Remarks by Senators at U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC

at 2:22 PM Sunday, March 10, 2013
On Friday, March 8th, 2013, the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC honored history's four Cuban-American U.S. Senators: Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).

There have only been eight Hispanic Senators in U.S. history, four of which have been Cuban-American and elected within the last decade.

Among the highlights:

"The three of us may not all agree on the issues of the day, but when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy, we are a band of brothers that are inseparable in our fight for Cuban freedom," said U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Cuba is not a zoo where you pay an admission ticket and get to watch people living in cages, to see how they are suffering. Cuba is not a field trip. To fulfill your curiosity, you've left thousands of dollars in the hands of a government that uses that money to control the people you feel sorry for," said U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.

"We cannot allow Cuba to become a carbon-copy of what Russia is today, a country where those who were the generals and the oppressors are now the big-deal businessmen, multi-millionaires and oligarchs that are running the country for their personal economic benefit," said former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez.

"We need a President who will stand up today and say: Mr. Castro, let the Cuban people go. Mr. Castro, open up the ballot box. Mr. Castro, empty the jails. Mr. Castro, allow free speech and let freedom glisten," said U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.

Click below to see each of their full remarks: