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72–877PDF 2012

FURTHER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN

CASTRO’S CUBA: THE CONTINUED ABUSE OF

POLITICAL PRISONERS

JOINT HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, 

AND HUMAN RIGHTS

AND THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Serial No. 112–183

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

RON PAUL, Texas 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

DAVID RIVERA, Florida 

MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania 

TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina 

ROBERT TURNER, New York 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

DENNIS CARDOZA, California 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

FREDERICA WILSON, Florida 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

YLEEM D.S. POBLETE, Staff Director 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

ROBERT TURNER, New York 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

KAREN BASS, California 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

CONNIE MACK, Florida, Chairman 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

DAVID RIVERA, Florida 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

(V)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Dan Burton, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Indiana .............................................................................................................. 7

Oscar Elı ́as Biscet, M.D., human rights advocate, former Cuban political 

prisoner ................................................................................................................. 12

Mr. Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez, independent journalist, former political 

prisoner—Group of 75 .......................................................................................... 22

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Dan Burton: Prepared statement ................................................. 9

Oscar Elı ́as Biscet, M.D.: Prepared statement ...................................................... 15

Mr. Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez: Prepared statement .................................. 25

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 34

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 35

The Honorable Connie Mack, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Florida, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere: Prepared statement ................................................................................................... 36

The Honorable Ann Marie Buerkle, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of New York: 

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 37

Questions submitted for the record .................................................................... 38

Responses from Mr. Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez to questions submitted 

for the record ..................................................................................................... 39

(1)

FURTHER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN 

CASTRO’S CUBA: THE CONTINUED ABUSE 

OF POLITICAL PRISONERS 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,

AND HUMAN RIGHTS, AND

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittees met, pursuant to notice, at 2 o’clock p.m., in 

room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. 

Smith (chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, 

and Human Rights) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH. The subcommittees will come to order. 

I want to wish everyone a good afternoon and welcome to this 

joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and 

Human Rights, as well as the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, to focus on just one aspect, though a very troubling one, 

and that is of the overall abysmal human rights record of the dictatorship in Cuba. 

Today’s hearing marks the beginning of a series of hearings on 

human rights in Cuba, and today we will be examining the ongoing 

violations of the human rights of Cuban political prisoners, from 

the arrest, prosecution, and persecution of political opponents of 

the Castro regime to the deplorable conditions of their imprisonment, to the terms under which they are released. 

The announcement of the release of some prisoners in late December, in conjunction with the release over the past 2 years of 

more than three dozen political prisoners, has been described as a 

public relations move designed to portray a loosening of Cuba’s political repression of opponents. Those of us who have had the privilege of knowing and working with Cuba’s human rights champions 

for decades, and having heard from them firsthand of the brutality 

of the Castro government, are not so easily persuaded or deceived 

that somehow things are improving. 

Cuba has been a totalitarian state, with the Cuban Communist 

Party as the sole legal political party for more than half a century. 

Upon his seizure of power in Cuba in 1959, Fidel Castro promised 

a return to constitutional rule and democratic elections with social 

reforms. However, Castro’s control over the military and government structures allowed his regime to crush dissent, marginalize 

2

resistance leaders, and imprison or execute thousands of opponents. 

Between 1959 and 1962 alone, it is estimated that the Castro regime executed 3,200 people. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled 

an increasingly radical government. Those who remained in Cuba 

faced a repressive regime that denied them fundamental basic 

human rights. 

More than 50 years after Castro’s assumption of power in Cuba, 

the U.S. Department of State’s Human Rights Report on Cuba describes it as a government that still denies its citizens the right to 

change their government; that threatens, harasses, and beats its 

opponents through state security forces and government organized 

mobs; that sentences opponents to harsh and life threatening prison conditions; that arbitrarily detains human rights advocates and 

members of independent organizations and that selectively prosecutes perceived opponents and then denies them a fair trial. 

Cuba’s political prisoners are held, together with the rest of the 

prison population, in substandard and profoundly unhealthy conditions where they face physical and sexual abuse. Most prisoners 

suffer from malnutrition and reside in overcrowded cells without 

appropriate medical attention. In fact, political prisoners face selective denial of medical care. 

Cuban prisons fail to segregate those held in pre-trial detention 

from long-term violent inmates, and minors are often mixed in with 

adults. Such are the conditions opponents of Castro’s regime have 

faced over the years, and some of them have faced it for decades. 

I would note that we have with us today in the audience a man 

who spent 22 years in Castro’s prisons. Mr. Guzman, if you 

wouldn’t mind just standing and being recognized and thanked. 

[Applause.] 

I would also point out to you another man who I have gotten to 

know over the years, Armando Valladares, who unfortunately 

couldn’t join us here today, but will appear at a future hearing. He 

was a Cuban postal bank employee who was arrested for refusing 

to display a sign on his desk that promoted communism. Mr. 

Valladares was imprisoned in 1960 at the age of 23 and spent 22 

years in prison. Like many freed political prisoners, Mr. Valladares 

moved to the United States. 

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve as the 

United States Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human 

Rights, a position in which he served for 2 years. I met with Ambassador Valladares in Geneva when he succeeded in bringing 

Cuba before that Commission for human rights violations and authorized a U.N. fact-finding trip to Cuba to investigate Cuban prisons. 

I will never forget; assurances were given to everyone that anyone who came forward would not be retaliated against, and to a 

person everyone who came forward was retaliated against. 

I have read Mr. Valladares’ memoir; it is called ‘‘Against All 

Hope.’’ I actually read it twice; it is a book that chronicles his experiences and that of others in Cuba’s gulags. 

Mr. Valladares describes the systematic use of torture, cruelty, 

and degrading treatment by Cuban prison guards, yet like so many 

other heroic dissidents, he persisted and he overcame. I remember 

3

when he talked about how they actually immersed Cuban dissidents in excrement, put them into human waste, which caused 

ear infections, nose infections, eye infections. It was not only degrading; it was so unhealthy that many got very, very sick from it. 

Today our surprise witness will be a brilliant humanitarian, Dr. 

Oscar Elı ́as Biscet. A medical doctor and courageous human rights 

advocate, Dr. Biscet was one of more than two dozen dissidents 

who was arrested and detained by Cuban police back in August 

1999 for organizing meetings on behalf of human rights. 

He was released after 5 days but was rearrested three more 

times. The second time he was arrested, later in 1999, he spent 3 

years in prison. His third arrest in December 2002 resulted in a 

beating, but not imprisonment. Upon his fourth arrest, in March 

2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

Along with more than 50 other dissidents, Dr. Biscet was released in March 2011 with the help of the Catholic Church. He has 

courageously remained in Cuba where he continues to advocate for 

human rights. For his extraordinary bravery and commitment to 

freedom for the Cuban people, many of us have twice recognized 

and recommended him, Dr. Biscet, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. 

Biscet is in Cuba and will be with us shortly by way of a phone 

hook-up. 

Other political prisoners have not had the ability to choose where 

they will live following their release. 

Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez, an independent writer and journalist, was arrested in March 2003, along with 74 other dissidents 

in Camaguey and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. As a result 

of his serious abuse in prison, Mr. Herna ́ndez eventually was diagnosed with several diseases of the digestive system, and later tuberculosis. 

Due to his deteriorating medical condition, Mr. Herna ́ndez was 

released from prison in July 2010 and taken to the Havana airport 

where he was briefly reunited with his wife and daughter before 

being forced to board an overnight flight to Spain. He later emigrated to Miami, where he currently resides. We will hear from 

him momentarily. 

I extend the gratitude of the subcommittee, to our distinguished 

witnesses for joining us today, and we will begin our testimony 

with Congressman Dan Burton. He is now chairman of the Europe 

and Eurasia subcommittee, and I will introduce him properly in a 

moment. 

He has always been a leader on human rights in Cuba, and everywhere else, but actually was the author of important legislation, 

which I know he will speak to, several years ago. And so I will get 

to that in a moment, but thank you, Chairman Burton, for being 

here. 

I would like to now yield to my good friend and colleague Albio 

Sires for any opening comments he might have. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you, Chairman Smith, Chairman Mack, for 

holding this hearing. It is crucial that my colleagues and I in Congress do whatever we can to draw attention to the brutal realities 

in Cuba. 

It is a privilege to have with us former political prisoners who 

can describe firsthand the oppressive nature of the Castro regime. 

4

Just weeks ago, another hero for freedom and democracy, 

Wilman Villar Mendoza, lost his life at the hands of Castro’s thugs 

in Cuba. And the end of this month will mark the 2-year anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. These men died fighting for basic human rights, the kind of rights that so many of us 

take for granted in this country. 

The Castro brothers are ruthless leaders with no regards for 

human life and have no interest in reform. While the United States 

has offered several concessions to Cuba in the last few years, we 

have only witnessed continued brutality on the island. 

You know, as someone who came from Cuba at the age of 11, my 

mind is still very clear on some of the things that my family went 

through, including having the military come into our house, take 

inventory of every item once you file for a visa to leave, including 

the military search in our house because my father was accused of 

having contraband in the house. And this was back in 1962. And 

I can go on and on with stories of neighbors that were taken in the 

middle of the night. 

So it is crucial for us to have a hearing to depict what these people do in Cuba. Somehow over the years there has been this romanticism with this revolution. You know, this revolution brought 

dictators—dictators for over 50 years. All these supposed changes 

that are happening are just window dressings. There hasn’t been 

one substantive change in Cuba to bring democracy, or to allow the 

people to express their will. 

You read stories about the Ladies in White and the thugs that 

beat up on women just because they clamor for democracy, freedom, and for the health of the ones that are in jail. 

So, my colleagues, thank you very much for bringing attention to 

this situation. I want to personally compliment Congressman Burton. He has been in the forefront on our efforts to bring a change 

in Cuba for many, many years. And I am sorry that he is leaving, 

but he has really been a friend to our efforts, and thank you for 

being here. 

Thank you, Chairman, for being here. 

Mr. SMITH. The gentlelady from Ohio, Ms. Schmidt. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. Thank you, Mr. Smith, for holding this. And thank 

you, Mr. Sires, for your personal testimony. 

You know, I was in Cuba in 2002, I think it was, on a trip from 

Ohio, a legal trip. And I saw firsthand the abusive nature of the 

Cuban regime. We were watched at each and every step along the 

way. We were not allowed to have really free discussion with the 

folks that we interacted with in Cuba. 

So from a personal perspective, I know that everything is guarded and watched. And I understand this is the phone call. We are 

going to take it? 

Mr. SMITH. In a moment, yes. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. In a moment. Well, I will be very brief. I am very 

impressed with the level of people that we are having as——

Mr. SMITH. Please continue. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. I am very impressed with the witnesses that we 

are going to have today. Mr. Herna ́ndez will testify today. The reward for your honesty, sir, was a life sentence, practically, in a 

5

Cuban prison, and we have already heard some of the torment that 

you continue to suffer because of the cruelty of that regime. 

Dr. Biscet will also testify via telephone and I understand that 

he is once again, because I signed the letter, being asked to be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize. Quite frankly, I think everyone 

that served under that regime and continues to shout for liberty 

and democracy in that corner of the world deserves recognition and 

a Peace Prize. 

Cuba retains its designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, 

and we in the United States need to recognize that. We need to understand that they are working in connection with Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, all to subvert the democracy here 

in the Americas. We in the United States must understand that 

anything that we do that helps the Cuban regime monetarily will 

only hurt the Cuban citizens. 

In 2009, one of our American citizens, Alan Gross, was a USAID 

subcontractor. He was arrested because he was distributing communications equipment to Jewish communities in Cuba. Fourteen 

months after his arrest and incarceration, Mr. Gross was unfairly 

and unjustly charged, tried, and convicted. He is currently serving 

a 15-year sentence in what can only be described as the worst hole 

you can ever imagine. 

While this administration and our President has called for Mr. 

Gross’ release, this administration has really done very little to 

make sure that that actually happens. Instead of aggressively pursuing his release, our administration is busily making concessions 

to Cuba and loosening travel and remittance restrictions. This 

must not happen. 

Instead of engaging to help the Castro regime, we should be engaging with the Cuban people and helping them become liberated 

citizens. 

I yield back my time. 

Mr. SMITH. Ranking Member Engel. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing. And I am glad that our two subcommittees are 

teaming up on this. 

Human rights is something that is very important, obviously important for obvious reasons. The United States has been the beacon 

of freedom throughout the world for many, many years. And when 

you look at countries that have been the opposite, unfortunately 

Cuba always comes to mind. 

You know, there are very few things that I remember when I 

was a boy that haven’t changed much now that I am more mature. 

And one of them is the lack of human rights in Cuba. The tactics 

that the Cuban regime has used back in the 1960s are similar to 

the tactics that they use now with imprisonment and all kinds of 

other horror stories that we have heard through the years. 

And while dictators have come and gone and regimes have come 

and gone, in Cuba, unfortunately for its people, nothing has really 

changed. When we look and see—people said that once the Soviet 

Union fell, there would be freedom and change in Cuba as there 

were in so many of the Eastern European countries, we haven’t 

seen any change at all. Anything we have seen is simply window 

dressing. 

