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S. HRG. 112–603 

THE PATH TO FREEDOM: COUNTERING REPRESSION AND STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY IN CUBA 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE, PEACE 

CORPS, AND GLOBAL NARCOTICS AFFAIRS 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 7, 2012 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman

BARBARA BOXER, California 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

JIM WEBB, Virginia 

JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

MIKE LEE, Utah 

WILLIAM C. DANVERS, Staff Director

KENNETH A. MYERS, JR., Republican Staff Director

——————

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE, PEACE

CORPS, AND GLOBAL NARCOTICS AFFAIRS

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman

BARBARA BOXER, California 

JIM WEBB, Virginia 

JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

MIKE LEE, Utah 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

(II)

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Ferrer Garcia, Jose Daniel, leader, Cuba Patriotic Union, Santiago De Cuba, 

Cuba ...................................................................................................................... 27 

Fonseca Quevedo, Sara Marta, spokesperson, National Civic Resistance Front, 

Cuban Pro-Democracy Leader, Havana, Cuba .................................................. 30 

Gonzalez, Normando Hernandez, fellow, National Endowment for Democracy, 

former Cuban political prisoner, Washington, DC ............................................ 18 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 24 

Jacobson, Hon. Roberta, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere 

Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC ......................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 

Responses to questions submitted for the record by Senator Benjamin 

L. Cardin ........................................................................................................ 41 

Responses to questions submitted for the record by Senator Marco Rubio . 42 

Menendez, Hon. Robert, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, opening statement .... 1 

Perez Antunez, Jorge Luis Garcia, political dissident, Havana, Cuba ................ 32 

Rubio, Hon. Marco, U.S. Senator from Florida, opening statement .................... 5 

(III)

(1) 

THE PATH TO FREEDOM: COUNTERING REPRESSION AND STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY IN CUBA 

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012 

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE, 

PEACE CORPS, AND GLOBAL NARCOTICS AFFAIRS, 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 11 a.m., in room 

SD–419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert Menendez 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Menendez and Rubio. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY 

Senator MENENDEZ. Good morning. The hearing on the Western 

Hemisphere Affairs Subcommitte will come to order. 

First of all, our apologies to the Secretary and to the other witnesses. We had a vote on the floor and so we just came from that. 

Welcome to our hearing on ‘‘The Path to Freedom: Countering 

Repression and Supporting Civil Society in Cuba.’’ A title that is 

more than a mere designation of why we are here, but a statement 

of what we must do for the people of Cuba and how we can get 

there. 

I want to thank our panelists for coming today. I look forward 

to hearing their analysis and ideas on how we move down the path 

to freedom. 

I want to acknowledge the wife of Alan Gross, Judy Gross, who 

is with us here today. And we are in solidarity with her and her 

husband and believe that he should never have been incarcerated 

and that he should, in fact, be free to come home to his family. 

In addition to the Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, and former political prisoner, 

Normando Hernandez, we will have the unusual privilege of being 

joined by three individuals who have time and again risked their 

personal freedom to advocate for basic civil and human rights for 

their fellow Cubans. 

This morning, they will again, simply because of their willingness to express their opinions at this hearing, put their personal 

freedom at risk by telling the truth about conditions in Cuba and 

providing testimony before this committee via digital videoconference and telephone. Their participation is so sensitive that we were 

2 

unable to include their names on the original hearing notice and 

only have this morning, following confirmation of their arrival at 

the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, issued a new hearing notice. 

We are deeply grateful for their courage and their commitment 

to coming forward to speak about the realities of life within Cuba 

and for their advocacy for the freedom of the Cuban people. They 

are Jose Daniel Ferrer, who will speak to us by phone, and Jorge 

Luis Garcia Perez ‘‘Antunez’’ and Sara Marta Fonseca. 

I must take this opportunity to thank the committee and the 

State Department for their assistance in facilitating the technical 

aspects of this hearing in D.C. and in Havana and for providing 

interpretation services as well. 

Let me begin by providing some context for today’s hearing. I am 

at once both encouraged and discouraged by conditions inside of 

Cuba. I am encouraged by the tremendous growth of civil society 

and the thousands of brave Cubans who every day stand their 

ground despite harassment, the loss of jobs, rations, and in many 

cases, their ultimate freedom as retribution for their actions and by 

those who speak their minds despite recurrent physical abuse, arbitrary arrests and detentions. 

At the same time, the arrests and detentions this year alone are 

now more than 2,400, and that includes 1,158 documented arrests 

just in the month of March, a level not seen in Cuba since the 

1960s. The tremendous increase in repressive actions against the 

Cuban people, recognized this week by the U.N. Committee Against 

Torture, reveals the growing level of discontent in Cuba and the 

inability of the regime to control this growing movement. 

The growth of civil society in Cuba is, in fact, extraordinary, particularly if you consider the constraints faced by activists living on 

an island in which they are subject to constant observation, continuous harassment, and frequent detentions by Cuban security 

forces, while having limited means of communicating amongst 

themselves because the island has virtually no free Internet capacity, and the internal Intranet is obviously heavily monitored and 

completely controlled by the regime. 

It is even more impressive if you consider that the roots of 

today’s movement began to form inside Cuban prisons only in the 

late 1980s and early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed and the 

regime was weakened by the lack of Soviet subsidization. The 

Cuban Committee for Human Rights fomented the first seeds of 

civil discontent, basing its platform on the Universal Declaration of 

Human Rights. 

From there, the movement grew into 135 groups that made up 

the umbrella group, the Concilio Cubano, which declared its ‘‘determination to struggle for an absolutely peaceful and nonviolent 

transition to a democratic state of law, rejecting all hatred, violence, or revenge, and equally embracing all Cubans everywhere.’’ 

The Concilio’s plans to hold a meeting on 24 February 1996 were 

blocked by the regime, which arrested many of the leading activists, but it was in this moment that the regime won the battle, but 

lost the war. The Concilio’s brave actions became legendary on and 

off the island, and their actions inspired others to stand up and 

face the regime. 

3 

Across the island, a diverse collection of liberation groups and 

freedom fighters sprang to life. They included women’s groups, 

human rights groups, associations of independent lawyers and journalists, artists, and librarians. 

Again and again, this pattern was repeated when the regime 

sought to crush the supporters of the Varela Project, a petition calling for a vote in favor of freedom of association and expression, 

freedom of the press, free elections, the right to operate private 

business, and an amnesty for political prisoners and other activists 

on March 18, 2003, an event known as the ‘‘Black Spring.’’ 

Cuba arrested and imprisoned 75 activists at that time, including 

Normando Hernandez, who is with us today, and Jose Daniel 

Ferrer Garcia, who will be calling on the phone in a short while. 

Normando was exiled to Spain after serving 7 harsh years as a 

political prisoner in Cuba. Jose Daniel served 8 years before being 

provided conditional release in March 2011. 

Those 75 arrests again emboldened the opposition movement, 

leading to the creation of the Damas de Blanco, which has become 

a national symbol for a unified demand for freedom from repression 

and tyranny. If the past is truly prologue, this current wave of 

repression will only serve to further embolden the movement, bring 

others into the cause, and eventually lead to the freedom of the 

Cuban people. 

The purpose of today’s hearing is to call attention to the wave 

of repression taking place inside of Cuba, and at the same time, 

celebrate the courage of thousands of activists living on the island, 

the thousands of Cubans who every day stand against the regime, 

who every day put their personal freedom at risk for the freedom 

of their countrymen and their nation. 

Let me close with a few facts that we have distributed to the 

audience. According to the 2011 State Department human rights 

report, ‘‘The principal human rights abuses in Cuba were abridgement of the right of citizens to change their government; government threats, intimidation, mobs, harassment, and detentions to 

prevent citizens from assembling peacefully; a significant increase 

in the number of short-term detentions, which in December rose to 

the highest monthly number in 30 years. Most human rights 

abuses were official acts committed at the direction of the government, and consequently, the perpetrators enjoyed impunity for 

their actions.’’ 

According to Freedom House, Cuba is ranked 190 out of 197 

countries in terms of press freedom, right between Syria and Iran. 

During just the month of March 2012, there were 1,158 documented political arrests by the Castro regime in Cuba. According 

to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights, this represents ‘‘the 

highest monthly number of documented arrests in five decades.’’ 

Cuba has also seen its share of martyrs on this journey in the 

deaths of Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Wilman Villar after lengthy 

prison hunger strikes and that of Juan Wilfredo Soto after a beating by security officials. 

Amongst the most recent detainees are Rogelio Tavio Lopez, who 

was arrested March 2 on charges of public disorder and actions 

against the norm in the development of a minor. 

4 

Niurka Luque Alvarez and Sonia Garro Alfonso of Damas de 

Blanco, who were arrested in mid-March during a wave of arrests 

leading up to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba. 

Jorge Vazquez Chaviano, who was arrested on March 27 as he 

stepped out of his home in Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara, in hopes 

of traveling to Havana to attend Pope Benedict’s mass. 

Bismarck Mustelier Galan, an activist with the Patriotic Union 

of Cuba, who was arrested April 1. Prosecutors are seeking a 2- 

year prison sentence against him. 

Danny Lopez de Moya, who was sentenced in April to 18 months 

in prison after he was arrested in February for wearing a shirt 

denouncing the Castro regime for the deaths of political prisoners 

Pedro Luis Boitel, Orlando Zapata, and Wilman Villar Mendoza. 

And 10 political prisoners are currently on hunger strike in the 

Guantanamo prison, demanding Cuba follow international standards for prisons. They are Leoncio Rodriguez Ponce, Andy Frometa 

Cuenca, Jesus Manuel Pena Ramirez, Alfredo Noa Estopinan, 

Miguel Matos Gainza, Leonardo Cantillo Galvan, Heriberto Tellez 

Reinosa, Juan Humberto Becerra Alfonso, Rolando Tudela Iribar, 

Yoandri Lafargue Rober. 

Their courage, their sacrifice, is what we can never forget in our 

dealings with a dictatorial, repressive regime that has ruled Cuba 

with an iron hand since the middle of the last century. Still today, 

23 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cubans remain trapped 

in a closed society, cut off from the advancements of the world, 

repressed, threatened, fearful of saying or doing something that 

will land them in prison, often for years. 

So we urge every American to remember all the victims of Fidel 

Castro and his brother Raul, just as we remember all those around 

the world who have suffered and died under the iron fist of other 

repressive dictatorships—in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge; in 

Iran under the Ayatollah; in Iraq under Saddam Hussein; in Bosnia under Milosevic; and in the brutal genocide in Darfur. 

As I have said many times before, the Cuban people are no less 

deserving of America’s support than the millions who were imprisoned and forgotten in Soviet gulags, lost to their families and left 

to die for nothing more than a single expression of dissent. 

I am compelled to ask again today, as I have before, why is there 

such an obvious double standard when it comes to Cuba? Why are 

the gulags of Cuba so different from the gulags of the old Soviet 

Union? Why are we willing to tighten sanctions against Iran, but 

loosen them when it comes to an equally repressive regime inside 

of Cuba? 

When it comes to Cuba, why are we so willing to throw up our 

hands and say it is time to forget? It is not time to forget. We can 

never forget those who have suffered and died at the hands of dictators. Not in Iran. Not in Cuba. Not anywhere. 

It is clear the repression in Cuba continues unabated, notwithstanding all of the calls to ease travel restrictions and sanctions; 

notwithstanding millions of visitors from across the globe; notwithstanding greater resources that the regime now has in terms of 

currency; notwithstanding calls to step back and, in effect, let bygones be bygones. That has not stopped the repression. 

5 

The repression, the imprisonment, the beatings, the torture still 

continues. In good conscience, I, for one, cannot and will not step 

back from that. As long as we have a voice in the United States 

Senate, that voice will be for the freedom of the Cuban people. 

With that, let me recognize the distinguished ranking member of 

the committee, Senator Rubio. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARCO RUBIO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA 

Senator RUBIO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And first of all, Secretary Jacobson, thanks for being here. 

Thanks for your service to our country. 

And thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding these hearings. I, in 

the interest of time, will limit my remarks. And second, I doubt I 

could do it more eloquently than you have already done, and I echo 

every word you said. I just wanted to add a few things. 

First, I think this hearing is also important because it allows us 

to illustrate what is happening just 90 miles from our shores. I 

think for many Americans and for many, as we look around the 

world, we somehow have come to think that totalitarianism, dictatorship, the abuses, human rights abuses are something that happen somewhere else. 

They happen in our very own hemisphere, literally within 90 

miles from the shores of this country. They happen in Cuba, and 

they have been happening now for a very long time. What exists 

in Cuba is not some cold war relic of interest. It is, in fact, three 

things. 

First of all, it is an extremely repressive regime, as repressive 

perhaps as any other regime in the entire world. A manipulative 

regime, one that deliberately divides families against each other, 

that deliberately manipulates people who travel to the island of 

Cuba, that deliberately manipulates United States policy toward 

Cuba to their advantage. 

It is a one-way street. Even our best intentions are manipulated. 

Families are deliberately divided by the Cuban Government, where 

they know that they can allow half the family to come here so they 

can send remittances back to the island to their relatives in a 

cynical effort to divide not just the Cuban people, but the Cuban 

families. 

