Bob Menendez: “today I wish to address Cuba's undemocratic leadership transition and its implications for the Cuban people and U.S.…”

“today I wish to address Cuba's undemocratic leadership transition and its implications for the Cuban people and U.S. foreign policy. Today, in a highly scripted process, Cuba's National Assembly replaced Raul Castro, the country's gerontocratic dictator, with heir apparent Miguel Diaz Canel. While this marks the first time in nearly 60 years that a Castro does not occupy the Cuban Presidency, this transition by no means portends the desperately needed political and economic change that Cubans desire, nor does it mean that the Castro regime is no longer in charge. This week's transition, characterized as a coronation and an attempt to institutionalize the Castro regime, is a ruse. This spectacle does not remotely come close to meeting internationally recognized standards for a democratic election. Cuba remains a single party, authoritarian state that denies its citizens their most fundamental freedoms. Some contend that Mr. Diaz Canel could be a ``Cuban Mikhail Gorbachev,'' and in seeking to reform the Castros' broken model, he will stumble into the collapse of Cuba's communist system. Such thinking fails to account for the fact that Mr. Diaz Canel's political ascent was forged under the same Communist Party that has perpetuated the Castros' decades-long stranglehold on Cuba. More importantly, Raul Castro will maintain his position as the First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party.…”