6

So I am glad that we continue in the Congress to be vigilant and 

to focus attention on Cuba’s terrible human rights policy. 

Mr. Gross, who many of us have been concerned—an American 

citizen—is languishing in a Cuban prison. And we, of course, have 

as our priority to get him out. But there are many other people, 

Cuban citizens as well, languishing in Cuban prisons. Their only 

hope is that we in the United States continue to shine a light on 

the tyranny that is happening. And one day we all hope that Cuba 

will be free. We know that will happen one day, and we hope we 

can make it sooner rather than later. 

With that, I yield back, and I thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Engel. 

Mr. Rivera, the gentleman from Florida. 

Mr. RIVERA. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for 

holding this important hearing, because it adds to the record that 

needs to be placed in the public mind-set regarding the reality that 

is Cuba today. And this reality of Cuba today did not start in recent months or years or even decades. 

This reality of a lack of human rights and civil liberties inside 

Cuba started in 1959 where Cuba’s record of throwing people into 

prison, just because they are prisoners of conscience, began when 

thousands and thousands of political prisoners were put in jail by 

the Castro communist totalitarian dictatorship. 

Throughout the decade of the 1960s, throughout the decade of 

the 1970s, and it was not until, I would say, the mid and late 

1980s, during the Reagan administration, when as you mentioned 

former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Armando 

Valladares, was named to the post, where the tragedy that is the 

reality of Cuba really came to light in an international forum. 

And I recall you being there at the United Nations Human 

Rights Commission, along with Congressman Burton as well, and 

I also recall those condemnations on a multilateral basis from so 

many countries that were members of the United Nations Human 

Rights Commission, being ignored. And the request from the 

Human Rights Commission to send a special rapporteur into Cuba 

to investigate the human rights abuses were also ignored and rejected by the Castro dictatorship. 

And that happened throughout the decade of the 1990s where 

international organizations tried to go into Cuba and monitor and 

review the situation of human rights and were always rebuffed. 

Just recently even during this last decade, there have been several 

waves of repression across the island. 

We have had the Black Spring earlier in the decade, but even 

more recently, in the last couple of years, we have also seen yet another wave of repression and human rights abuses, which again 

demonstrate the complete lack of human rights and civil liberties 

inside Cuba. 

Some of those examples of abuse have been mentioned. People 

that have been on hunger strikes and have died on hunger strikes, 

sacrificed their liberty and actually sacrificed their lives, people 

like Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Wilman Villar Mendoza, Laura 

Polla ́n, who was one of the leaders of the Ladies in White, courageous, heroic women that peacefully demonstrate in support of 

7

human rights and civil liberties in Cuba that are summarily beaten 

and jailed inside Cuba. 

So that is why it is so important to make sure that we have 

hearings like this, and make sure that we have condemnations—

moral and otherwise—of what is going on inside Cuba. We need to 

have multilateral condemnations from the United Nations, the 

United Nations Human Rights Commission. We need to have unilateral condemnations. 

This administration needs to step up the focus and the effort to 

condemn Cuba, condemn the Castro dictatorship. I believe that has 

been quite lacking in recent years when we have all seen the cases 

of human rights abuses occurring inside Cuba. 

The community I represent, much like my friend from New Jersey, Albio Sires, is filled with examples—from decades ago and 

from more recent years, filled with examples of former political 

prisoners, men and women, many women, former political prisoners that were tortured, imprisoned, and that were prisoners of 

conscience. 

Today, inside Cuba many of these same people are fighting for 

the future of Cuba, and that future is represented by these brave 

human rights activists fighting inside Cuba, which is another reason it is so important to maintain the spotlight on human rights 

abuses in Cuba; to maintain and highlight heroes like Dr. Biscet, 

who we will be hearing from; to maintain the focus on cases like 

Alan Gross, that Congresswoman Schmidt mentioned earlier; and 

making sure that that demonstrates to the world a stark reminder 

of the lack of basic rights inside Cuba. 

So, again, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for this hearing. 

Thank you for maintaining that spotlight. It is wholly justified, and 

hopefully more people throughout the United States and throughout the world will be listening. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Rivera, thank you very much for your very eloquent statement. 

I would like to now introduce our first witness, and he is the 

man who is the author of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996, and that is Chairman Dan Burton, who is now 

serving in his 15th term as a Member of the House from Indiana. 

He previously served in the Indiana House and Senate before coming to Congress in 1983. 

And the Helms-Burton Act, named after the two sponsors of that 

legislation, was truly remarkable and transformational. I want to 

thank him for his leadership on that, and I will yield to my good 

friend and colleague. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DAN BURTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF INDIANA 

Mr. BURTON. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really appreciate 

your allowing me to testify. I am not going to be redundant. You 

have covered so much ground here, and you have so many extraordinary witnesses that are going to be testifying, I am going to limit 

my remarks. I will submit a statement for the record. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. BURTON. The reason we passed the Helms-Burton law was 

not just because of the persecution that was taking place on the isVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:52 Nov 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Y:\WORK\AGH\021612\72877 HFA PsN: SHIRL
8

land of Cuba but because the Castro government shot down three 

planes—the Brothers to the Rescue, who were sending messages to 

the people in Cuba by flying over and dropping leaflets talking 

about freedom and democracy and human rights. And when that 

happened it raised the concern of everybody in America, and we 

immediately said we have got to do something to put pressure on 

the Castro regime to bring about some positive change. 

We passed the Helms-Burton law, better known as the 

LIBERTAD Act, and it was a step in the right direction. The problem that we have is that the legislation has not been as enforced 

as it should have been. And for that we have a great deal of regret. 

I know Mr. Rivera, who worked with us back in those days when 

he was much younger—he is getting a little bit of gray hair now—

and you, Mr. Chairman, and all of my colleagues up there were—

I know you were very interested in that as well. We were concerned and we wanted to bring about some positive change. 

Unfortunately, we have not enforced, as I said, the Helms-Burton 

law. The spread of communism is still a big threat. Back during 

the Reagan administration, we had the Reagan Doctrine, and most 

of the countries in Central and South America started moving toward democracy. 

Now, because of Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba, and 

a number of the other countries down there, we see a movement 

back toward the left and toward communism and toward repression. So the repression takes place not only in Cuba, but throughout many of the countries in Central and South America. 

The thing that bothers me a great deal is when people send remittances down to Cuba to help their families and their loved ones, 

the government of Fidel Castro benefits from that. And I think it 

is very unfortunate. Approximately 20 percent of all the remittances that go down there are given to the Fidel Castro government or the Raul Castro government, and they use that to further 

their ends in that country. 