And the one thing we can’t forget that despite their repressiveness and their manipulativeness and the evil that exists in that 

regime, it also happens to be an economically incompetent one. 

They are very good at repressing people. They are very good at 

keeping people jailed on the island. What they are not good at is 

running a country. 

They are literally incompetent leaders. They have no idea how to 

run an economy, how to create the conditions for job creation. And 

that, and that alone, is the reason why the Cuban people suffer 

economically, because their leaders literally do not know what they 

are doing. 

Now, the other thing I would say is that our goal here, as the 

United States and as people who care deeply about human rights 

all over the world, is that the people of Cuba have freedom, the 

freedom to choose any economic model they want, but the freedom 

6 

to choose their leader so they can have any economic model they 

want. 

What direction Cuba goes economically, that belongs to the 

Cuban people. That is not for us to say. What is for us to stand 

for is democracy and the right of the Cuban people to determine 

their own future. That is what we stand for. 

In the United States, with some very rare exception, there is no 

debate on that topic. What there is debate about is the tactics 

about which we accomplish this. 

Now I think I have been on record in the past as questioning the 

tactics of this administration, not because I question their motives 

or their intentions, because I, quite frankly, think the tactics that 

this administration has pursued are naive. The notion that somehow by flooding Cuba with tourists and people-to-people contacts 

we are going to somehow change the Cuban Government is naive. 

The Cuban Government manipulates our policy toward Cuba to 

their advantage. I repeat it is a one-way street. So I don’t think the 

United States or this administration is doing it out of bad intentions, but I don’t think they fully grasp what we are dealing with 

here. 

And what I have found is that even among some of my colleagues 

in the Senate who fly to Cuba or travel to Cuba with the notion 

that they are going to set things straight, they are going to be the 

ones that get things going. They are going to talk some sense into 

these folks. And many of them return scratching their heads and 

shaking their heads because they have come face-to-face with how 

truly manipulative and good at manipulating people and circumstances this repressive regime has become. 

I hope one of the things we will be able to talk about today and 

over the next few months are some new tactics. One of the things 

I would love to see, and I have talked to the chairman about it, is 

somehow figuring out a way to give the people of Cuba access to 

the Internet, free and clear of interference from the government. 

Because I believe with all my heart that if the people of Cuba 

had access to the Internet and could communicate with one 

another—literally, they could follow each other on Twitter and 

Facebook and get news from the outside world, free to choose any 

news they want to access—I do not believe the Castro regime could 

survive that for very long. And so, I hope we will explore options 

to doing that. 

I close my statement with a message to the people who work for 

the government in Cuba, and particularly those involved in the 

repression because I know they like to watch these hearings. They 

may even have some people here in the audience today. So let me 

give you a message to take back. 

If you are involved in beating people, if you are involved in 

jailing people in Cuba, if the government is using you, whether it 

is here in the United States as part of the Interests Section or in 

Cuba, in abusing human rights, your name is being recorded, and 

you are part of a government that is not sustainable. The government you work for cannot survive. 

Fidel Castro is halfway gone, and his brother will be gone, too. 

And when they are gone, the system of government in place in 

7 

Cuba cannot survive. But your name is going to be recorded, and 

you will be brought before justice. 

If you are a police officer, if you are a military official in Cuba 

involved in human rights abuses, your name is being written down, 

and you will have to answer for those crimes before a Cuban court 

or an international one. You need to think about that before you 

cooperate with some of the things that are happening to some of 

the folks that we are hearing about today. 

Because you are part of a system that cannot survive and that 

long after those leaders are gone, you are going to be left behind 

picking up the pieces of what you are doing right now. And so, I 

hope that message gets there. I will be more than happy to deliver 

it in Spanish as well after the hearing. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you, Senator Rubio, very much. 

Let me recognize Assistant Secretary Roberta Jacobson, who 

served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western 

Hemisphere Affairs before this present assignment, Senior Coordinator for Citizen Security Initiative of the Western Hemisphere. 

She has also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Canada, 

Mexico on NAFTA Issues in the Bureau, and was Deputy Chief of 

Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, from 2000 to 2002. 

She has a long and distinguished record in the Western Hemisphere, and we are pleased to have her here with us today. 

So I would ask you to summarize your testimony in about 5 minutes. Your full statement will be entered into the record, and we 

are pleased to have you and acknowledge you now. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERTA JACOBSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. JACOBSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Rubio, I am delighted for 

the opportunity to be here today, and I appreciate this subcommittee’s engagement in the Western Hemisphere and your commitment to shared democratic values, human rights, and expanding 

economic and social opportunity in the Americas. 

In most countries in the Western Hemisphere, we see governments working to provide greater political and economic opportunity for citizens, but there remain exceptions. That is why 

supporting human rights, democratic governance, and greater prosperity remains a fundamental U.S. objective throughout the hemisphere, but especially in Cuba. 

In Cuba, the Obama administration’s priority is to empower 

Cubans to freely determine their own future. The most effective 

tool we have for doing that is building connections between the 

Cuban and American people in order to give Cubans the support 

and tools they need to move forward independent of their government. 

U.S. citizens engaging in well-defined, purposeful travel are the 

best ambassadors for our democratic ideals. The hundreds of thousands of Cuban Americans who have sent remittances and traveled 

to the island since we eased the way for them early in the adminisVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:22 Nov 20, 2012 Jkt 072394 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\HEARING FILES\112TH CONGRESS, 2ND\2012 ISSUE TEXT HEARINGS\060712-P.TXT
8 

tration are a central part of a strategy to ensure that Cubans have 

these opportunities. 

Our policy also recognizes the importance of engaging with prodemocracy and human rights activists, some of whom you will 

speak to today, who have been working for years to expand the 

political and civil rights of all Cubans. Our programs provide 

humanitarian assistance to political prisoners and their families, 

support the documentation of human rights abuses, and promote 

the free flow of information to, from, and within the island. 

Last year, Secretary Clinton recognized Cuban blogger, Yoani 

Sanchez, with the 2011 International Women of Courage Award, 

and the Damas de Blanco won the State Department’s 2011 

Human Rights Defenders Award. 

In 2010 and 2011, the Cuban Government, with support from the 

Spanish Government and Catholic Church, released dozens of political prisoners, most on condition of exile in Spain. We welcomed 

the release of these political prisoners, including the last of the 75 

peaceful activists who were unjustly arrested during the Black 

Spring of 2003. 

Unfortunately, the release did not effect a fundamental change 

in the Cuban Government’s poor record on human rights. The government has continued to punish political dissent, increasingly 

using repeated short-term arbitrary detentions to prevent citizens 

from assembling peacefully and freely expressing their opinions 

and it continues to limit fundamental freedoms. 

It has continued to threaten and harass peaceful human rights 

defenders, including the Damas de Blanco, and that is why we will 

continue to support an independent civil society and the right of 

the Cuban people to freely determine their own future through 

both governmental policy and the facilitation of nongovernmental 

engagement. 

Despite the Cuban Government’s intolerance of political dissent, 

faith-based organizations have gained more latitude to conduct religious outreach and provide vital social services to marginalized 

Cubans. And, the administration has taken steps to support religious groups in Cuba by authorizing U.S. religious organizations to 

sponsor religious travel and allowing unlimited remittances to support religious activities in Cuba. 

Against this backdrop, we also highlight the case of Alan Gross, 

who has been unjustly imprisoned in Cuba since December 2009, 

and I, too, would like to greet Judy Gross at this hearing. We will 

continue to seek the immediate release of this dedicated development worker and loving father, husband, and son. 

Enhancing access to communication technology will facilitate 

Cuba’s process of political change. Our Interests Section in Havana 

provides free Internet access to human rights activists and other 

Cubans, teaches basic information technology skills, and provides 

training to independent journalists. 

To Cuba and other governments across the hemisphere, our message must be clear. Nonviolent dissent is not criminal behavior. 

Opposition to the government is not criminal behavior. Exercise of 

free speech is not criminal behavior. To the contrary, free speech 

is a right that must be defended. 

9 

I know that this subcommittee is committed to ensuring full respect for freedom of expression in the Americas, and in some countries in the region, we have seen new tactics used by governments 

and other actors determined to silence those who challenge them, 

including threats and violence against journalists and government 

regulations aimed at silencing critics. Wherever it occurs in our 

hemisphere, we need to confront these new measures to limit freedom of expression. 

In closing, let me emphasize that we will be the first to cheer 

when a democratically chosen government in Cuba resumes its full 

participation in the inter-American system. This hemisphere has 

been a trailblazer in enshrining democratic principles in its 

national and regional institutions to the shared benefit of the peoples of the Americas. These principles remain critically relevant in 

the hemisphere, to its challenges and its future, as we underscored 

most recently in the OAS General Assembly in Bolivia. 

I look forward to continuing to work with you to promote greater 

freedom and prosperity in Cuba and throughout the hemisphere. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Jacobson follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY ROBERTA S. JACOBSON

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Rubio, members of the committee, thank 

you for the opportunity to be here today. I appreciate this subcommittee’s engagement in the Western Hemisphere and applaud its commitment to shared democratic 

values, human rights, and expanding social and economic opportunity in the Americas. 

In most countries in the Western Hemisphere, we see governments working to 

provide greater political and economic opportunities for citizens but there remain 

exceptions. That is why supporting human rights, democratic governance, and 

greater prosperity remains a fundamental U.S. objective throughout the hemisphere, especially in Cuba. 

In Cuba, the Obama administration’s priority is to empower Cubans to freely determine their own future. The most effective tool we have for doing that is building 

connections between the Cuban and American people, in order to give Cubans the 

support and tools they need to move forward independent of their government. U.S. 

citizens, engaging in well-defined, purposeful travel, are the best ambassadors for 

our democratic ideals. The hundreds of thousands of Cuban Americans who have 

sent remittances and traveled to the island since we eased the way for them early 

in this administration are a central part of a strategy to ensure that Cubans have 

the opportunities which they deserve. The administration’s travel, remittance, and 

people-to-people policies are helping Cubans by providing alternative sources of information, taking advantage of emerging opportunities for self-employment and private property, and strengthening independent civil society. 

Our policy also recognizes the importance of engaging with the pro-democracy and 

human rights activists who have been working for years to expand the political and 

civil rights of all Cubans. As Secretary Clinton has stated, societies move forward 

when groups of citizens work together peacefully to transform common interests into 

common actions that serve the common good. Our programs in Cuba provide humanitarian assistance to political prisoners and their families, support the documentation of human rights abuses, and promote the free flow of information to, 

from, and within the island. We consistently support and highlight the work of people promoting positive change in Cuba. Last year, Secretary Clinton recognized 

Cuban blogger, Yoani Sanchez, with the 2011 International Woman of Courage, and 

the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) won the State Department’s 2011 Human 

Rights Defenders Award. 

In 2010 and 2011, the Cuban Government, with support from the Spanish Government and Catholic Church, released dozens of political prisoners, most on the 

condition of exile in Spain. We welcomed the release of these political prisoners— 

including the last of the 75 peaceful activists who were unjustly arrested during the 

‘‘Black Spring’’ of 2003 for exercising their universal rights and fundamental freedoms. We were especially pleased that twelve of these brave individuals, including 

10 

Jose Daniel Ferrer and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Oscar Biscet, successfully campaigned to remain in Cuba. Unfortunately, their release did not effect a 

fundamental change in the Cuban Government’s poor record on human rights. The 

Cuban Government has continued to punish political dissent, increasingly using repeated, short-term, arbitrary detentions to prevent citizens from assembling peacefully and freely expressing their opinions. It continues to limit fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of speech, freedom of the press, access to information, and 

peaceful assembly and association—issues on which this subcommittee has strongly 

spoken out, on, and for, which it has long advocated for in the region. And it has 

continued to threaten and harass peaceful human rights defenders, including the 

courageous ‘‘Ladies in White’’ (‘‘Damas de Blanco’’). That is why we will continue 

to support an independent Cuban civil society and the right of the Cuban people 

to freely determine their own future, through both governmental policy and the 

facilitation of nongovernmental engagement. 

Despite the Cuban Government’s intolerance of political dissent, faith-based organizations have gained more latitude to conduct religious outreach and provide vital 

social services to marginalized Cubans. We respect the efforts of various denominations to win greater space within Cuba and value their charitable work. The administration has taken steps to support religious groups in Cuba by authorizing U.S. 

religious organizations to sponsor religious travel, and allowing unlimited remittances to support religious activities in Cuba. 

Against this backdrop, we also highlight the case of Alan Gross, who has been 

unjustly imprisoned in Cuba since December 2009. We will continue to seek the immediate release of this dedicated development worker and loving husband, father, 

and son. 

Enhancing access to communication technology will facilitate Cuba’s process of political change. Our U.S. Interests Section in Havana provides free Internet access 

to human rights activists and other Cubans, teaches basic information technology 

skills, and provides training to independent journalists. Although the Cuban Government severely restricts the ability of Cubans to access the Internet, cell phones 

were legalized in Cuba in 2008, and since then cell phone usage has more than doubled, enhancing the connectivity of Cuban civil society. Activists can now report 

human rights abuses by SMS and on Twitter. 

To Cuba and other governments across the hemisphere, our message must be 

clear: nonviolent dissent is not criminal behavior. Opposition to the government is 

not criminal behavior. Exercise of free speech is not criminal behavior. To the contrary, free speech is a right that must be defended. 

