Today, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Rubio in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging their agencies to use the dialogue to advance the political and economic freedoms of the Cuban people, rather than make concessions to the abusive criminal Cuban regime. Officials from the U.S. Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security are in Havana this week to conduct a “law enforcement” dialogue with members of the Cuban regime, including officials from their Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for gross violations of human rights against the Cuban people.

Read more from Senator Rubio’s office below.

RUBIO, SCOTT WARN BIDEN ADMIN AHEAD OF DIALOGUE WITH CUBAN REGIME

Officials from the U.S. Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security are in Havana this week to conduct a “law enforcement” dialogue with members of the Cuban regime, including officials from their Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for gross violations of human rights against the Cuban people.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging their agencies to use the dialogue to advance the political and economic freedoms of the Cuban people, rather than make concessions to the abusive criminal Cuban regime. 

• “Past experiences have shown that dialogues with authoritarian regimes, especially ones that do not respect the rule of law, detrimentally affect the Cuban people’s wellbeing and desire to live freely. Only a policy towards Cuba that will enforce democracy and the rule of law will serve as the best foreign policy tool for our national security. It also recognizes the importance of advancing human rights protections as core to our nation’s values.”

The senators urged the Biden Administration to prioritize the following topics: 

• Holding free and fair elections for Cuba’s governing institutions;  
• Releasing all prisoners detained for ‘political crimes’;  
• Withholding Cuban property until assets expropriated by the Cuban regime are returned to their rightful American and Cuban owners; 
• Extraditing American citizens who have fled to Cuba to escape punishment for crimes committed on U.S. soil, including those responsible for murdering police officers and defrauding Medicare; 
• Ceasing the weaponization of mass migration towards our shores;  
• Stopping the sponsorship of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Colombia, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

Want more information? Read the full text of the letter here. 

RUBIO, SCOTT DAN ADVERTENCIA A LA ADMIN. BIDEN ANTES DE DIÁLOGO CON EL RÉGIMEN CUBANO

Funcionarios de los Departamentos de Estado, Justicia y Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU. se encuentran en La Habana esta semana para llevar a cabo un diálogo con miembros del régimen cubano, incluyendo funcionarios del Ministerio del Interior de la dictadura, el cual es responsable de graves violaciones de DDHH contra el pueblo cubano.

Los senadores estadounidenses Marco Rubio (R-FL) y Rick Scott (R-FL) le enviaron una carta al Secretario de Estado de EE.UU., Antony Blinken, al Fiscal General de EE.UU., Merrick Garland, y al Secretario de Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU., Alejandro Mayorkas, instando a sus agencias a utilizar el diálogo con la dictadura criminal para promover las libertades políticas y económicas del pueblo cubano, en vez de otorgar concesiones al régimen cubano.

• “Experiencias previas nos han demostrado que los diálogos con regímenes autoritarios, especialmente los que no respetan el estado de derecho, afectan negativamente el bienestar y el deseo de vivir en libertad del pueblo cubano. Solo una política hacia Cuba que imponga la democracia y el estado de derecho servirá como la mejor herramienta de política exterior para nuestra seguridad nacional”.

Los senadores instaron a la Administración Biden priorizar los siguientes temas:

• Elecciones libres y justas para las instituciones de gobierno de Cuba;
• Libertad para todos los presos políticos y de conciencia detenidos por "delitos políticos";
• Retención de propiedad cubana hasta que los activos expropiados por el régimen cubano sean devueltos a sus propietarios legítimos, tanto norteamericanos como cubanos;
• Extradición de ciudadanos norteamericanos que han huido a Cuba por delitos cometidos en suelo norteamericano, incluyendo a responsables de asesinato a policías y fraudae al Medicare;
• Cesar el uso de la migración masiva hacia nuestras costas como un arma política;
• Detener el patrocinio de organizaciones terroristas extranjeras que operan en Colombia, Venezuela y otras partes de latinoamérica.

¿Quieres más información? Lea el texto de la carta en inglés aquí. 

###