So I think it is extremely important that we have hearings like 

this, that we point out the horrible things that are going on in 

Cuba and continue to go on. 

One of the things that I like to stress when I speak—and you 

have mentioned it before—Armando Valladares—is a book that he 

wrote about his prison experience. It is called ‘‘Against All Hope,’’ 

and I think my colleagues have probably all read that. But for 

those of you that haven’t, I would submit that it would be a great 

thing for you to take the time to read, because it really points out 

very clearly the horrible, horrible things that go on in those prisons 

down there due to the political prisoner situation. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you very much for 

having this hearing. My statement will be submitted for the record, 

and I look forward to hearing what your witnesses have to say 

today. And thank you very much for having this hearing. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Burton follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Chairman Burton, thank you so very much. Again, 

your legislation is legendary, and thank you for your authorship. 

It has made a huge difference. 

I would like to welcome you, if you would like to join the panel. 

Mr. BURTON. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. We would love to have you. 

I would like to now introduce Dr. Oscar Biscet, who, as stated 

earlier, is a Cuban physician and human rights advocate who has 

been imprisoned and tortured numerous times by the Castro regime. This extraordinary man of conscience has been unjustly 

called dangerous and a counterrevolutionary by the Castro regime, 

and labeled a prisoner of conscience by the international human 

rights community. 

In 1997, he founded the Lawton Foundation in Havana which 

works to secure human rights in Cuba and around the world. He 

has worked tirelessly for freedom in Cuba. And because of his 

work, my colleagues have nominated him—as a matter of fact, this 

time our distinguished Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has led an 

effort to nominate Dr. Biscet for the Nobel Peace Prize. We did it 

2 years ago. It is time that he be recognized in Oslo for the tremendous work he has done. 

Despite being imprisoned at the time, Dr. Biscet received the 

Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bush in 2007. Dr. 

Biscet was released from prison on March 11, 2011, and will be 

participating in this hearing by a telephone connection from the 

U.S. Interests Section in Havana. 

The floor is yours, Dr. Biscet. 

STATEMENT OF OSCAR ELI ́AS BISCET, M.D., HUMAN RIGHTS 

ADVOCATE, FORMER CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONER 

Dr. BISCET. Good afternoon. I am Dr. Oscar Elı ́as Biscet. I am 

a specialist in internal medicine, and I am the president of the 

Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, and I received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. 

I am giving a testimony in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human 

Rights. And under the presence of our Biblical God, this is solely 

the truth of what has happened. 

I express my deep gratitude for this invitation to the great defender of liberty to the Cuban people, Congresswoman Ileana RosLehtinen, and I express my great admiration for the altruistic labor 

in the cause of the Cuban people to the Cuban-American Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, David Rivera, Albio Sires, Robert Menendez, and Marco Rubio. 

Many greetings to all of the great individuals that are gathered 

with us today. The Cuba in which I live in is a society full of fear. 

It has been directed by a totalitarian socialist regime since 1959. 

This regime is characteristically anti-American, anti-Semitic, and 

anti-Black. Its permanence in power is due to the use of terror and 

extreme police control over the citizens. 

The dictatorship of the Castro brothers commits systematic and 

flagrant violations against human rights for the Cuban people. The 

lack of basic freedom in my society motivated me to become a 

13

human rights activist and to attain these rights for the people of 

Cuba through non-violent resistance. 

The political police has beaten me, disfigured my face, and in another occasion broken my foot. These were things that were done 

through the orders of the dictatorship, and they were seeking to coerce me to stop my human rights activism through torture and 

cruel acts that are inhumane. The idea was to stop me from anything that I could do to defend human rights. 

In not gaining their objectives, they put me in prison for almost 

12 years. Nevertheless, if these acts would have been done only 

against me, they would not have the important historical significance that they do. The great problem is that these horrible violations of human dignity are committed through the entire population of Cuba, and in general all of the people that are incarcerated. 

The penitentiary system in Cuba does not adhere to the regulations put forth by the United Nations for people who are imprisoned. In this system, I was very much tortured, but most of all the 

people that I know and my family were tortured. But the worst 

part is that there were three assassination attempts against me, 

two of which were hired out by the regime’s police. 

Some of the tortures or cruel treatment or inhuman treatment 

that I observed or suffered in these prisons were people who were 

completely nude and had their hands in handcuffs and then put together with a handcuff at their feet. They were in this position for 

more than 12, and sometimes up to 24, hours. Individuals who 

were handcuffed with their hands over their head and the tip of 

their toes barely touching the floor, and the duration of this torture 

was the same 12–24 hours. 

The use of taser guns as psychological and physical torture. For 

most of these tortures they would undress the prisoner collectively 

with any respect for human dignity. The negation of any medical 

attention to the individuals that were imprisoned. The existence of 

those individuals in prison have no human dignity at all. 

And many times there is no natural light, and in other times not 

even artificial light. There is no drinkable water, no ventilation, no 

place to use the restroom, and no ability to speak to anyone else. 

Many of these political prisoners are forced to suffer alongside 

prisoners who have actually committed real crimes, and this is 

used as a form of coercion to make them feel like they are criminals as well. 

In 1996, you approved the Law of Liberty and Democratic Solidarity with Cuba. This is a great political instrument that has been 

applied in solidarity with the Cuban people, looking for change to 

create liberty and democracy for the Cuban people. We are looking 

for these liberties and democracy for the Cuban people. 

The dictatorship of the Castro brothers has been a part of the 

most abhorrent global events. I will only make a few references. 

These are a few: Unconditional support for the imperialistic invasion in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979; also, in 

the 21st century, the expansionist invasion of Russia into Georgia; 

unlimited defense for the regimes of Milosevic, Hussein, and 

Ghadafi; training, both military and logistical, for the guerrillas in 

14

Colombia, and the presence of operational bases for the Muslim extremists of Hezbollah and Hamas in Cuba. 

If we continue this political indifference against the communist 

regime in Cuba, I fear that in a very short time we will have another missile crisis in the same style of October 1962. However, the 

participants now would be Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and the United 

States. 

Tomorrow we will celebrate, with great pride, the fourth anniversary of the freedom of Kosovo. Five years ago, you, the United 

States, promised firm support for their independence. You were so 

firm in this promise with love and honor that many countries 

united themselves in this cause, and you triumphed. This is the 

kind of support that I ask of you for my people, so that they can 

be free and sovereign. 

I wish the best to you, your families, and to the United States 

of America. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Biscet follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Dr. Biscet, thank you for your extraordinary courage. 