Let me expand on this last point briefly. Mr. Chairman, I know that you are committed to ensuring full respect for freedom of expression in the Americas. I would 

like to applaud the subcommittee’s efforts to underline the importance of freedom 

of expression in our hemisphere. In some countries in the region, we have seen new 

tactics used by governments and other actors determined to silence those who challenge them. These include threats and violence against journalists, government regulations aimed at silencing critics, abusive requirements to carry obligatory government broadcasts, and disproportionate and unprecedented lawsuits against media 

owners. Wherever it occurs in our hemisphere, we need to confront these new measures to limit freedom of expression. 

In closing, let me emphasize that our policy toward Cuba is focused on supporting 

Cubans’ desire to freely and peacefully determine their future. We will be the first 

to cheer when a democratically chosen government in Cuba resumes its full participation in the Inter-American system. This hemisphere has been a trailblazer in 

enshrining democratic principles in its national and regional institutions, to the 

enormous shared benefit of the peoples of the Americas. Those principles remain 

critically relevant to the hemisphere, its challenges, and its future as we underscored most recently at the OAS General Assembly in Bolivia. 

Again, I appreciate your commitment to human rights, democracy, economic 

growth, and security in the Western Hemisphere. I look forward to continuing to 

work with you to promote greater freedom and prosperity in Cuba. 

Thank you and I look forward to answering any questions the committee may 

have. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you, Madam Secretary. 

Let me start off by saying that I find it very difficult to understand some of the administration’s views as it relates to strengthening civil society inside of Cuba, strengthening the information 

flow that Senator Rubio talked about, and the policies that we 

adopt. I am outraged with the Department’s decision to authorize 

11 

visas for a stream of Cuban regime officials to visit the United 

States, starting with Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s Director for North 

American Affairs, in April, whose husband was ultimately kicked 

out of the U.N. mission in New York. 

Most recently, I am outraged by the approval of visas for the 

daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro, Mariela Castro Espin, and 

her friends to attend the Latin American Studies Association conference. I do not understand how, as the Castro regime holds an 

American hostage for over 21⁄2 years and when we have, as 

described, the highest monthly number of documented arrests in 

five decades, we permit Mariela Castro to be parading around the 

United States on a publicity tour, largely declaring herself a 

disidente. I don’t know what she is a disidente of. 

I want to know under what authority were Ms. Castro and other 

Communist Party officials issued visas to enter the United States? 

Did the Department exercise its waiver authority under Executive 

Order 5377 to issue these visas? And how do you justify giving 

those visas when you have this incredible repression inside of Cuba 

and an American citizen languishing for 21⁄2 years in Castro’s jails 

for nothing more than helping the Jewish community in Havana to 

try to communicate with each other? 

Ms. JACOBSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to start off by saying that certainly no one has been more 

outraged at Alan Gross’ detention and continued detention, and we 

will continue to do everything that we can to see that he is home 

with his family, as he should be now with his mother and his 

family. 

Senator MENENDEZ. But everything that we can do would include 

sending the regime a message that you can’t keep an American in 

prison and then have all your people parade over here. To me, that 

is an oxymoron. 

Ms. JACOBSON. Senator, under the regulations for visas, and 

which we look at every time that we have visa applications from 

any citizen, but certainly Cuban citizens, we look at the full range 

of national security, foreign policy, immigration laws and regulations, including reviewing, obviously, Proclamation 5377. In the 

cases of Mariela Castro and Eusebio Leal, those two cases did not 

fall under the exception requirement of Proclamation 5377, as that 

was effectively implemented since 1999 under Secretary Albright. 

And so, those Cubans were allowed to come to the United States 

to speak openly because in our country, they are able to do so, despite my not agreeing at all with the statements of Mariela Castro, 

obviously. And to speak at the Latin American Studies Association 

and at other events. 

In the case of Josefina Vidal, she had originally applied for that 

visa to do work with the Interests Section here in Washington. We 

obviously apply for visas to go to Havana to work with our own 

Interests Section. And we felt that it was appropriate to allow her 

to come into this country and work with the Interests Section here 

under that principle of reciprocity, recognizing that we want to be 

able to meet with and talk to the widest range of people in Cuba 

that we possibly can and recognizing that the Cuban Government 

does not always allow us that. 

12 

Senator MENENDEZ. Are you suggesting that Mariela Castro is 

not a Communist Party official? 

Ms. JACOBSON. I am not suggesting that she may not be a member of the Communist Party. But as the proclamation was interpreted and effectively narrowed in 1999, she was not a senior party 

official. 

Senator MENENDEZ. The United States denies visas to all types 

of people all across the world. It has broad jurisdiction in doing so. 

You exercised your discretion in giving a visa to these individuals 

who are part of a repressive system inside of Cuba, which has an 

American languishing in jail. You had the authority to say no. 

You talk about reciprocity. Every time I have talked to the head 

of our Interests Section, both those now and in the past, that 

reciprocity is not ultimately observed inside of Cuba. They are 

restricted in their travel inside of Cuba. They are restricted in 

their actions inside of Cuba. 

So what we are doing is giving a one-way street here and sending a totally wrong message. Those who fight for freedom inside of 

Cuba each and every day, they languish there. And yet those who 

oppress them, they get to come to the United States and carry out 

their propaganda. 

I understand the beauty of our freedom, but there is also a public 

policy decision to say we do not condone this type of behavior. I 

guess we would allow Syria’s dictatorship to come here and express 

their views. Last I saw, we expelled their diplomats from the 

United States. 

The bottom line is we make choices all the time in terms of promoting the national interests and security of the United States, 

and certainly, the national interests of the United States have to 

be to see democracy fostered inside of Cuba and not to allow those 

who repress democracy to come to the United States to promote 

their propaganda. 

Let me turn to another set of circumstances that I don’t understand policywise, which is the whole ‘‘people to people’’ travel to 

Cuba. Since the administration eased restrictions on travels and 

remittances in April 2009, the Castro regime has doubled its hard 

currency reserves in foreign banks. The Bank for International Settlements reported banks in 43 countries held $5.76 billion in Cuban 

deposits as of March 2011, which is the date that we have figures 

for, compared with $4.2 billion at the close of 2009 and $2.8 billion 

at the close of 2008. 

So it is very clear, because nothing else has changed inside of the 

island in terms of revenue source, that we are essentially bankrolling the regime and stashing its hard currency abroad. I look at 

that, and I say to myself, look at the travel. 

In the time that we have permitted this travel we have seen 

salsa tours, visits to Hemingway’s marina, cigar factory tours, performances of the Cuban National Ballet at the Gran Teatro, and 

my all-time favorite, part of Inside Cuba’s ‘‘Undiscovered Cuba’’ 

trip, the opportunity in Santa Clara to visit the Che Memorial, 

where the Cuban revolutionary was laid to rest, where you meet 

with an historian to ultimately understand Che’s legacy. 

This is a tremendous way to help civil society inside Cuba promote democracy and human rights by dramatically increasing the 

13 

Castro regime’s ability to have resources to oppress its people while 

we see the highest amount of repression, as has been said by those 

within Cuba, in five decades. 

Tell me how that policy is working. 

Ms. JACOBSON. Senator, there are other reasons—as difficult as 

it is to ascertain actual statistics on Cuban revenues, there are 

other things we believe have—— 

Senator MENENDEZ. You don’t dispute those reserves, right? 

They are internationally reported. 

Ms. JACOBSON. We have certainly seen those reports, obviously, 

of the increase in reserves. But there have also been increases until 

fairly recently in prices for nickel and recovery from the 2008 hurricanes in Cuba. Because of their policy of import substitution 

industrialization, an increasing number of countries and firms have 

required increased cash and reserves because of Cuba’s bad credit 

risk, quite frankly. 

So we believe there are many different reasons that their reserves may have increased. Certainly, we do not believe there is a 

sole reason for the increase. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Do you dispute that the largest increase in 

reserves to the Castro regime is a combination of remittances and 

travel money that is going into Cuba? 

Ms. JACOBSON. I simply don’t know that that is the reason directly one to one for the increase in reserves. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So nickel has increased so much that it has 

now created an increase of $2 billion in reserves? 

Ms. JACOBSON. Well, I know that there are multiple reasons that 

they may have increased their reserves, and I do know that there 

are obviously increased funds from remittances and travel. But we 

don’t know that that is the whole reason. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Talk to me about how the Che Memorial 

really helps create civil society inside of Cuba. 

Ms. JACOBSON. Senator, there are abuses that are committed in 

the regulations that we promulgated for purpose of travel. 

Senator MENENDEZ. But you have created regulations that permit abuses to take place rather widely. 

Ms. JACOBSON. There are also some very positive things happening in the interactions between Americans, religious organizations, humanitarian groups, human rights outreach that are occurring under this program. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And those successes ultimately can be justified in the context of record numbers of imprisonments? 

Ms. JACOBSON. We think that the benefits over time of the increased contact to the Cuban people and their ability to change the 

situation in Cuba will outweigh the negatives. But certainly, as I 

have stated in my opening statement, we do not in any way condone or tolerate the increased detentions and harassment of 

Cubans inside the island. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, it is hard to understand how you have 

this dramatic increase. The one fundamental thing that has 

changed is that there is an unlimited flow of remittances and, visits like these ‘‘tours’’ to the Che Memorial—all of these things 

where you don’t interact with average Cubans, you don’t engage 

average Cubans. You are self-reporting. So that is why the abuses 

14 

largely are allowed because you create a general license in which 

anyone can go, and therefore, you have no real reporting of travel 

itineraries and engagements. 

So smoking a Cuban cigar made by those who are not free, having a Cuba libre on the beaches of Varadero, which is an oxymoron, 

is not the way in which we liberate the Cuban people. Giving the 

regime more money for its repressive apparatus, which obviously in 

the face of all of these benefits have only dramatically increased 

the number of arrests, not decreased it, has not created a more 

open opportunity for civil peaceful society to promote themselves 

and is not my idea of success. 

And I don’t know how many people have to be arrested, how 

many Americans have to languish in jail before we send a totally 

different message to the regime. 

Senator Rubio. 

Senator RUBIO. Yes, before we leave the visa topic, because you 

touched upon a point about how we deny visas all the time, I want 

to use an example, just to see why this doesn’t make any sense to 

me. 

Maybe a decade and a half ago, the United States, in cooperation 

with the Government of Honduras, conducted an operation to capture a gentleman responsible for the murder of an American agent. 

One of the people in that was a Honduran who now lives in the 

United States. And a decade and a half later, under a new government, new court system, he has been indicted for that operation 

that the United States—in Honduras, he was indicted in an operation conducted by the United States in conjunction with the Honduran Government. 

Sadly, his grandchildren—his daughter and her husband were 

murdered in Honduras about 4 months ago, and he has three 

grandchildren who have applied for a tourist visa to enter the 

United States and visit their grandfather and were, quite frankly, 

treated very rudely yesterday at the consulate, and their three 

visas denied. But Raul Castro’s daughter is parading through the 

streets of the United States of America. 

And obviously, I hope that that denial will be reconsidered. It is 

not the topic of this hearing, and I know you didn’t make that decision. But my point is that I don’t get it. 

I don’t understand how three little children, three orphaned children who want to visit their grandfather in the United States are 

somehow deemed—or denied a tourist visa. But the same government that denied them the tourist visa gave one to Mariela Castro 

so she could come to the United States and justify the fact that 

they are holding an American hostage. To come to the United 

States and call dissidents ‘‘despicable parasites,’’ people who all 

they want basically is for their country to have freedom and selfdetermination. So I hope we can have a further conversation about 

that process. 

I do want to touch on two other things quickly. Talked about the 

Internet, and I saw in your statement you talked about free Internet access at the Interests Section. That is a good thing. And I 

have talked to Senator Menendez about this a little bit. I am very 

interested in the possibility, and I would like to work with you and 

15 

the State Department in the possibility of providing Internet access 

through satellite into Cuba. 

There are existing commercial satellites now that beam signals 

throughout the world. If you have a receiver, right now in Cuba, 

you could receive satellite signals from any number of satellites 

that are up there now. Obviously, you have to be able to pay for 

the subscription service. 

If somehow we could figure out a way for the Government to do 

that, whether it is through our broadcasting efforts or otherwise, 

we could potentially provide a vehicle. But obviously, the people of 

Cuba would have to have access to the computer equipment that 

would allow them to access the Internet through the satellite. 

But it is technologically feasible for the United States to be 

involved in sponsoring Internet access for 13 million people on the 

island of Cuba, which I think if the people on Cuba had an opportunity to have access—for example, if they could read Yoani 

Sanchez’s Tweets, which is very difficult. We can see it in the outside world, but sometimes she can’t even see her own Tweets. 

Facebook. If somehow the dissidents in Cuba were able to 

quickly post on YouTube videos about the abuses that are happening there. And more importantly, if they were able to talk to 

one another and have access to the outside world in terms of information, I think that is one of the single greatest contributions that 

this country could make to the advancement of freedom and democracy on the island. 

And I hope we can work with your office to put something like 

this together, which I really think would be a very cost-effective 

way to further the cause of freedom and liberty. 

