Political Quotes

“I recently had an opportunity to visit Cuba for the first time. I have been frustrated for many years about the impasse between the United States and Cuba. I believed, and continue to believe, that the best way to change the Castro regime in Cuba is to open Cuba. As we learned in Eastern Europe, once those who have lived under a controlled economy and autocratic rule are exposed to the real world and the opportunities of that world, they start pushing for change. I went to Cuba hoping that with the transitional leadership from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul, there might be an opportunity to turn a new page. President Raul Castro has taken a number of small but notable steps to opening his country's economy. He has also released a number of political prisoners, albeit forcing many of them to leave Cuba if they wish to be released. Yet a genuine start to turning the page with the United States would also have to include the release of a detained U.S. citizen, Alan Gross, a man with whom the Presiding Officer and I have met. Today marks the third full year in prison in Cuba for Alan Gross. What was Alan Gross's crime? He provided Internet equipment to some of the Cuban population. That is right, Internet equipment. The Presiding Officer may have read that in war-torn Syria under the ruthless dictator Bashar al Assad, the Internet was recently turned off for a few days but was restored.…”