From the offices of U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:
Obama Administration Helps Communist Cuba’s Political Agenda With New Regulatory Changes, Says Ros-Lehtinen
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement regarding the new regulatory changes toward Cuba announced by the Obama administration. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“The Obama administration continues to naively fuel expectations of a non-existent new Cuba. The mislabeled private sector in Cuba is part of a police state that is under military control and maintaining its closed economy is the only way the regime will survive. These new regulations are another desperate attempt to ignore the iron grip that the Castro regime maintains on the island’s economy and will only serve to benefit the coffers of the regime. By repeating the lie that Cuba has a private sector, the administration is using U.S. regulations to advance the regime’s political agenda in the United States.
“Going to Cuba for any economic transaction is risky business because the Castro regime has proven time and time again that it will not pay its bills or its creditors and will continue to ignore U.S. certified claim holders. The sad reality is that the Castro regime is taking full advantage of the Obama administration’s willingness to concede on loosening the regulations while expecting nothing in return from the communist dictatorship. Our regulations do not have to change, it is Cuba that needs to change and the Castro brothers will not let that happen.”