And the last thing I hope that State will consider is a mechanism 

by which we can begin to create, if it doesn’t exist already—and 

maybe it does—a registry where dissidents and resistance and 

others on the island could register the names of human rights 

abusers so that the world can know their names, so that they can 

be held to justice if and when the day comes. 

These are people that are part of the flash mobs on the street. 

These are people that wear uniforms but, in fact, are thugs. And 

they beat people and they torture people and they jail people, and 

they are fully cooperating with this government and its endeavors. 

I think their names need to be recorded. I think we need to know 

who they are. 

Some of these folks, by the way, wind up here in the United 

States. A few years later, they change their minds. They decide, oh, 

we don’t like what is going on in Cuba, and then they are walking 

in Miami around the street. So I would like to know their names 

as well. 

But I know that dissidents keep track of who these individuals 

are, and there is going to be a free Cuba soon. There is going to 

be. And these folks need to be held accountable. And I hope we will 

consider sponsoring some sort of registry where we can publicize 

the names of these folks, of who they are and what they are conducting so that it is clear there for the record in the future when 

the time comes for them to be held up to justice. 

Ms. JACOBSON. Thank you, Senator. 

16 

And I look forward to working with you on these issues, and in 

particular, as you know, we think it is absolutely critical that 

greater information, greater access to information be given to the 

Cuban people. That is why so much of our efforts are focused on 

that, whether in the Interests Section or in our assistance 

programs. 

There are some reports that say there are well over double the 

number of cell phones in Cuba now than there were just a short 

number of years ago when they were first permitted. And I think 

this is a trend that we certainly want to engage with you on 

encouraging. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Two last sets of questions. One is on that 

note. One of the reasons that the Castro regime arrested Alan 

Gross was to try to chill the very essence of what our democracy 

programs are inside of Cuba. And after Mr. Gross’ arrest, a series 

of actions were taken, and grantees were basically told to refrain 

from activities that ultimately are just about creating an ability for 

Cubans to communicate with each other about what is happening 

inside of their country. 

I hear you say that we support that, and I certainly am very 

interested in Senator Rubio’s idea here. I would love to see us possibly fund such an initiative. Have you not chilled all of those 

grantees in terms of their engagement inside of Cuba, which is 

exactly what the regime wants? 

Ms. JACOBSON. Senator, I don’t think that we have. Clearly, the 

regime is trying to send us a message about the ability to get information around Cuba and connect Cubans to each other, and I think 

we have to continue to try and ensure that in the environment that 

our democracy programs operate in Cuba, we do them as safely for 

the participants and as effectively as we possibly can. That is the 

intention of our conversations and our review of all of our grant 

programs. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, having spoken to many of the grantees, both past and present, it seems to me that we are sending a 

far different message, and, in essence, we have never permitted our 

worldwide democracy or surrogate broadcasting programs to be 

impinged upon by either jamming or policies of a regime to stop, 

in essence, the very essence of what we are trying to accomplish 

in our democracy programs. 

And so, I would really look forward to having a sit-down about 

all of the programs and how they are not necessarily accomplishing 

what we want. 

Finally, I heard you refered to Mr. Gross before, and I want to 

know what is the present status? I mean, obviously, he is in jail. 

The question is, Has the regime made any offers, any suggestions 

about his freedom to the State Department? 

Ms. JACOBSON. Certainly they have not responded to any of our 

entreaties, demands, or requests that he be allowed to come home 

with his family with any acceptable response, which would be, yes, 

now. There has been no response from the Cuban Government in 

our conversations either with them or their public statements that 

they are willing to do that. 

Certainly, most recently, we have focused on Mr. Gross’ mother 

who is gravely ill and is 90 years old, Evelyn Gross, and the fact 

17 

that he should be released on humanitarian grounds to be able to 

see her. And we have pressed that very hard, and we have not gotten a satisfactory answer at all on that. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Did you not permit one of the individuals 

who had been released after his custody to go back to Cuba and 

promote a humanitarian ability in that respect? 

Ms. JACOBSON. Senator, in that particular case, the Justice 

Department objected to his return to Cuba on that visit. But the 

court allowed him to go back to Cuba. Frankly, the court having 

done so, we thought that was a perfect opportunity for the Cuban 

Government to take a humanitarian gesture and let Mr. Gross see 

his mother, and they did not. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And they did not, which is par for the 

course. It is a one-way street. 

Thank you very much for your testimony. There may be questions that come to you through the committee. We look forward to 

your answering them. 

Let me call up, both here and in Cuba, our next set of witnesses. 

First, Mr. Normando Hernandez, who is here physically with us. 

He is an independent journalist who has dedicated his career to 

providing alternative sources of news and information in Cuba. He 

cofounded the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights, and established the Camaguey Association of Journalists, the first independent organization in the Camaguey province since 1959. 

He was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International following Cuba’s Black Spring. He was exiled to Spain in 

2010 and has since resettled in the United States. Mr. Hernandez 

is currently a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, 

where he is examining the Cuban communications monopoly and 

considering strategies by which independent journalists may combat totalitarianism, and we welcome him to our committee. 

Inside of Cuba, by telephone through the U.S. Interests Section, 

we welcome Mr. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia. He is a leader of the 

Patriotic Union of Cuba and organizer of the Varela Project, a campaign to put political and economic constitutional reforms to a vote 

through an initiative process. 

During the Black Spring, he was arrested, tried, convicted, and 

sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the campaign. While 

in prison, Mr. Ferrer worked as an independent journalist to report 

the abuses he witnessed behind prison bars and the courage of 

other prisoners of conscience. In March 2011, after serving 8 years 

in prison, he was granted a conditional release, and we welcome 

him. 

By video conference, we welcome Ms. Sara Marta Fonseca, a distinguished leader of the Partido Pro Derechos Humanos de Cuba. 

As captured in the now-famous photographs, Ms. Fonseca was publicly roughed up by government authorities during the Black 

Spring crackdown. Years later, after putting signs outside her 

house that read ‘‘long live human rights’’ and ‘‘we demand rights 

for all Cubans,’’ Ms. Fonseca; her husband, Julio Ignacio Leon 

Perez; and her oldest son were violently beaten by a large mob that 

was acting under the direction of state security organs. 

As a freedom fighter, Ms. Fonseca has been harassed, arrested, 

detained, and beaten by the Castro regime and its supporters, and 

18 

she is a hero for all who support human rights, and we welcome 

her. 

And Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ‘‘Antunez’’ is a political activist who 

has fought over 20 years for human rights and democracy in Cuba. 

In 1990, ‘‘Antunez’’ was beaten and arrested by agents of state 

security police for shouting in public that Communism was ‘‘an 

error’’ and ‘‘utopia’’ and demanding that Cuba adopt reforms like 

those taking place in Eastern Europe. 

After being charged for ‘‘oral enemy propaganda’’ and sentenced 

to 6 years in prison, ‘‘Antunez’’ started a hunger strike that lasted 

21 days. After serving 17 years in prison, he was finally released 

in April 2007, and we welcome him as well. 

So we are going to go, obviously, through a process under which 

our witnesses and our guests are going to be speaking in Spanish 

and we will have an interpreter translate into English. We are 

going to start off with Normando Hernandez. 

I am going to have to ask you, as you go through your presentation, to pause at times to give the interpreter an opportunity to 

interpret so that the rest of the committee and the transcript that 

is being developed will have its English version. And while Senator 

Rubio and I may fully understand what you are saying, we need 

for the rest of the committee, the audience, and the members who 

have staff here to understand what you are saying as well. 

So it will take a little bit of time, but we look forward to your 

testimony, and we thank you for your willingness to come forward. 

So, with that, Mr. Hernandez, we are going to start with you. 

If you can summarize your testimony in around 5 minutes or so, 

we will be a little flexible here. We don’t always get these opportunities. 

And then all of your testimony will be included in the record. 

With that, Bienvenido y puedes empezar. 

STATEMENT OF NORMANDO HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ, FELLOW, 

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY, FORMER CUBAN 

POLITICAL PRISONER, WASHINGTON, DC 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Honorable Chairman Robert Menendez, Honorable Ranking Member Marco Rubio, and members of the subcommittee, good morning. 

Thank you very much for inviting me to testify. My name is 

Normando Hernandez, and I am a journalist and an ex-political 

prisoner from Cuba, member of the group of 75. 

When I read the topic of this hearing, I did nothing but rejoice. 

Events like this show the world that Cubans are not alone on their 

long and difficult road to freedom. 

To be against the repression in Cuba is to be against the totalitarian regimes of the Castro brothers. It is to be in favor of the 

true emerging Cuba civil society. 

I am still learning English. So please allow me to continue in 

Spanish. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Les digo, la emergente y verdadera sociedad 

civil cubana, para distinguir de aquellas organizaciones del 

gobierno cubano que se dicen llamar sociedad civil, cuando en 

realidad son creadas y manipuladas por el gobierno. La sociedad 

civil independiente en Cuba. 

19 

INTERPRETER. I would like to highlight the emergent and growing 

civil society in Cuba as different from the so-called civil society of 

the past, which was created and manipulated by the government. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. La Sociedad Civil Independiente en Cuba, esta ́

pon . . . Compuesta por grupos autoconstituidos de ciudadanos, sin 

autorizacio ́n del estado, para defender sus intereses frente a este. 

INTERPRETER. Independent civil society in Cuba is composed of 

self-created citizen groups, established without authorization from 

the government to defend their interests before the state. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Esto incluye lo que se conoce hoy en dı ́a como 

disidencia, la oposicio ́n pacifica, el movimiento de Derechos 

Humanos, partidos polı ́ticos, blogueros y asociaciones de profesionales e intelectuales. 

INTERPRETER. This includes what is known today as the dissidents, peaceful opposition, the human rights movement, political 

parties, bloggers, and professional and intellectual associations. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. La semilla de esta sociedad, se sembro ́ el 28 de 

enero de 1976, con el nombre de Comite ́ Cubano Pro Derechos 

Humanos, bajo la direccio ́n del doctor Ricardo Bofill Pages y otros 

intelectuales. 

INTERPRETER. The seed of this civil society was planted on January 28, 1976, with the name of the Cuban Committee for Human 

Rights under the direction of Dr. Ricardo Bofill Pages and a small 

group of intellectuals. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Desde su fundacio ́n, el Comite ́ Cubano Pro 

Derechos Humanos, ha abogado por el respeto a los Derechos 

Humanos en Cuba, y denunciado las flagrantes violaciones que 

ocurren en la isla. 

INTERPRETER. Since its creation, the Cuban Committee for 

Human Rights has advocated for their respective human rights in 

Cuba and has denounced the flagrant violations that occur on the 

island. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. La profunda crisis polı ́tica, econo ́mica y social 

que provoco ́ la caı ́da del muro de Berlı ́n en Cuba, llevo ́ a muchos 

otros cubanos a crear espacios cı ́vicos independientes del estado, 

para expresar sus frustraciones y buscar soluciones alternativas a 

sus problemas. 

INTERPRETER. The profound political, economic, and social crisis 

that the fall of the Berlin Wall created in Cuba led many other 

Cubans to create independent civil spaces, independent from the 

government, that is, in order to express their frustrations and 

search for alternative solutions to their problems. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Ası ́ comenzaron a surgir cientos de grupos en 

toda la isla, de diferentes corrientes profesionales, polı ́ticas e 

ideolo ́gicas. 

INTERPRETER. And thus, hundreds of groups of different professional, political, and ideological streams began to emerge across the 

island. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Para ofrecerles una idea del crecimiento de la 

Sociedad Civil Cubana, en el 2003, el Instituto Cubano de 

Economistas Independientes, contabilizo ́ en un censo, a ma ́s de 

29,000 ciudadanos como miembros y simpatizantes de ma ́s de 450 

organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil Cubana. 

20 

INTERPRETER. To give you an idea of the growth of the Cuban 

civil society, in 2003, the Institute of Independent Economists of 

Cuba counted in a census more than 29,000 citizens as members 

and supporters of more than 450 civil society organizations. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Un an ̃ o antes, el Movimiento Cristiano 

Liberacio ́n, dio otra muestra de creciente pujanza de la Sociedad 

Civil Cubana, al entregar a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular, una peticio ́n ciudadana de refere ́ndum, sobre una serie de 

derechos polı ́ticos, econo ́micos, sociales amparados en la 

Constitucio ́n de la Repu ́ blica de Cuba, y firmada por 11,020 

ciudadanos. 

INTERPRETER. One year before, the Christian Liberation Movement gave another sign of the growing strength of the dissidence 

in Cuba by presenting before the National Cuban Assembly a petition signed by 11,020 citizens for a referendum on a series of political, economic, and social rights. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Este surge creciente de la sociedad civil, ha 

estado ocurriendo dentro de un marcado aumento de la represio ́n 

por parte de las autoridades gubernamentales. 

INTERPRETER. This growth of Cuban civil society has occurred 

under a significant increase of repression by government authorities. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Quiza ́s el caso emblema ́tico de esta represio ́n, 

fue la primavera negra del 2003, en que 75 activistas y lı ́deres de 

la sociedad civil—yo incluido—fuimos apresados y condenados en 

juicios sumarı ́simos, a altas penas de ca ́ rcel. 