And to remind everyone in this room and those who will read this 

transcript—and that will be many—you are communicating to us 

from Cuba, having only recently been let out of prison, knowing 

that there are risks attendant to your speaking out, as you have 

done so courageously throughout your life. 

So just letting you know how in awe I am, and I know my colleagues are, of you. And I hope that the Cuban Interests Section, 

which I am sure is here in the room and taking notes, and the Castro regime, by extension, knows that we are all watching how you 

are treated, not just past and present, but going into the future. 

Just a couple of very quick questions, and I yield to my colleagues for any comments they might have. And I want to assure 

you, Dr. Biscet, that these committees and the Congress will continue—we will hold additional hearings. We are redoubling our efforts to bring scrutiny and life in combating these human rights 

abuses, as you called them, systematic and flagrant violations. 

We applaud your non-violent resistance, which is truly extraordinary. 

You have testified about the degrading treatment of stripping 

prisoners. I would note parenthetically that Cuba has been designated a Tier III country for human trafficking, both sex trafficking, and this, too, is a part of the perversion that is imposed 

upon people by the government, degrading treatment and perversion. 

You talked about political indifference, and that the island is full 

of fear. My hope would be—our hope would be—that you might answer whether or not they have been indifferent as well—that the 

Organization for American States, the U.N., especially the Human 

Rights Council, the European Union, and even the International 

Criminal Court would investigate these crimes against humanity 

and take action. 

If you can, would you like to respond as to how well or poorly 

we are doing—Congress, the President, and those bodies I just 

mentioned? Are we politically indifferent? 

Dr. BISCET. We are very grateful for everything that the United 

States has done. We understand that the problem in Cuba is an 

internal problem with the regime, and that the international organizations are very, very different. 

We appreciate the work that has been done to help us, but the 

issues and the violations, the human rights violations in Cuba need 

to be expressed further to these international communities, because 

they seem not to be getting the point or understanding that this 

is really happening. 

The clear and classic example is that a lot of these countries 

have signed on to international instruments, but there is no way 

of enforcing them. So you have the classic case of Cuba who is a 

signer to many international treaties but doesn’t uphold any of the 

human rights designations. 

Mr. SMITH. Dr. Biscet, I have many questions, but I will only ask 

one more out of deference to my colleagues. Pope Benedict will visit 

Cuba on March 26 to 28. His mission is to evangelize, but he also 

speaks very strongly on behalf of human rights protections. 

20

It would be my and others’ sincerest hope that he would meet 

with you and others who have been incarcerated and unjustly 

treated. What would you tell the Pope if you had the opportunity? 

Dr. BISCET. I would say to him that I would love for him to lobby 

for our freedom of speech and for a multi-party system, so that everyone can participate and be represented. We hope that his coming will bring great change to our country. 

[The telephone connection is lost.] 

Mr. SMITH. We will continue to try to reestablish that contact. 

Did you want to comment at least on his testimony before asking 

some questions, if we get him back? 

Mr. SIRES. Well, I think we have seen the testimony of a very 

courageous individual. And I think that people should think in 

terms of this man as a product of this revolution. He went to school 

there. He is not a product of Miami Beach. He is not a product of 

Miami. He is not a product of Cubans in exile. 

This is a man that was educated in Cuba, and he sees that this 

is a dictator, that this is a country that oppresses human rights, 

that this is a country that allows no one the freedom to express 

themselves, and he has personally seen what they do to people who 

are seeking freedom of expression. 

So they can’t blame the Cubans in exile as they blame the Cubans in exile for everything. This is a product of this communist 

regime. And I think we should keep that in mind. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Sires, you are on to ask any questions. 

Mr. SIRES. Dr. Biscet? 

[No response.] 

I am sure that the Cuban Government has something to do with 

this, the fact that we can’t establish a connection. 

Hello? Dr. Biscet? 

[No response.] 

Mr. SMITH. Are there any members that would like to make a 

comment on that extraordinary testimony as we try to reconnect? 

Mr. Rivera. 

Mr. RIVERA. Thank you, Chairman, for recognizing me. I think 

Dr. Biscet’s response to your question regarding the Pope’s visit is 

very telling, and of course very timely right now, knowing that that 

visit by the Pope is literally weeks away, because what Dr. Biscet 

told the world in response to your question is that the opposition 

movement inside Cuba, the human rights activists, the heroic dissidents, what they are looking for, what they are hoping for from 

the Pope, and what they are hoping for is that the Pope will call 

for free and fair expression and self-determination by the Cuban 

people as expressed through elections; so that the Cuban people 

can decide their future, their destiny, free of repression, free of the 

dictatorships, denial of civil liberties that is occurring right now. 

And that is very important, because I understand the church, the 

Catholic Church, when the Pope goes on international visits, they 

try to make those visits as apolitical as possible. They are evangelical missions. The problem is that in Cuba everything is political. 

It is impossible to have any foreign dignitary, particularly one as 

esteemed and as cherished as the Pope, visit Cuba and it be a completely apolitical visit, because the Castro regime will use that visit 

21

for political purposes, for propaganda purposes, which is something 

that Dr. Biscet clearly understands, as he responded to your question. 

And I would hope that the Catholic Church hierarchy, that the 

Pope himself, will not only listen to the hierarchy of the church in 

Cuba and Cardinal Ortega, or be listening to the hierarchy of the 

Castro government, but I would hope they would be listening to the 

future leaders of Cuba, that they will be listening to Dr. Biscet and 

be responsive to the plea that he has made in response to your 

question here today. 

I think it was very clear. You asked him what he would say or 

ask of the Pope, and he said very clearly, ‘‘I would ask the Pope 

to call for free elections, to allow the Cuban people the right of selfdetermination, to allow the Cuban people to move forward beyond 

this tragic reality that has been placed upon them for more than 

50 years of the Castro dictatorship.’’

So thank you for asking him that question, and thank you to Dr. 

Biscet for his brave and honest and open and courageous response. 

Now it is up to the Catholic Church to respond to Dr. Biscet. It is 

up to the Pope himself to respond to Dr. Biscet. Whether he meets 

with Dr. Biscet or not inside Cuba, we now know what the opposition movement in Cuba is hoping for from the Pope’s visit. 

We know what the brave dissidents, the future leadership of 

Cuba, is expecting from the Catholic Church during the Pope’s 

visit. And I would hope they would pay very special attention to 

what Dr. Biscet just said, and I would hope they would be responsive to Dr. Biscet’s hopes and aspirations and his request of the 

Pope and the Catholic Church. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Rivera, thank you very much. 

We are still trying to reestablish contact with Dr. Biscet in Cuba. 

