Rubio on the Death of Wilman Villar

Senator Rubio Comments on the Death of Cuban Political Prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio issued the following statement today following the death of Cuban political prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza, who was arrested in November 2011 for holding a peaceful demonstration and sentenced to four years in prison. He died yesterday after a 56-day hunger strike protesting his unjust imprisonment:

"I join the Cuban people in mourning the death of Wilman Villar Mendoza, and I offer my condolences and prayers to his wife and children. The Cuban regime is a callous band of murderers that once again has blood on its hands for unjustly imprisoning this man and allowing him to die from a hunger strike.

Once again, we are reminded of the unintended but negative consequences of this administration's loosened travel and remittance policies. They help deliver more hard currency to the Castro regime, making it easier for them to brutalize and even murder the Cuban people."