Frank Pallone: “I have said in the past, doing business with Cuba means doing business with Castro. So long as Castro maintains his…”

“I have said in the past, doing business with Cuba means doing business with Castro. So long as Castro maintains his stranglehold on every aspect of Cuban life, lifting any aspect of the embargo or allowing Americans to travel to Cuba could mean subsidizing Castro. Most Cuban tourist operations and resorts are owned and operated by fronts for the Cuban military and internal security services. These so-called 'companies' funnel money directly into Castro's military, earning the regime the hard currency it needs to perpetrate its oppressive policies. Is that where Americans should be spending their money? Castro has come to rely almost solely on his income from tourism; formerly profitable industries like sugar now only represent a small amount of the island's income. Proponents of travel will lead you to believe that if only Americans were allowed to travel to the island, then the Cuban people would realize the great freedoms they are missing and rise up and demand political and humanitarian reforms from their leaders. But, Mr. Chairman, the people of Cuba are not ignorant. Most speak regularly with their families here in the U.S. and they are fully aware of their lack of freedom and opportunities. In fact, the people of Cuba have risen up in protest to their government, only to have Castro throw over 80 nonviolent opposition leaders behind bars, sentencing many of them to life sentences in subhuman conditions in Castro's jails.”