Senator Marco Rubio gave a rousing speech from the Senate floor this week in which he sharply criticized Obama's relaxing of restrictions on Cuban travel, pointing out that the Castro regime was taking advantage of the White House's weakness:
YouTube | SenatorMarcoRubio | Rubio Slams Abuses Of Administration's People-to-People Cuba Program
The publicly available itineraries of these programs shows how what Babalú blogger Alberto de la Cruz has deemed the "octogenarian monarchical dictatorship" is promoting their own propaganda, taking visitors to the site where the Castros launched the Cuban Revolution.
As Rubio incredulously points out:
Rubio points out that he's resigned himself to the fact that the White House isn't going to back down from this policy, but that he hopes that the State Department will examine how the program is being implemented.
I agree with Rubio: it is bad enough that the White House has signed on to this policy which is providing a new stream of financial support to the Castro regime, but to participate in a program that is openly seeking to promote the propaganda of these brutal dictators is ridiculous.
YouTube | SenatorMarcoRubio | Rubio Slams Abuses Of Administration's People-to-People Cuba Program
The publicly available itineraries of these programs shows how what Babalú blogger Alberto de la Cruz has deemed the "octogenarian monarchical dictatorship" is promoting their own propaganda, taking visitors to the site where the Castros launched the Cuban Revolution.
As Rubio incredulously points out:
This [trip itinerary] is really good. This one's called "Cuba for Educators: Ethics and the Cuban Revolution." So you go to Cuba to learn about ethics from the Castro regime...
On Day 2, you get to go to the Museum of the Revolution, where you will learn about the ethical foundations of the Cuban Revolution. This is not to be missed! Clearly, we want to learn about ethics from the Castro regime!
...This is about promoting democracy and freedom? In Cuba? This is not about promoting democracy and freedom in Cuba. This is nothing more than tourism. This is tourism for Americans that at best are curious about Cuba, and at worst, sympathize with the Cuban regime.
Now you may ask, we're a free society, why would we restrict that? And here's why: because this is not just a source of irritation. This is a source of hard currency, of millions of dollars in the hands of the Castro government that they use to oppress the Cuban people...Of course, the trips do include some lovely sightseeing and lots of opportunities to hear some great salsa performances. So, never mind the countless number of our own citizens that we've imprisoned, tortured, and murdered... ¡Bailamos!
Rubio points out that he's resigned himself to the fact that the White House isn't going to back down from this policy, but that he hopes that the State Department will examine how the program is being implemented.
I agree with Rubio: it is bad enough that the White House has signed on to this policy which is providing a new stream of financial support to the Castro regime, but to participate in a program that is openly seeking to promote the propaganda of these brutal dictators is ridiculous.
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