It is suspicious, at best, as to why the line was cut, and we will 

continue to try to reestablish that connection. 

Would any of my other colleagues like to make a comment? Mr. 

Engel or anybody on this side? 

Mr. ENGEL. Let me just say, Mr. Chairman, I think that the doctor has extraordinary courage. And I think it is courage from people like him that will some day allow Cuba to join the list of free 

nations in the world. 

We, sitting here on our comfortable perches in Washington, can’t 

even imagine the brutality that the doctor has been in, and even 

more so the terrible situation that the Cuban people have found 

themselves in for the past half century. 

So, you know, in this job, Mr. Chairman, we have all had the 

good fortune to interact with giants, and the doctor is certainly one 

of those. It takes a special person to be able to speak his or her 

mind courageously, knowing full well that there will very well or 

could very well be a difficult penalty to pay. 

But history has been lined with courageous men and women who 

have not been afraid to speak out, and history has shown time and 

time again that those are the people who ultimately make the 

change, get the change. And I have no doubt, again, as we will one 

day visit a free Cuba, that the doctor will one day be a citizen of 

a free Cuba, and it will largely be the struggles and the courage 

22

that he and others have exhibited through the years that will make 

that so. 

I thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. We will now move to our next witness, and we welcome him to the subcommittees. We will keep trying to reestablish 

that contact, but it is with great honor that the subcommittees receive Normando Herna ́ndez. Normando Herna ́ndez is an independent journalist who has dedicated his career to providing alternative sources of news and information in Cuba, recognized as an 

extraordinary prisoner of conscience following Cuba’s Black Spring 

in 2003, during which dozens of dissidents and journalists were imprisoned for their activism. 

Mr. Herna ́ndez was exiled to Spain in 2010, and has since resettled in the United States. He has founded several organizations devoted to human rights and freedom in Cuba and received numerous 

awards for his work. 

Mr. Herna ́ndez is currently a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, where he is examining 

the Cuban communications monopoly and considering strategies by 

which independent journalists may combat totalitarianism and dictatorship. 

We thank you, Mr. Herna ́ndez, for being here, and look forward 

to your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF MR. NORMANDO HERNA ́ NDEZ GONZA ́ LEZ, 

INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST, FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER—GROUP OF 75

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. Thank you very much, Chairman Smith, and all 

of the Congressmen that are here today, and everyone else who is 

present. I am very grateful for this invitation, for this opportunity. 

A friend this morning told me that my testimony was a bit dramatic, and I told her that, unfortunately, my life has been dramatic. And not just my life, but the lives of the Cuban people. 

I am going to save you my personal presentation, which you have 

so nicely gotten for me. Although I am a fellow of the NED, I want 

to say that I am speaking on my own personal capacity today, and 

the views expressed are entirely my own, and that the interruption 

in communication with Dr. Biscet reminds me of my days as an 

independent journalist in Cuba when we were constantly having 

our right to communication and freedom of speech violated. 

And that is why I want to begin by telling you that the violence 

on behalf of the military junta in Cuba against my people increases 

every day. The Commission from Cuba of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an independent organization inside of Cuba, 

confirmed 631 arbitrary arrests in the month of January of this 

year. This is an increase of 135 percent when it is compared to last 

year, when last January there were only 268 arrests. 

In the streets of Cuba, human rights defenders, especially 

women, are kicked and beaten in the head by political police, as is 

the case of Yris Tamara Pe ́rez Aguilera, who has been knocked unconscious due to the different blows to her head. The Ladies in 

White are also victims of repression. 

Many have reported that while they were detained by the police 

they undress them, shout obscenities at them, they touch their 

23

genitals, and they threaten that they will rape them. We are 

mourning the death of dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto, who in May 

2011 was kicked by a policeman to the point that he died 2 days 

later as a result of that beating. 

In October 2011, just 5 months after his death, they murdered 

Laura Pollan Toledo, who was the leader of the Ladies in White. 

And it has only been 28 days since the murder of the prisoner of 

conscience, Wilmar Villar Mendoza, after 50 days of being on a 

hunger strike. 

I say ‘‘murdered’’ because all of these deaths happened under the 

custody of the police and were completely avoidable. Three dissidents were killed in the last 8 months, only 90 miles away from 

the most democratic country in the world. 

I would not be honest if I didn’t condemn today the Cuban military junta and call for justice for the martyrs and the people of 

Cuba. For my part, I would say that I have been in four Cuban 

prisons. I came into a prison being completely healthy, but now I 

live with various diseases. And I live without my gall bladder because of torture that I suffered during my final 2 years in prison. 

Nevertheless, today I don’t want to speak any more about myself, 

but instead about the people who are in this same moment being 

tortured. I want to speak not only of the political prisoners of Cuba, 

but also of the nearly 100,000 prisoners who live in poor, and of 

over 250 prisons and labor camps that are in Cuba. 

I want to describe some of the direct and indirect tortures that 

the people of Cuba suffer. The little chair or little seat—this is a 

torture that Dr. Biscet described for you before. It is one that consists of handcuffing the hands of a prisoner behind his back and 

uniting them with another set of handcuffs that are at the prisoner’s feet. 

They throw the prisoner on his side in the cold, wet, or humid 

floor during hours. At this time, he is easy prey for any insects who 

swarm in these dens of perdition—rats, mosquitoes, roaches. They 

do with these prisons whatever they like—these prisoners, sorry. 

There is another torture that is called the crucifixion. It consists 

of handcuffing a prisoner completely naked, to the bars of the torture chamber with his arms open—exposed open in the form of a 

cross. To these prisoners, they throw water over their bodies in 

times of cold weather, and the mosquitos suck whatever blood they 

can. 

I still have fresh in my mind the screams of the individual prisoners that were being tortured. I don’t know if one day I will be 

able to forget them. But these forms of torture are nothing compared to what I believe is the worst thing that happens in Cuban 

jails—the sadism, negligence, and the cruelty of the prison guards 

and officials that are in charge of the prisons in Cuba. They leave 

the prisoners to attack each other, so that they can demand the 

basic human rights that they should already be afforded. 

Out of desperation, they inject urine or mixed feces into any part 

of their body. They sever fingers from their hands. They melt plastic onto their extremities. They make deep and long cuts with razor 

blades. And they even insert cold steel needles into their eyes. Most 

of them lose their lives, and others are injured for the rest of their 

days. 

24

Honorable members of this committee, everything that I tell you, 

both about Cuban political prisoners, dissidents, peaceful opposition members both inside and outside of Cuba, independent journalists like me, and the true civil society of Cuba, we have denounced for many years to many international organizations of 

human rights defense. These organizations, knowing of our testimonies, they have implored for the respect of human rights in 

Cuba. 

