Peter Deutsch: “I am proud to be standing in front of this body as we get ready to vote on the Helms-Burton bill. This piece of…”

“I am proud to be standing in front of this body as we get ready to vote on the Helms-Burton bill. This piece of legislation will send a clear message to Castro and other petty dictators around the world that America will not stand for political persecution. We will not put our heads in the sand while this tyrant, only 90 miles from our shores, oppresses his own innocent citizens. It is a tragedy that it took the recent shooting down of two unarmed, civilian humanitarian planes by Cuban fighters to help bring the Helms-Burton bill to the floor. Fidel Castro has been committing atrocities against the Cuban people for decades and these recent repugnant acts only serve to confirm a conclusion that we already know. Castro will never change. He still has political prisoners, including women and children, languishing in his jails. He still murders his own people as they attempt to flee political persecution. He still is planning to construct a nuclear power plant that can only be considered a humanitarian disaster. There can be no compromise. Castro is an absolute dictator that needs to be taken down absolutely. The Helms-Burton bill will force Castro from power and put an end to these acts of oppression. It will strangle Castro by cutting off a large segment of foreign investment that is currently propping up his regime. Some of my colleagues feel that lessening our grip on Cuba would be the best way to help the Cuban people. I passionately disagree.”