INTERPRETER. Perhaps the one emblematic case of this repression 

was the Black Spring of 2003, where 75 activists and civil society 

leaders, myself included, were arrested and convicted in summary 

trials and sentenced to lengthy and unjust prison sentences. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Este obvio intento de eliminar de raı ́z el 

movimiento civilista cubano e inocular el temor en la poblacio ́n, 

solo sirvio ́ de abono, para que muchos otros ciudadanos se unieran 

a los reclamos de libertad, como las Damas de Blanco, y el 

Movimiento de Blogueros Independientes. 

INTERPRETER. This crackdown obviously was intended to eliminate the roots of the Cuban civilian movement and instill fear in 

the population. But it only served as a call for many other citizens 

to join in the search for freedom, such as just the Ladies in White 

and the independent bloggers movement. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Hoy en dı ́a, la Sociedad Civil Cubana, se 

encuentra en una fase creciente de dinamismo y pluralismo. Cada 

vez ma ́s consciente de que los ciudadanos tienen derechos 

inalienables, que el estado debe respetar. 

INTERPRETER. Today, Cuban civil society finds itself in the face 

of dynamic and pluralist growth, ever more conscious that citizens 

have inalienable rights that the state must respect. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. La represio ́n a los activistas de la sociedad civil, 

aumenta por dı ́a. 

INTERPRETER. Repression of civil society activists increases every 

day. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El gobierno cubano, utiliza ta ́ cticas que pueden 

ser calificadas como terrorismo de estado. 

21 

INTERPRETER. The Cuba Government uses tactics that can be 

considered state terrorism. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Una nueva modalidad de represio ́n, consiste en 

detenciones arbitrarias sin ninguna orden judicial, por breves 

perı ́odos de tiempo, como un mecanismo de hostigamiento, 

intimidacio ́n, desestabilizacio ́n psicolo ́gica del detenido y la familia, 

para entre otros objetivos, evitar que los integrantes de la sociedad 

civil, ejerzan derechos inalienables, como es el de la libertad de 

expresio ́n, de asociacio ́n y de reunio ́n. 

INTERPRETER. A new model of repression consists of arbitrary 

detentions without a court order for small periods of time as a 

mechanism of harassment, intimidation, psychological destabilization of the detainees and their family members to prevent them 

from exercising their inalienable rights to freedom of expression, 

association, and assembly. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. En los primeros 4 meses de este an ̃ o, la 

Comisio ́n Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliacio ́n Nacional, 

una organizacio ́n independiente de Derechos Humanos en Cuba, 

documento ́ 2795 detenciones arbitrarias, para un incremento del 

58% comparado con igual perı ́odo del tiempo del pasado an ̃ o, 

cuando fueron 1166. 

INTERPRETER. In the first 4 months of this year, the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an independent human rights organization in Cuba, documented 2,795 

arbitrary detentions, an increase of 58 percent from the same 

period the year before, 1,166. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Una de las caras ma ́s crudas de la represio ́n, 

son los mı ́tines de repudios organizados por la fuerza represiva de 

los hermanos Castro, contra las Damas de Blanco. 

INTERPRETER. One of the cruelest faces of this repression is the 

repudiation rallies organized by the repressive forces of the Castro 

brothers against the Ladies in White. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Del mismo modo, brigada de respuestas ra ́pida, 

fuerzas paramilitares al servicio del gobierno, la emprenden a 

golpes contra cualquier acto cı ́vico, independiente y pacifico que 

organice la emergente y verdadera sociedad civil cubana. 

INTERPRETER. In the same way, rapid response brigades, paramilitary forces that serve the government, physically beat any independent, peaceful individual that tries to organize civil society 

activities. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. La impunidad de los represores, es un incentivo 

en su actuar. 

INTERPRETER. The impunity of the repressors is an incentive for 

their actions. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Los hermanos Castro, no tienen lı ́mite en su 

crueldad. 

INTERPRETER. The Castro brothers do not have limits to their 

cruelty. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Su naturaleza asesina, los llevo ́ a fusilar a 

miles de personas a inicios del triunfo de la revolucio ́n. 

INTERPRETER. Their murderous nature led them to execute thousands of people at the beginning of the revolution. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Hoy, asesinan de forma sutil. 

INTERPRETER. Today, they kill in a more subtle way. 

22 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. No olvidemos la muerte en circunstancias muy 

extran ̃ as, de la lı ́der de las Damas de Blanco, Laura Polla ́n Toledo, 

en octubre de 2011. 

INTERPRETER. We must not forget the death under very strange 

circumstances of the leader of the Ladies in White, Laura Pollan 

Toledo, in October 2011. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Tampoco podemos olvidar las muertes en 

huelgas de hambre, de los presos polı ́ticos Orlando Zapata Tamayo, 

en febrero de 2010, a quien le negaron el agua por 18 dı ́as. Y, 

Wilman Villar Mendoza, en enero de 2012, a quien torturaron 

introducie ́ndolo en una tapiada oscura, hu ́meda y pestilente celda 

de castigo. 

INTERPRETER. Also we cannot forget the deaths on hunger strike 

of political prisoners Orlando Zapata Tamayo in February 2010, 

who was denied water for 18 days, and Wilman Villar Mendoza in 

January 2012, who was tortured by being placed in a boarded up, 

dark, damp, and putrid cell. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Juan Wilfredo Soto, fue otro opositor pacifico 

que murio ́ 2 dı ́as despue ́s de que agentes de la Policı ́a Nacional 

Revolucionaria, le propinaran una salvaje pateadura, en junio de 

2011. 

INTERPRETER. Juan Wilfredo Soto, a peaceful activist, died 2 days 

after the Revolutionary National Police agents brutally beat him in 

June 2011. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. En un reciente informe, el Comite ́ Contra la 

Tortura de las Naciones Unidas, critico ́ las detenciones arbitrarias, 

los actos de repudio, la falta de independencia entre los Poderes 

Ejecutivo, Legislativo y Judicial. La falta de informacio ́n sobre 

muerte en custodia policial de Juan Wilfredo Soto, y pidio ́ una 

investigacio ́n imparcial sobre las muertes de 202 presos que 

fallecieron en las ca ́ rceles cubanas, entre 2010 y 2011. 

INTERPRETER. In a recent report, the United Nations Committee 

Against Torture criticized the arbitrary detentions, the acts of repudiation, lack of independence between the executive, legislative, 

and judicial branches; lack of information on the death under police 

custody of Juan Wilfredo Soto, and requested an impartial investigation of the deaths of 202 prisoners that occurred in Cuban jails 

between 2010 and 2011. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El exterminio contra quienes disienten o se 

oponen a los Castro, es polı ́tica de estado. 

INTERPRETER. Extermination against those who dissent and/or 

oppose the Castros is the policy of the state. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El camino por el que transita la verdadera 

Sociedad Civil Cubana, esta ́ llena de obsta ́ culos. 

INTERPRETER. The path for a true Cuban civil society is full of 

obstacles. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Las viola . . . Las violaciones a los derechos 

fundamentales de las personas, esta ́n institucionalizadas en la 

Constitucio ́n de la Repu ́ blica de Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. Violations of fundamental rights are enshrined in 

the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El Co ́digo Penal, tiene tipificaciones jurı ́dicas 

tan ambiguas, como el delito de peligrosidad social pre-delictiva, 

23 

que permiten enjuiciar a todo ciudadano que el gobierno considere 

que presenta una amenaza a su poder. 

INTERPRETER. The penal code includes articles with ambiguous 

provisions, such as precriminal, social, and dangerous, which are 

used to prosecute civil society activists deemed by the government 

as dangerous. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Amnistı ́a Internacional estima que existen 

alrededor de 5000 presos en las ca ́ rceles de Cuba, extinguiendo 

sancio ́n entre 1 y 4 an ̃ os de privacio ́n de libertad, por los supuestos 

delitos de peligrosidad social, junto a personas con delitos probados. 

INTERPRETER. Amnesty International estimates that there are 

around 5,000 prisoners in Cuba serving sentences between 1 and 

4 years for allegedly being socially dangerous, and they serve their 

sentences alongside individuals whose crimes have been proven. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Tambie ́n existe la Ley 88 o ley de Proteccio ́n de 

la Independencia Nacional y la Economı ́a de Cuba. Otra aberracio ́n 

jurı ́dica, destinada a cercenar los derechos fundamentales e 

inalienables de los ciudadanos cubanos. Esta ley, es conocida a 

nivel nacional e internacional, como Ley Mordaza. 

INTERPRETER. In addition, Law 88, the law for the Protection of 

the National Independence and Economy of Cuba, is another legal 

aberration by which the government curtails the fundamental and 

inalienable rights of Cuban citizens. This law is nationally and 

internationally known as the Censorship Law. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Espero que se den cuenta, que este ordenamiento jurı ́dico, liberticida por naturaleza, guillotina los derechos 

civiles, polı ́ticos, econo ́micos, sociales y culturales de los cubanos. 

INTERPRETER. I hope you realize that this legal framework is 

tyrannical by nature, and it slashes away the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Cuban people. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Podemos ser iro ́nicos y decir que en Cuba no se 

violan los Derechos Humanos, simplemente, porque no existen. 

INTERPRETER. We can be ironic and say that in Cuba, the government does not violate human rights simply because human rights 

do not exist. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El re ́gimen de los hermanos Castro, niega a los 

cubanos el derecho a los derechos. 

INTERPRETER. The regime of the Castro brothers denies Cubans 

their right to rights. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. A pesar de esto, la Sociedad Civil Cubana, 

aboga por los derechos de los cubanos, de forma pacifica, tomando 

como ejemplo, la doctrina de la lucha no violenta, promovida por 

Ghandi y el doctor Martı ́n Luther King, Jr. 

INTERPRETER. In spite of this, Cuban civil society advocates for 

the freedom of all Cubans in a peaceful way, based on the precepts 

of nonviolent struggle practice by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther 

King, Jr. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Desde la sociedad civil, emergen cada vez ma ́s 

propuestas para mejorar la calidad de vida de los cubanos, que van 

desde la bu ́ squeda de soluciones a problemas sociales concretos, 

hasta las amplias exigencias pu ́ blicas al gobierno que respete los 

Derechos Humanos y los valores democra ́ticos. 

INTERPRETER. From civil society, we see an increasing number of 

proposals aimed at improving the quality of life of all Cubans, from 

24 

concrete social demands to broad public demands for the government to respect human rights and democratic values. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. En su lucha por la democracia, la Sociedad Civil 

Cubana, siempre ha planteado la reconciliacio ́n entre todos los 

cubanos y el dia ́logo basado en el respeto a todos los Derechos 

Humanos, civiles y polı ́ticos, como procesos necesarios para lograr 

una Cuba verdaderamente democra ́tica. 

INTERPRETER. In their fight for democracy, Cuban civil society 

has always advocated for national reconciliation and dialogue based 

on their respect of all human, civil, and political rights as a necessary process to achieve a truly democratic Cuba. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Para concluir, pido respetuosamente a este 

comite ́, que lleve a la pra ́ ctica el titulo de esta audiencia. 

INTERPRETER. To conclude, I would respectfully ask this committee to put into practice the title of this hearing. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Que se solidarice con la emergente y verdadera 

Sociedad Civil Cubana y condene a todos los niveles la reprisi . . . 

La represio ́n existente en Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. Please, show solidarity with the growing and genuine Cuban civil society and condemn all levels of repressions that 

take place in Cuba. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Que au ́ne voluntades con gobiernos y 

parlamentarios democra ́ticos de todo el mundo, instituciones 

multilaterales y organizaciones no gubernamentales internacionales, para que apoyen a la verdadera Sociedad Civil Cubana. 

INTERPRETER. I encourage you to seek other democratic governments and parliamentarians from around the world, multilateral 

institutions, and international NGOs to support the true Cuba. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. En este sentido, les ruego tomen en cuenta las 

palabras de Elie Wiesel, Premio Nobel de la Paz y sobreviviente del 

Holocausto, cuando dijo: ‘‘Hay que tomar partido. La neutralidad 

ayuda al opresor, nunca a la vı ́ctima. La accio ́n es el u ́nico remedio 

contra la indiferencia.’’ 

INTERPRETER. In this sense, please take into account the words 

of Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, 

when he said, ‘‘We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the 

oppressor, never the victim. Action is the only remedy to indifference.’’ 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Muchas gracias. 

INTERPRETER. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Gonzalez follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT NORMANDO HERNA ́ NDEZ GONZA ́LEZ

Honorable Chairman Robert Menendez, Honorable Ranking Member Marco Rubio, 

and members of the subcommittee, when I read the topic of this hearing, I did nothing but rejoice. Events like this show the world that Cubans are not alone on their 

long and difficult road to freedom. To be against the repression that exists in Cuba 

is to be against the totalitarian regime of the Castro brothers. It is to be in favor 

of the true, emerging Cuban civil society. 

I use the terms true and emerging Cuban civil society to distinguish from those 

organizations that call themselves civil society, when in reality they are created and 

manipulated by the Cuban Government. Independent civil society in Cuba is composed of self-created citizen groups—established without authorization from the government—to defend their interests before the state. This includes what is known 

today as the dissidence, the peaceful opposition, the human rights movement, independent political parties, bloggers, and professional and intellectual associations. 

