The Death of Fidel Castro Brings an Opportunity of Hope for Cuba

Floor Speech

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last Friday began a new era for the people of Cuba. For too long, the murderous dictatorship of Fidel Castro has reduced one of Latin America's wealthiest countries to mass poverty in order to benefit the Communist elite and the military.

A recent editorial in The Charleston Post and Courier stated: ``Fidel, though he thrived on opposing the U.S., he was long subservient to another superpower, the Soviet Union, until its welcome demise in 1991. He also was an enthusiastic proponent of the Soviets' reckless decision to put weapons of mass destruction aimed at the U.S.
in his country.''

President-elect Trump has correctly reviewed: ``It is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve.''

I have been inspired by the late Louis and Nena Gonda, who fled Cuba with their three daughters as all of their property was stolen. They told me about their daughters. They were told to pack for a 2-week visit to visit a sick aunt in New York. They went to a department store there in Cuba, and they bought suitcases. When they arrived home, the secret police were already at the house. They asked them: What are you buying suitcases for? It was explained that they were buying suitcases to go visit a sick aunt in New York and that they would be returning in 2 weeks.

They just didn't have the heart to tell their children--their three young girls--that they would never return to their home, that they would never see their personal property. Their cars, the ones that now appear to be unique, are all stolen cars when you see the classic cars in Cuba. Everything that the family owned was stolen by the Communist government.

They fled to West Columbia, South Carolina, where they worked hard to achieve the American Dream of extraordinary economic success as neighbors in my home County of Lexington, South Carolina.

In conclusion, God bless our troops; and may the President, by his actions, never forget September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

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