The communist Castro dictatorship has harbored terrorists and U.S. fugitives from justice for decades, and the U.S. has done little to change that. However, a bill introduced in the senate by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) seeks to force the State Dept. to employ strong measures to force the Cuban regime to turn over more than 70 criminals that have been hiding in Cuba under the protection of the Castro dictatorship.
Two influential U.S. Senators have introduced legislation to force Cuba to return more than 70 American criminals it has long harbored, including Victor M. Gerena, inside man for the violent Puerto Rican nationalists who robbed $7 million from an armored car depot in West Hartford decades ago in what was then the largest cash robbery in U.S. history.
The bipartisan bill, written by Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, would require the state department to press Cuba to comply with a century old extradition treaty. As leverage, it threatens, among other things, to withhold foreign assistance money for Caribbean narcotics control programs benefiting Cuba.
The proposed legislation also would require the state department to report on its progress and produce a list of violent fugitives believed to be living under government protection in Cuba, something the U.S. government has refused to do for at least two decades.
Past measures to press Cuba to hand over wanted Americans have not produced high profile fugitives. Menendez and Rubio have influence with the state department not seen in earlier measures as chairman and second-ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
There are no guarantees the added pressure would bring about results, but the Castro dictatorship has enjoyed impunity on this issue for far too long. Havana’s lawless regime should not be able to harbor and protect violent U.S. criminals from facing justice with zero consequences.
Good luck with that, especially the Chesimard woman.
This is one of the things I hate about DC. Bill’s are constantly introduced with no chance of passage. I guess it is frustrating that you cannot do anything to change things other they force other people to reveal their true values.
Why don’t we just enforce the bills already passed into law.