Mr. President, it is the time for Cuba. I strongly urge you to condemn this deplorable situation in which the fundamental rights of 

Cubans are being violated. Let us not permit for the best sons and 

daughters of our country to continue to be tortured and killed. 

Without the international support for the peaceful opposition in 

Cuba, the Castro brothers will continue to repress their people, and 

they will end up massacring them, just like it is happening today 

with the people of Syria. 

Please continue to support the dissident movement, the peaceful 

Cuban opposition, and the independent press, who with great courage face the totalitarian system that has asphyxiated us for 53 

years. We Cubans are very conscious that we need to fix our own 

country’s problems ourselves, but we need the help of the free 

world, and specifically your help, just as South Africa needed your 

help during its time. 

Honorable members of this committee, and honorable members of 

the United States Congress of the United States of America, let us 

not forget that for Cuba this is the time. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Herna ́ndez follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Mr. Herna ́ndez, thank you very much for your absolutely compelling testimony, for reminding this committee that the 

sadism that is commonplace and prevalent in Cuban jails continues 

unabated, and for describing what is known as the ‘‘crucifixion’’ 

and the ‘‘little seat’’ and these other forms of sadistic behavior that 

so many political prisoners have suffered. 

I would point out that every delegation, congressional delegation, 

lawmakers from other countries, they need to insist on going to the 

prisons. Frank Wolf, Congressman from Virginia, and I have tried 

repeatedly to go to Cuba—have been denied a visa each time—with 

the express purpose of going to the prisons. The International Committee for the Red Cross has tried repeatedly to go and investigate 

comprehensively the prisons and the mistreatment of prisoners in 

Cuba, and they have been denied. 

So to those who come back to the United States after visiting 

with Fidel Castro and Raul and others, as the Congressional Black 

Caucus did when some seven members traveled down, I and others 

gave them information similar, but not identical, to what you have 

conveyed to us today and said, ‘‘Please raise these issues.’’ And 

they didn’t. As a matter of fact, they came back and gushed about 

how impressed they were by Raul and Fidel Castro. They were 

kind men and nice men, and these are the kind of things that they 

impose upon political prisoners. 

I would point out that the Cuban Government ratified the Torture Convention in 1995. This is obviously torture, degrading and 

cruel, as you have pointed out. It is time for the U.N. to do even 

more to hold them to account. 

So since I got to ask questions before, I would like to yield to Mr. 

Sires and my other colleagues for questions that they might have. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Herna ́ndez, thank you 

very much for being here. I met you once before, and I have been 

very impressed ever since I met you—your courage and your determination. 

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. Gracias. 

Mr. SIRES. You know, one of the things that people point out—

and you alluded to this—you know, they say that, well, there are 

only 200 political prisoners, or there are only 120 political prisoners. Yes, but they arrest 631 in 1 month, 268 of the others? 

And it is what I keep telling people—that they may characterize 

you as a political prisoner, but there are other thousands of people 

who have been arrested for political reasons, who are expressing 

themselves. Can you comment to that? 

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. Yes. First, with your permission, I wanted to 

say thank you so much for your opinion of me, your good opinion 

of me. But, first, I want to respond to Congressman Smith why 

these people who go to Cuba come back with this image. 

The problem is that Cuba is not just one alone; there are many 

Cubas. There is one Cuba for tourists, there is one Cuba for people 

who go for an official visit, there is one Cuba for regular prisoners, 

the criminals, and one Cuba for prisoners of political conscience. 

There is another Cuba for government representatives, and there 

is one Cuba—the one that suffers—of the general Cuban public. 

That is why every time that someone goes to Cuba I recommend 

that they don’t accept that the government conduct their visit for 

29

them or plan their visit for them, but to have autonomy. And that 

is why these people come back so misinformed. 

Congressman Sires, to talk about the list of prisoners in Cuba is 

to minimalize the situation. I have to say that there are more than 

11 million people who are prisoners in Cuba, because Cuba itself 

is a prison. 

But if we are going to be more specific, we can go to LEI 61 or 

the civil and penal code in Cuba. In Title 11 of the civil and penal 

code, there is a stipulation of someone being dangerous to the government. This means that someone doesn’t have to commit a real 

offense in order to be taken into prison. Today people who are 

taken into prison or sanctioned under this law, there exists about 

5,000 in Cuba. 

Mr. SMITH. I have just been informed that Dr. Biscet is back on 

the line, so, Mr. Sires, if you have a question for——

Mr. SIRES. Dr. Biscet, this is Albio Sires. I just want to inform 

you that I just spoke to our Chairman Smith, and we are going to 

send a letter to the Pope, in the hopes that the Pope will take time 

when he goes to Cuba and meets with you. 

Dr. BISCET. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. 

Mr. SIRES. Now, Dr. Biscet, are you concerned now when you 

leave to go home that you are going to be arrested? 

Dr. BISCET. Everything is possible. It could happen at any time 

because we are under constant supervision. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. Yes, thank you, Dr. Biscet. This is Congresswoman 

Jean Schmidt from Ohio. You mentioned your fear that there 

would soon be more problems with Cuba and the United States, 

similar to the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s. Could you elaborate? 

Dr. BISCET. It is common knowledge that the Cuban Government 

has made strategic alliances with Venezuela, with other countries, 

in order to be dangerous toward the American public. We believe 

that because of the closeness of Cuba to the United States that 

that proximity creates a problem. 

These alliances with Iran and Venezuela, these are countries 

that have clearly stated that they are enemies for the United 

States, and that the fear comes from these alliances. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. Dr. Biscet, would these strikes be in the nature of 

chemical, biological, or nuclear warfare? 

Dr. BISCET. Cuba has developed biological and chemical weapons. 

In this case, I am only talking about nuclear missiles. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. You are thinking nuclear? 

Dr. BISCET. Yes. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. Dr. Biscet, one follow up, is this your personal belief, or do you have evidence to support your belief? 

Dr. BISCET. It is my conclusion from the information that is general in the international community but also from what I have derived from the communications within Cuba. 

Ms. SCHMIDT. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Rivera. 

Mr. RIVERA. [Speaks in Spanish.] Mr. Chairman, I am just telling 

Dr. Biscet how honored it is for me to speak with him today, and 

express mine and the appreciation of all freedom-loving people for 

30

the great sacrifices that he has suffered in Cuba on behalf of the 

cause of a free and democratic Cuba. 

[Asks questions in Spanish.] Mr. Chairman, I am asking Dr. 

