights of American citizens.

What has the administration gotten, because the administration didn't insist on any of those things as a condition.

I just think that we have to be very careful to not limit our armed services to the job that they are being asked to do.

It is going to require congressional action. It is going to require Presidential leadership as well.

I don't like it, but it is the law of the land.

unless we do have serious security, to your point, then everything else is wasted money.

I commend you for that.

I would not use China as a model to talk about when we talk about human rights. That is precisely what we do not.

The administration has been kind of taken aside. The Secretary of State said that he was compounded by the situation in Venezuela.

I think everybody understands that it has been a huge success, potentially the greatest success story after the Marshall Plan.

What are the consequences for the Castro regime for sending elicit arms in violation of the U.N. Sanctions to North Korea?

Unless people feel secure--and I don't care how much opportunity we give... those gangs are still going to go to little girls and take them.

It is security first, it is security second, it is security third.

What specifically are we going to do? What are we doing to hold those folks who attacked Americans?

So which of those conditions does this administration oppose? Or which of those conditions does this administration believe that the Cuban people do not deserve?