25 

The seed of organized civil society was planted on January 28, 1976, with the creation of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights (CCPDH), under the direction of 

Dr. Ricardo Bofill Page ́s and a small group of intellectuals. Since its foundation, the 

CCPDH has advocated for the respect of human rights in Cuba and denounced the 

flagrant violations that occur on the island. 

The profound political, economic, and social crisis that the fall of the Berlin wall 

provoked in Cuba led many other Cubans to create independent civic spaces in order 

to express their frustrations and search for alternative solutions to their problems. 

Thus, hundreds of groups of different professional, political, and ideological streams 

began to emerge across the island. To give you an idea of the growth of the Cuban 

civil society, in 2003, the Institute of Independent Economists of Cuba counted in 

a census more than 29,000 citizens as members and supporters of more than 450 

independent, nongovernmental organizations. One year before, the Christian Liberation Movement gave another sign of the growing strength of the dissidence in Cuba 

by presenting before the Cuban National Assembly a petition signed by 11,020 citizens for a referendum on a series of political, economic, and social rights. 

The growth of Cuban civil society has occurred under a marked increase of repression by government authorities. Perhaps one emblematic case of this repression was 

the ‘‘Black Spring’’ of 2003, in which 75 activists and civil society leaders, myself 

included, were convicted in summary trials and sentenced to lengthy, unjust prison 

sentences. This crackdown obviously was intended to eliminate the roots to the 

Cuban civilian movement and instill fear in the population. However, it only served 

as a call for many other citizens to join in the search for of freedom, such as the 

Ladies in White and the independent bloggers movement. Today, Cuban civil society 

finds itself in a phase of dynamic and pluralist growth, ever more conscious that 

citizens have inalienable rights that the state must respect. 

Repression of civil society activists increases every day. The Cuban Government, 

using tactics that can be considered state terrorism, has created a new model of repression that consists of arbitrary detentions, without any judicial order, for small 

periods of time as a mechanism of harassment, intimidation, psychological destabilization of activists and their family members to prevent them from exercising 

their inalienable rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. 

In the first 4 months of this year, the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and 

National Reconciliation, an independent human rights organization in Cuba, documented 2,795 arbitrary detentions, an increase of 140 percent from the 1,166 cases 

of documented arrests that took place during the same period of time last year. One 

of the cruelest faces of this repression is the repudiation rallies organized by the 

repressive forces of the Castro brothers against the Ladies in White. In the same 

way, the Rapid Response Brigades, paramilitary forces that serve the government, 

physically beat any independent, peaceful individual that tries to organize civil society activities. The impunity of the repressors is an incentive for their actions. 

The Castro brothers do not have limits in their cruelty. Their murderous nature 

led them to execute thousands of people at the beginning of the revolution. Today, 

they kill in a more subtle form. We must not forget the death in very strange circumstances the leader of the Ladies in White, Laura Polla ́n Toledo, in October 2011. 

Also, we cannot forget the deaths on hunger strike of political prisoners, Orlando 

Zapata Tamayo in February 2010, who was denied water for 18 days, and Wilman 

Villar Mendoza in January 2012, who was tortured by being placed in a boarded 

up, dark, damp, and putrid cell. Also, in May 2011, peaceful activist, Juan Wilfredo 

Soto, died 2 days after the Revolutionary National Police agents savagely beat him. 

In a recent report, the United Nations Committee Against Torture criticized the arbitrary detentions, acts of repudiation, lack of independence between the executive, 

legislative, and judicial branches, lack of information on the death in police custody 

of Juan Wilfredo Soto, and requested an impartial investigation on the deaths of 202 

prisoners that occurred between 2010 and 2011. Extermination against those who 

dissent and/or oppose the Castros is the policy of the State. 

The path for a true Cuban civil society is full of obstacles. The violations of fundamental rights are institutionalized in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba. The 

Penal Code includes articles with ambiguous provisions such as ‘‘precriminal social 

dangerousness,’’ which are used to prosecute civil society activists. Amnesty International estimates that there are around 5,000 prisoners in Cuba serving sentences 

between 1 and 4 years for allegedly being socially dangerous and they serve their 

sentences alongside individuals whose crimes have been proven. In addition, Law 

88, the Law for the Protection of the National Independence and Economy of Cuba, 

is another judicial aberration by which the government curtails the fundamental 

and inalienable rights of Cuban citizens. This law is nationally and international 

known as the Censorship Law. I hope you realize that this legal framework is tyrannical by nature and guillotines the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural 

26 

rights of the Cuban people. We can be ironic and say that in Cuba, the government 

does not violate human rights simply because human rights do not exist. The regime 

of the Castro brothers denies Cubans their right to rights. 

In spite of the conditions I just described to you, Cuban civil society fervently advocates for the freedom of all Cubans in a peaceful way, based on the precepts of 

nonviolent struggle practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

From civil society emerge ever more proposals that aim to improve the quality of 

life of all Cubans, from concrete social demands to broad public demands to respect 

human rights and democratic values. In their actions, Cuban civil society has always advocated for national reconciliation and dialogue based on the respect to all 

human, civil, and political rights as a necessary processes to achieve a truly democratic Cuba. 

To conclude, I respectfully ask this committee to put into practice the title of this 

hearing. Please, show solidarity with the growing and genuine Cuban civil society, 

and condemn all levels of repression that take place in Cuba. I also ask you to encourage other democratic governments and parliamentarians from around the world, 

multilateral institutions, and international NGOs to support Cuba’s civil society activists. In this sense, please take into account the words of Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace 

Prize winner and Holocaust survivor when he said: ‘‘We must always take sides. 

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, 

never the tormented . . . action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.’’ 

Thank you. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you very much. 

We appreciate your testimony, and keep up with your English. 

It was going pretty good there at the beginning. 

So let me now welcome from the U.S. Interests Section in 

Havana, Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo. She is the spokesperson for 

the National Civic Resistance Front, a Cuba prodemocracy leader. 

We will hear from her first, and then we will hear from Jorge 

Luis Garcia Perez ‘‘Antunez,’’ who, as I said earlier, has been a 

political activist inside of Cuba and served a long time in Castro’s 

jails. 

So with Sara going first, we will need to do the same thing. We 

will need to translate what you say so we will have to ask you to 

stop in certain blocks of time. 

Bienvenido. 

[Pause.] 

Senator MENENDEZ. This is Senator Menendez. We see you, and 

we hear you. So we will ask Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo to start 

first. 

Ms. FONSECA. Le voy a decir—sı ́. Bueno, buenos dı ́as—buenas 

tardes.—Cuba. Que Dios les bendiga y quisiera decirles que 

tenemos a Jose ́ Daniel Ferrer en, en, en lı ́nea. Debemos aprovechar 

esta oportunidad. No, no vaya a ser que, que interrumpan la 

comunicacio ́n para que e ́l les hable primeramente. 

Senator MENENDEZ. OK. 

INTERPRETER. Good morning. Good afternoon, actually already. 

I wanted to bring to your attention that we have Jose Daniel 

Ferrer on the line, and I think we need to take this opportunity 

right now just in case the communication gets cut off. 

Senator MENENDEZ. All right. So we would be happy to then go 

to Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, who is the leader of the Cuba Patriotic Union from Santiago de Cuba. 

Mr. Ferrer Garcia, please? 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́, ®alo ́? Hello? 

Senator MENENDEZ. Sı ́, sen ̃ or, ga . . . Ferrer Garcı ́a, puede ir 

adelante. Es el senador Mele ́ndez. 

27 

STATEMENT OF JOSE DANIEL FERRER GARCIA, LEADER, 

CUBA PATRIOTIC UNION, SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́, senador, ®co ́mo esta ́ ? Buenas tardes para todos. 

Buenas tardes al sen ̃ or Michael Rubio tambie ́n y a los dema ́s ahı ́

presentes. Un fuerte y fraterno abrazo, ®no? De decenas de 

opositores pacı ́ficos aca ́ en el oriente del paı ́s. 

INTERPRETER. The interpreter would like to say that the sound 

quality is very poor. So I am doing my best. 

Good afternoon to all of you, and warmest greetings from all of 

us peaceful activists in the eastern part of the country. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Adelante. 

INTERPRETER. Go ahead. 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́, ®me escuchan? 

Senator MENENDEZ. Sı ́. Mr. FERRER. Yo me pierdo un poco—pierdo un poco su voz. Me 

parece que hay problemas con la comunicacio ́n. Pues nada, desde 

aca ́, desde el oriente—le reitero un abrazo fraterno. Nosotros por 

aca ́, la Unio ́n Patrio ́tica de Cuba y Bonilla, a otros grupos 

opositores que luchan con muchı ́sima energı ́a, con muchı ́sima 

firmeza, con muchı ́simo valor, por los cambios que tanto Cuba 

necesita. Y, les saludamos y les recordamos de que explicar el no, 

para el pueblo cubano, la solidaridad y el apoyo del mundo libre, 

no solamente el apoyo de la solidaridad de la comunidad cubana 

exiliada, si no tambie ́n de la, de las personas, de los lı ́deres del 

mundo libre, que desean que se solidaricen con el sufrido pueblo 

cubano. Durante los u ́ltimos meses, el reto principal de nuestra 

organizacoio ́n y de la oposicio ́n en general, ha sido enfrentar la 

fuerte represio ́n, el acoso constante de los o ́rganos represivos, 

detenciones constantes de mayor o menor duracio ́n. El hecho 

tambie ́n de que en un trasnocho—siendo encarcelado arbitrariamente. Ya la Unio ́n Patrio ́tica de Cuba tiene 6 presos polı ́ticos 

en las ca ́ rceles del oriente del paı ́s. Ahora tenemos otro clica en 

Cuba, hay 2 que estamos por confirmar, que tambie ́n . . . 

Senator MENENDEZ. He has a lot to say, obviously. 

INTERPRETER. He does. Well, again, I think have we have an 

audio problem, but I was saying I would like to give you our warmest greetings here from all the activists and other groups that 

oppose the government that are so firmly and courageously fighting 

for this change that we very much need. 

And we would like to remind you all that it is vital for the Cuban 

people to have the support and solidarity from the free world, not 

only from our brothers and sisters in the United States, but from 

all over the world because the Cuban people is suffering a lot. We 

are facing a lot of challenges, and mostly the mounting repression 

by the government and the never-ending arrests. 

We have tons of activists that have been jailed arbitrarily and 

are considered now political prisoners. And actually, today we have 

fresh news a new activist has been jailed for 8 years. 

Senator MENENDEZ. All right. If you can ask him to please go 

slowly and stop at certain intervals so we can get his translation? 

INTERPRETER. Que, que procedas en esto y, y hagas pausas para 

que puedan traducir. 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́, de acuerdo. De acuerdo. Entendido. Le decı ́a que 

el principal reto ha sido enfrentar la represio ́n, ®no? De el re ́gimen 

28 

castrista. Precisamente porque nuestra agrupacio ́n pretende 

maxificar y dinamizar la lucha no violenta a lo largo y ancho del 

paı ́s, en unidad con otros grupos pacı ́ficos, con otros grupos de 

oposicio ́n no violenta. 

INTERPRETER. I was saying that our biggest challenge is to face 

the repression by the Castro government, and our group is trying 

to make massive mobilization of nonviolent struggles all over the 

country, nonviolent fight. 

Mr. FERRER. Para poder contrarrestar la represio ́n, ®no? De los 

o ́rganos de la policı ́a polı ́tica y dema ́s cuerpos represivos del 

re ́gimen castrista, se necesita, ®no? De efectiva propaganda y de 

efectivos medios de comunicacio ́n, es decir, en manos de los 

opositores, en manos de nuestros activistas. Radio Martı ́ era un 

importantı ́simo papel en este proceso no democratizador que 

llevamos adelante en nuestra isla. Y, necesitamos del apoyo del 

mundo libre, para poder burlar y para poder salir del aislamiento, 

®no? Y, hacia la Internet y hacia otros medios, otras vı ́as de 

comunicacio ́n que el re ́gimen nos impone. 

INTERPRETER. All this to counteract the violent repression by the 

regime. We need to send our message out. We need our activists 

to have access to the media so that we can try to get the message 

out about the importance of this democratic process that is just 

now starting. 

We want help from the free world to get out of the oppression, 

have access to the Internet, and some other media out there. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Can you—the gentleman also mentioned. 

Espe ́rese un momentico, por favor. 

Mr. FERRER. Son la mayorı ́a de costumbres a decir que—sı ́, claro. 

Sı ́. 

INTERPRETER. Un momento. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Yes, I understood that he said that Radio 

Marti was very important to free information inside of Cuba. I 

don’t know if you heard that? 

INTERPRETER. I may have missed that. Sorry. 

Senator MENENDEZ. OK. Let the record reflect that in Mr. Jose 

Daniel Ferrer Garcia’s comment, he spoke about Radio Marti as an 

indispensable tool in the flow of information inside for the Cuban 

people. 

OK. 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́. Le decı ́a para que por aca ́ las personas mayores 

acostumbran a mencionar un refra ́n que dice de que el frı ́o se quita 

andando. Nosotros creemos que el temor del pueblo cubano, el 

miedo fruto del terror de muchas de ́cadas, ®no? De represio ́n, se 

quita actuando. Por eso, estamos enfrascados, ®no? En que vamos 

a hacerle de actividades lo ma ́s creativas, lo ma ́s variadas posibles 

se filmen, se tomen ima ́genes audiovisuales, y luego se pasen de 

mano en mano, entre toda la poblacio ́n, para que precisamente el 

pueblo vea que sı ́ se puede luchar por los derechos y libertades que 

nos vienen—hace ma ́s de medio siglo. 