Biscet what he sees could happen after the Pope’s visit, the upcoming visit, and if he can foresee any change with respect to what will 

be happening with the opposition movement, the dissident leaders, 

the human rights activists, inside Cuba. 

Dr. BISCET. We are hoping that we will receive spiritual support, 

but in the political camp we fear that there is not going to be a 

very positive result for the Cuban people. The last time that John 

Paul II was here they were developing various civil and penal laws 

in order to continue to repress the Cuban people. 

Mr. RIVERA. [Asks questions in Spanish.] Mr. Chairman, I am 

asking what the perspective is of the human rights activists and 

the opposition leaders. With respect to Raul and Fidel being in 

charge right now, what is their expectations for the future under 

the regime right now? 

Dr. BISCET. We are confident that there will be no change and 

no benefits for the people with the two brothers there. But we also 

know that we cannot wait for someone to die to create change. So 

we will create change on our own. We are hoping that we will have 

the capacity to create non-violent coercion and pressure in order to 

actually install that political change ourselves. 

Mr. RIVERA. Mr. Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez? 

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. I want to send a great hug to my friend and my 

brother, Dr. Biscet. It is very sad for the history of my country in 

order that there has to be the death of the individual who is martyring the people in order to create a change. That is why today 

the civic, non-violent opposition in Cuba is going from passive to 

active. 

And there are many organizations all over Cuba that are taking 

the space that has been prohibited to these organizations along the 

span of this regime in Cuba. I speak about this space in the public 

square, and there are a lot of people with a lot of courage and intelligence who are putting all of their efforts into getting rid of this 

totalitarian regime. 

Among them, we have Dr. Biscet today speaking to us. We have 

Arturo Garcia Perez Santoni; on the front of organization for civic 

movement, Mr. Tamayo; we have Mr. Garcia in the part of 

Santiago in Cuba. And I am not going to continue because the list 

would be interminable. 

But we have to be conscious of the fact that all of these people 

that are on the streets, taking the risk of losing their liberty and 

losing their lives, need the support of all of us, and mostly of this 

Congress. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

Mr. Turner. 

Mr. TURNER. Thank you. I applaud and admire your patriotism, 

your courage, and determination to shine the light, Dr. Biscet and 

Mr. Herna ́ndez. I wonder about, particularly as a journalist, and 

you, Doctor, the press, both in the United States and Europe, lack 

the outrage that I think is necessary to help bring the pressure on 

here. Do you have any comments on that? 

31

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. It needs to be recognized of the Cuban Government that it has a campaign of propaganda for itself. And, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to be intelligent enough to create a 

counterpropaganda the way that it should be. Unfortunately, the 

people who have the power to create the most pressure against the 

Cuban Government are not really conscious of what is really happening in Cuba, because they speak English. 

And, unfortunately, the press that is controlled, mostly because 

of the left, they are romantics, don’t give the necessary coverage, 

both in context and comprehensively, that the Cuban cause needs 

to create a true conscience to the people who can create this pressure for the Cuban Government. 

Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Marino? 

[No response.] 

Yes, Mr. Rivera. 

Mr. RIVERA. If I could followup, Chairman. [Asks questions in 

Spanish.] Mr. Chairman, I am asking Dr. Biscet what he feels 

about what seems to be a new practice by the Cuban dictatorship 

to, instead of imprisoning activists for decades or years long, to arrest them for days or weeks or months and release them—an arrest 

and release policy. [Asks questions in Spanish.] 

Dr. BISCET. We have been suffering this change in policy for a 

very long time, in the way that they arrest people. It is a form of 

terror and political pressure for the individuals on the island. It 

may be imprisonment for a short amount of time, but it has lasting 

effects. This amount of fear has created a sense of tired—has made 

the people very, very tired, and has had the chilling effect that the 

government has tried to—has intended to make. 

Either way, individuals in Cuba still don’t have freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, all of these liberties that we enjoy here in the United States. And I am hoping 

that we will be able to impose this change in our society. 

Mr. RIVERA. Gracias, Dr. Biscet. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. Before we close——

Dr. BISCET. We are hoping that we will have the help of all of 

the individuals who love liberty. We need to create this change to 

stop this great threat that has existed in Cuba for over 50 years. 

That is why I am proposing this massive non-violent resistance to 

be able to impulse this change. 

But, first, it would be much more effective if the international 

community that loves liberty would be willing to support us in creating this change. We have many examples in the international 

community of individual people who were able to create this change 

and create a true resistance to their tyrannic governments. 

Mr. SMITH. Let me just conclude. Earlier this week I chaired a 

hearing on human rights abuse in China, and back in 1994 when 

Bill Clinton de-linked trade from human rights, there were people 

on both sides of the aisle who thought somehow that would very 

quickly morph into political and religious freedoms and human 

rights freedoms. 

None of that happened. It has gotten demonstrably worse. And 

people who were for that will now say, at least privately, that delinking human rights from trade was a horrific mistake. There are 

32

some who say we need to provide unilateral concessions to the Cubans, to the Cuban Government. 

And, Mr. Herna ́ndez, you might want to take this question. I myself have offered amendments in the past in the Congress that 

would have lifted the travel ban if, and only if, political prisoners 

were released and free and fair elections were held. Your thoughts 

on the conditionality of human rights and any concessions toward 

the government by the Obama administration, how important it is 

to have those conditions? 

I would just add to that, before you answer, that this flawed assumption not only has played out with regards to China, which has 

become a brutal dictatorship where torture is endemic, but it has 

also played out more recently in Vietnam when a bilateral trade 

agreement was agreed to between the United States and Vietnam. 

Almost to the day after they got their bilateral trade agreement, 

they began a serious crackdown on dissidents and religious defenders. Trade without human rights conditions has become a lifeline 

to the dictatorship. Mr. Herna ́ndez, your thoughts? 

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. Any type of pressure, all the pressure that you 

can create against a totalitarian system will advance democracy 

and freedom to that country. But these pressures need to be united 

to support in all aspects of the word to the dissidents and opposition that exist within that country. 

Mr. SMITH. I believe we have lost Dr. Biscet again—the connection. So if my colleagues have anything further they would like to 

add? 

[No response.] 

Mr. Herna ́ndez, any final thoughts that you would like to add before we conclude? 

Mr. HERNA ́ NDEZ. Yes. I want to thank you, Congressman Smith, 

to the Congressmen here present, and the subcommittee in general. 

And I want to remind you—I don’t want this to become a theme, 

but I do want to remind you that the time for Cuba is now. 

Mr. SMITH. On that profound sentiment, the hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:55 p.m., the subcommittees were adjourned.] 

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