INTERPRETER. There is an old saying that people, especially older 

people like to say, and that is that when you are cold, you get 

warm by walking. And I would like to say that when you are in 

fear, you get away with your fear by acting. 

29 

And we need to find creative ways to send our message out, like 

have audiovisual images that can be disseminated to the population to show them that, yes, we can. We can fight for the freedoms and the liberties that have been taken away from us for over 

half a century. 

Mr. FERRER. Para lograr esto y—se requiere, ®no? De medios 

materiales. Por ejemplo, los soportes digitales, discos de DVD e 

. . . esta ́n siendo el medio, ®no? Ma ́s utilizado por nosotros. Los 

resultados los notamos de dı ́a en dı ́a, de semana en semana. Zonas 

donde para nada se movı ́a, la poblacio ́n para nada—habı ́an 

exigencia en cuanto a cambio al respeto de lo Derechos Humanos, 

en la medida en que ven que en otros sitios vecinos se esta ́

haciendo, se esta ́ luchando por la libertad y el cambio. Entonces, 

comienzan a moverse las cosas y comienzan las acciones y comienzan las actividades, las protestas, y esto se va generalizando. 

Pero, necesitamos ver el apoyo del mundo libre para poder romper 

con el monopolio informativo del re ́gimen, para que esto llegue de 

manera masiva a todas partes. Porque, Radio Martı ́ es el medio 

ma ́s efectivo, como dije anteriormente, para llegar al pueblo 

cubano. Pero, en las grandes ciudades sufre muchı ́sima 

interferencia. Entonces, reproducir programaciones de TV Martı ́ y 

Radio Martı ́, nuestras ima ́genes, nuestros videos, nuestras 

informaciones, es vital para que llegue a la poblacio ́n. Con eso se 

va quitando el temor y la poblacio ́n va reaccionando. El pueblo 

cubano en su mayorı ́a, desea y quiere cambio. Lo notamos diariamente en las calles de Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. We need material support. We need information 

media, more specifically DVD. We can see the change day by day 

by using them. 

For example, in areas where there was no activity, no thirst for 

changes or anything, when they see that other areas are changing, 

are doing things, they start getting motivated and organizing more 

activities and more protests. And that is why, again, I am saying 

we need help from the free world to break this informational 

monopoly. We need our information to get everywhere. 

More specifically, DVDs because there is a lot of interference of 

the actual media. So if we can burn DVDs with our videos, our 

information, our clips, we can disseminate it to the rest of the population, and their fear will start going away, and they will start 

reacting because the Cuban people does want to change. We feel 

that on a daily basis out there on the streets. 

Senator MENENDEZ. I want to ask Mr. Daniel Ferrer Garcia to 

summarize so that we can turn to his colleagues. I don’t want to 

lose our video feed from Havana. 

INTERPRETER. Que si, que p . . . Que con—digamos, un . . . una 

palabra para concluir, para entonces pasar con. 

Mr. FERRER. Sı ́, co ́mo no. Co ́mo no. Sı ́. Nada, que la realidad es 

que la poblacio ́n cubana, cada vez esta ́ ma ́s descontenta, cada vez 

ma ́s cubanos desean el cambio. Cada vez ma ́s cubanos pierden el 

miedo, y que en la medida de que la fuerzas democra ́ticas internas, 

las fuerzas democra ́ticas del exilio, y la—los demo ́cratas del mundo 

libre trabajemos, aunemos esfuerzos, la re . . . La libertad del 

cambio en Cuba sera ́ una realidad ma ́s pronto de lo que muchos 

creen. 

30 

INTERPRETER. Basically, the Cuban people is not happy anymore. 

They do want change. Their fear is going away. We want help from 

the people that are in exile in democratic countries, and we need 

democratic countries as well to join our efforts because Cuba will 

be a free country before we know it. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you very much. 

Let me turn to Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo. 

STATEMENT OF SARA MARTA FONSECA QUEVEDO, SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL CIVIC RESISTANCE FRONT, CUBAN PRO– 

DEMOCRACY LEADER, HAVANA, CUBA 

Ms. FONSECA. Sı ́, bueno, reitero. Hola, buenas tardes y, y nuestro 

agradecimiento por este importante contacto que se ha establecido. 

Muchas gracias por este contacto. Bueno, soy miembro del Partido 

Pro Derechos Humanos de Cuba, afiliado a la Fundacio ́n Andre ́s 

Sajaro. 

INTERPRETER. Good afternoon, everybody, and thanks again for 

being in contact with us. We really appreciate it. I am from the 

human rights group in Cuba. 

Ms. FONSECA. Vocera del Frente Nacional de Resistencia Cı ́vica 

y Desobediencia Civil Orlando Zapata, Dama de Blanco y tambie ́n 

del Movimiento Feminista Rosa Park. 

INTERPRETER. The interpreter would request repetition. It is the 

names of all the groups that she belongs with. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Yes. Can you ask her to repeat and to go as 

slowly as possible since we have transmission challenges here? 

INTERPRETER. Si puede, despacio que repitas, porque parece que 

no se. 

Ms. FONSECA. Sı ́, le decı ́a que tambie ́n soy vocera del Frente 

Nacional de Resistencia Cı ́vica y Desobediencia Civil Orlando 

Zapata. Dama de Blanco y del Movimiento Feminista por los 

Derechos Civiles Rosa Park. 

INTERPRETER. I was saying I am a member of the National Front 

for Civilian Disobedience Group, Orlando Zapata, the Ladies in 

White, and the Feminist Movement for Civil Rights, Rosa Parks. 

Ms. FONSECA. Por nuestra actividad, por nuestro activismo en, en 

las calles, hemos sido vı ́ctimas de numerosas represiones. La 

policı ́a polı ́tica, pues, nos ha reprimido en muchas ocasiones, hasta 

llegar a, a atacar alto—haciendo ac . . . actos de terrorismo de 

estado, en nuestras propia vivienda. 

INTERPRETER. Because of the activist activities that we carry out 

on our streets, we have been victims of several repressions, mostly 

by the political police who have even committed acts of state terrorism in our own homes. 

Ms. FONSECA. Todo por alzar nuestras voces reclamando el 

respeto a los Derechos Humanos, democracia y libertad para el 

pueblo de Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. All of this just because we voiced our wish to have 

our human rights respected, we want democracy, and we want the 

freedom of the Cuban people. 

Ms. FONSECA. Hemos sido reprimidos, pero, tambie ́n hemos 

recibido la aceptacio ́n del pueblo cubano. 

INTERPRETER. We have been repressed, but we have also received 

the acceptance of the Cuban people. 

31 

Ms. FONSECA. Y, esa satisfaccio ́n, nos mueve a continuar nuestra 

lucha, por instaurar una, una verdadera democracia en Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. And that satisfaction motivates us to continue our 

fight to get a truly democratic Cuba. 

Ms. FONSECA. Es muy bueno cuando el pueblo o las personas de, 

del pueblo se nos acercan, para apoyarnos. 

INTERPRETER. It is very good when we see people from other 

towns and cities come to us to support us. 

Ms. FONSECA. Nos hace sentir que nuestra lucha esta ́ cumpliendo 

su objetivo y que los cambios ya son inevitables, que muy pronto 

nuestra patria volvera ́ a sonreı ́r a la democracia y a, a la libertad. 

INTERPRETER. It makes us feel that our fight is finally reaching 

its objective that change is near and that very soon our Cuba will 

be a democratic and free country. 

Ms. FONSECA. Para nosotros es muy importante cualquier tipo de 

apoyo, sea con la informacio ́n difundible. Lo que sucede en, en, en 

la, en la oposicio ́n, difundirlo tanto nacionalmente como internacionalmente. 

INTERPRETER. For us, it is very important to have support, 

mostly in terms of disseminating information both domestically and 

internationally. 

Ms. FONSECA. Son muchos los miembros del Partido Comunista 

de Cuba que han entregado su carne ́ despue ́s de ver co ́mo 

opositores somos reprimidos, simplemente por defender la 

democracia. 

INTERPRETER. Several members of the Cuban Communist Party 

have turned in their ID cards when they have seen how we have 

been oppressed just by expressing a different opinion. 

Ms. FONSECA. Nuestro, nuestro objetivo, lo vemos cada vez ma ́s 

cerca. Ya no es el mismo pueblo que permanecı ́a en el silencio. 

Cada vez son ma ́s las personas que se nos unen, ma ́s las personas 

que nos apoyan. 

INTERPRETER. Our objective is drawing near. We are no longer 

the people that remain silent, and we have more people joining us 

and supporting us. 

Ms. FONSECA. Quisiera, me disculpen cualquier—no, no vinimos 

preparados. No se ́. Ni siquiera sabı ́amos para que ́ venı ́amos. Fue 

una medida de precaucio ́n que no nos avisaran por tele ́fono. 

INTERPRETER. I am sorry I didn’t have anything scripted. We 

were not ready. As a precaution, we were not told over the phone 

what we would be talking about. 

Ms. FONSECA. Nuestro hermano Jorge Luis Garcı ́a Pe ́rez 

Antunez, ha tenido que caminar kilo ́metros para poder—y, brincar 

cercas para poder llegar hasta aquı ́, burlando la policı ́a polı ́tica. 

INTERPRETER. My colleague here, Jorge Luis Perez Antunez, had 

to walk kilometers to get here just so the political police wouldn’t 

catch him. 

Ms. FONSECA. Y, yo me encuentro convaleciente de unos dı ́as que 

estuve enferma, pero, siempre pendiente a todas las actividades 

que realizan nuestras organizaciones. 

INTERPRETER. And I am getting better. I was sick for a few days, 

but I am always up to speed on what everybody else is doing. 

32 

Senator MENENDEZ. We appreciate your testimony. We will go 

through it a little bit more when we ask questions. But let me turn 

to Mr. Antunez. 

STATEMENT OF JORGE LUIS GARCIA PEREZ ANTUNEZ, 

POLITICAL DISSIDENT, HAVANA, CUBA 

Mr. PEREZ. ®Ya? Muy buenas tardes, sen ̃ ora Robertson, 

secretaria adjunta al Departamento de Estado. Muy buenas tardes 

a los senadores Marco y al resto de los, de los senadores ahı ́

presentes. 

INTERPRETER. Good afternoon, everybody. Good afternoon, Mrs. 

Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of State, Senator Menendez, and 

everybody else present there. 

Mr. PEREZ. Un abrazo muy especial a mi querido hermano 

Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez, quien se encuentra ahı ́. INTERPRETER. Very special greetings to my friend Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, who is there with you. 

Mr. PEREZ. Pa mi constituye un, un ju ́ bilo y un aliento, y una 

emocio ́n, que sea precisamente Normando Herna ́ndez Gonza ́lez, 

alguien que compartı ́—con, con el que compartı ́ prisio ́n polı ́tica, con 

el sufrimos el efecto de golpes, la celda de castigo, el hambre. 

INTERPRETER. It makes me very proud and excited to see 

Normando Hernandez Gonzalez there today because we shared a 

political prison. We both suffered beatings, oppression, and hunger. 

Mr. PEREZ. Creo que nadie mejor que e ́l, que es el fundador de, 

de reporteros y periodistas dentro de la propia prisio ́n, es el 

patriota inclaudicable. 

INTERPRETER. He is like the best example of our homeland 

because he is a self-taught journalist that used to disseminate 

information in the prison. Es, ®que ́? Perdo ́n. ®El patriota? 

Mr. PEREZ. Que tanto sufrio ́ con dignidad y con decoro, los 

embates del presidio polı ́tico, puede representarnos allı ́ como e ́l. 

INTERPRETER. And I am very proud to see him represent us there 

today because he suffered all the oppression with a lot of dignity 

and decorum. 

Mr. PEREZ. Una de las cosas importantes que decı ́a mi querida 

hermana Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, quien tengo aquı ́ a mi lado, 

es que precisamente tanto ella como yo, nos enteramos de, de 

esta—o sea, de este evento, precisamente en este lugar. Y, creo que 

eso es una prueba fehaciente del nivel de represio ́n en Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. Something very important that my colleague Sara 

Marta Fonseca just said was that we found out about this event 

with very short notice, and I think that shows the degree of oppression that we are under. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, que ́ ma ́s prueba que del nivel de represio ́n, que 

tener que venir del centro del paı ́s, de la provincia central y 

brincando cercas, golpeando como si fuera un delincuente, para 

participar en un evento, que en cualquier parte del mundo, en un 

paı ́s democra ́tico, algo tan normal. 

INTERPRETER. And that speaks volumes of the repression that we 

feel. I had to, like she said, walk kilometers, hide behind trees and 

bushes as if I was some kind of criminal to attend an event that 

in any other free and democratic country in the world would be an 

everyday thing. 

33 

Mr. PEREZ. Pero, gracias a Dios y gracias a esta seccio ́n de 

intere ́s, que tanto nos ha apoyado, estamos aquı ́ de manera difı ́cil, 

porque hemos pasado muchas dificultades, pero, estamos aquı ́, y 

estamos participando. 

INTERPRETER. But thank God and thanks to the Interests Section 

for all the support given to us, we are here. It has been hard, but 

we are here, and we are involved. 

Mr. PEREZ. Quiero que conozcan que hace apenas unos dı ́as, 

producto a la represio ́n brutal de un descomunal acto de repudio. 

INTERPRETER. I wanted you to know that a few days ago, as a 

result of brutal repression to an act of repudiation—— 

Mr. PEREZ. Fui testigo de la muerte de Antonia Rodrı ́guez, en la 

Ciudad de Santa Clara. 

INTERPRETER [continuing]. I witnessed the death of Antonio Ruiz 

in the city of Santa Clara—— 

Mr. PEREZ. Donde un grupo de pacı ́ficos, activistas pro 

democra ́ticos nos reunı ́amos. 

INTERPRETER [continuing]. Where a group of pro-democratic, 

peaceful activists, myself included, were gathered—— 

Mr. PEREZ. Para hablar de libertad, para hablar de justicia y de 

Derechos Humanos. 

INTERPRETER [continuing]. To talk about liberty, freedom, justice, 

and human rights. 

Mr. PEREZ. Pero, no solo eso, sen ̃ ores senadores. En estos 

precisos momentos, una joven cubana negra, lleva varios dı ́as en 

huelga de hambre en Santa Clara. 

INTERPRETER. But that is not all, Mr. Senator. At this very moment, there is a black Cuban woman that has been on a hunger 

strike for several days in Santa Clara. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, escu ́ chenos bien, esta ́ en huelga de hambre, 

Damaris Moya Portieles, en protesta, porque altos oficiales de la 

policı ́a polı ́tica le amenazaron con violarles sexualmente a su hija 

de 6 an ̃ os de edad. 

INTERPRETER. And hear me out here, Damaris Moya Portieles is 

on a hunger strike because the political police threatened to sexually abuse and rape her 6-year-old daughter. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, no estamos hablando de la Cuba del an ̃ o 50—antes 

del an ̃ o 1959, ni estamos hablando de un paı ́s de Ame ́rica Latina, 

ni estamos hablando de la Suda ́frica de pies-bota. Estamos 

hablando de la Cuba del, del siglo XXI. 

INTERPRETER. And we are not talking about the Cuba from before 

1959, of any other country in Latin America or any other remote 

area in Africa. We are talking about the Cuba of the 21st century. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, cuando suceden cosas como esta, como el asesinato 

de Orlando Zapata Tamayo, de Wilman Villar Mendoza, de Pedro 

Ruiz Boitel. 

INTERPRETER. I am sorry. I can’t hear what he was saying. 

[Pause.] 

Mr. PEREZ. Este, cuando suceden crı ́menes tan horrendos como 

el de Orlando Zapata Tamayo, como el Wilman Villar Mendoza, 

como el de Pedro Ruiz Boitel, y como el de la abuelita Antonia. 

INTERPRETER. When horrible killings happen, such as the one of 

Mr. Zapata Tamayo, Wilman Villar Mendoza, Pedro Luis Boitel, 

and Abuela, which is Grandmother Antonia—— 

34 

Mr. PEREZ. Antonia. Cuando suceden estas cosas, tenemos que 

estar conscientes que ni con aumento de remesas, ni con aumento 

de billares, ni con el aumento de los intercambios culturales de 

artistas que solo promueven el re ́gimen de Castro. 

INTERPRETER. And we will need to bear in mind that no increase 

in remittances, no increase in the number of trips, no increase in 

the cultural exchanges—— 

Mr. PEREZ. De intercambios culturales. Puede acelerarse el 

proceso de democratizacio ́n de nuestra patria 

INTERPRETER. Por el aumento, ®de que ́? Remesas. Ah, remesas. 

Sı ́. Can speed up the democratization process in our country. 

Mr. PEREZ. El acercamiento, las polı ́ticas de acercamiento con la 

dictadura, como algunos le llaman al gobierno de la Habana, lo que 

hacen es fortalecer el aparato represivo y proteger la impunidad a 

los agresores de esta violacio ́n. 

INTERPRETER. What this dictatorship regime does is to strengthen the repression and to grant impunity to the people that commit 

these acts of repression. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Let the record reflect that what he said was 

that those policies, the policies that he just described before, of 

remittances, of travel, of acceptance only creates an impunity for 

the regime and allows them to continue their oppressive actions. 

Mr. PEREZ. ®Ya? Uh-huh. Ha quedado demostrado y ahı ́ esta ́ un 

cubano que hace poco salio ́ de la isla, Normando Herna ́ndez 

Gonza ́lez, aquı ́ a mi lado tengo a Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, de 

que ha quedado demostrado, que los—el acercamiento, o sea, el 

aumento de, de viajes de—tanto de norteamericanos, de cubanos a 

la isla, en nada ha ayudado al proceso democratizador de nuestra 

patria. Esas personas, lamentablemente vienen a Cuba en 

cuestiones ajenas a nuestro quehacer. 

INTERPRETER. It has been proven that—and for this I have my 

witnesses here, the Cuban that recently left the island, Mr. 

Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, and my colleague here, Sara 

Marta Fonseca Quevedo, that this increase in trips both from 

North America and Cubans themselves have not helped at all with 

the democratic process in our country because they come to our 

country on matters that have nothing to do with what we are 

doing. 

Mr. PEREZ. Aclaro, que respeto el, el gobierno del sen ̃ or Barack 

Obama y considero de aunque—de, de que—lo todo lo que hace, lo 

hace con las mejores de las intenciones. Porque es un gobierno 

aliado, tanto el Partido Demo ́crata como el Republicano, son 

partidos aliados a la causa elemental. 

INTERPRETER. I would like to clarify that I fully respect President 

Barack Obama’s administration, and I know that everything that 

they are doing is with their best intentions. And both the Democratic and the Republican Parties are allied to our cause. 

Mr. PEREZ. Pero, sen ̃ ores senadores, en los momentos en que 

la oposicio ́n aumenta, tanto en el orden cualitativo, como el 

cuantitativo. 

INTERPRETER. But, Mr. Senators, when the opposition is increasing both in qualitative as well as in quantitative terms—— 

Mr. PEREZ. En momentos en que se acrecientan las acciones de 

protestas pu ́ blicas, a lo largo y ancho del paı ́s. 

35 

INTERPRETER [continuing]. When there is an increase in the number of protests all over the country—— 

Mr. PEREZ. Son estos y no otros, los momentos de apoyar, de 

sentar el apoyo a las fuerzas de la resistencia. 

INTERPRETER [continuing]. This is the time and these are the opportunities to support the resistance forces. 

Mr. PEREZ. A las fuerzas de la resistencia, puesto que la fuerza 

de la resistencia cubana, esta ́n en una batalla frontal en las calles, 

por la libertad, sufriendo golpizas, maltratos, asedios a nuestra— 

a las viviendas, torturas, y todas las formas de violaciones 

sistema ́ticas a los Derechos Humanos. 

INTERPRETER. This is because the Cuban resistance forces are 

embarked on a battle with the state. We suffer beatings. We suffer 

undue treatment, harassment even in our homes, torture, and all 

kinds of violation of our human rights. 

Mr. PEREZ. E—el apo ́stol de la independencia de Cuba dijo una 

frase, antes de concluir, porque yo no quiero extenderme, porque ya 

creo que la intervencio ́n de los hermanos que han hablado antes 

que mı ́, ha sido bastante, suficiente, con precio y elemento. Pero, 

el apo ́stol de la independencia de Cuba, Jose ́ Marti dijo una frase— 

es muy importante—y, es que dijo que la liber . . . La verdad es 

para decirla, no para andar oculta. Por lo que considero, que el, el, 

el visado, la presencia de Mariela Castro allı ́ en los Estados 

Unidos, una funcionaria del re ́gimen represor, que va a allı ́ a 

promover el, el—la tiranı ́a que oprime, que mata, que hostiga a 

nuestra patria, constituye para nosotros un insulto y una ofensa. 

Y, es una—y, un asunto tambie ́n, tenie ́ndose en cuenta que Mariela 

Castro va a los Estados Unidos y se pudiera olvidar y con 

sugerencias, todo eso en su video. Ahı ́ yo preguntarı ́a: ®Pudieran 

los opositores de Cuba, pudieran los lı ́deres de organizaciones, 

pudieran los lı ́deres de la iniciativa importantes, pudieran visitar 

el paı ́s del norte, allı ́, visitar allı ́, exponer su criterio sin regresar 

a la isla con entera libertad? Muchas gracias, sen ̃ or senador. 

INTERPRETER. To conclude, because I have already said a lot and 

those who spoke before me have done so very eloquently, maybe 

even so more than me, like Jose Marti said, the truth is to be said, 

not to be hidden. 

And in this regard and in terms of the visas, I find that Mariela 

Castro’s visit to the United States, being an official of this regime 

that oppresses, that kills, and that harasses the Cuban people, is 

a complete insult and an utter offense to us. Now Mariela Castro 

is out there visiting the United States, and I would like to ask, 

could we, the opposers in Cuba, the leaders of different organizations and different initiatives go to the United States and come to 

the island freely? 

Thank you very much. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, thank you all for your testimony. 

Let me observe for the record that the chair is cognizant of members of the Castro regime who are here from the Cuban Interests 

Section, taking notes of everything that has been said. The chairman fully intends to monitor the rights of these three individuals 

who have spoken and to make sure that they are not repressed or 

face any consequences upon their return to their homes. 

36 

And it will be the committee’s singular focus, and we will certainly ask the United States Government through its Interests Section in Cuba to ensure that these individuals, to the extent that we 

have the ability possible, that they do not face a reprisal as a result 

of their testimony here today. 

Now, with that, let me just take a few minutes to take advantage 

of the opportunity to ask some questions. 

Mr. Hernandez, yesterday, before, we had a chance to chat, and 

I found something very interesting, two things very interesting in 

what you said. You said that there was a redline, a redline of dissent activity, dissident activity which is implicitly tolerated by the 

regime. But if you cross that redline, that was not tolerated by the 

regime. 

Could you tell us what activity is permitted up to the redline and 

then what happens when you cross the redline? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Sı ́, sen ̃ or Boss Mele ́ndez. Todos sabemos que el 

gobierno cubano, hasta cierto punto permite lo que conocemos como 

lucha pacifica no violenta, pasiva. 

[Dial tone sounds.] 

Senator MENENDEZ. Continue. 

INTERPRETER. Yes, Mr. Senator Menendez, we all know that the 

Cuban Government allows what they call up to a peaceful, nonviolent, passive fight. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Entre este tipo de lucha no violenta, pacifica 

pasiva, se encuentran, por ejemplo, las personas que sacan 

informacio ́n den . . . desde Cuba hacia al exterior. Pero, que no 

hacen nada ma ́s que eso. 

INTERPRETER. This peaceful, nonviolent, passive type of fight includes the people that send information from Cuba to the world, 

but don’t go beyond that. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Y, la influencia que tienen para el interior de 

la isla, es muy pequen ̃ a, es pra ́ cticamente des—despreciable. 

INTERPRETER. And the influence that they have within the island 

is very small. It is despicable. ®La influencia que hay dentro de la 

isla? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Sı ́. Es como un acuerdo ta ́ cito, que ha existido 

durante an ̃ os entre la disidencia, la oposicio ́n pacifica y el gobierno 

de los hermanos Castro, el re ́gimen de los hermanos Castro. 

INTERPRETER. This is like an implicit agreement that has existed 

for years between the dissidents, the peaceful opposition, and the 

Castro brothers. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Esto no quiere decir que estas personas no sean 

reprimidas. Esto no quiere decir que estas personas no sean 

hostigadas. Esto no quiere decir que estas personas se vean en 

serios problemas con su estabilidad emocional y psicolo ́gica, y con 

serios problemas de limitaciones de libertad dentro de Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. This does not mean that these people are not 

repressed, harassed, or have serious problems including emotional 

and psychological stability, and they don’t have problems within 

Cuba. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So what happens when you—so those are 

the people who take the information of repression inside of Cuba 

and tell the rest of the world. What is crossing the line? What 

37 

actions cross the line for which you ultimately find yourself arrested, incarcerated, and what not? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Sı ́. Y, va y va a este punto en estos momentos. 

INTERPRETER. I was getting there. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Cruzar la lı ́nea roja, es lo que hace Sara Marta 

Fonseca, es lo que hace Jorge Luis Garcı ́a Pe ́rez Antunez, es lo que 

hace Jose ́ Daniel Ferrer Garcı ́a. Son lo que hacen las personas en 

Cuba, que luchan de forma frontal contra el re ́gimen de los 

hermanos Castros, ganando espacios de libertades pu ́blicos. 

INTERPRETER. Crossing the line is what Sara Marta Fonseca or 

Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia or Jorge Luis Perez Antunez do, which 

is to engage on a head-on fight with the Castro regime and gain 

public freedom spaces. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Es lo que hacen las Damas de Blanco todos los 

domingos. 

INTERPRETER. It is what the Ladies in White do every Sunday. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Emocionado me encuentro en estos momentos, 

al ver a Sara Marta Fonseca, una de las vı ́ctimas de la represio ́n 

cubana, que a diario—para decirlo hasta cierto punto—vive de—en 

un desasosiego. 

INTERPRETER. I find it very moving to see here Sara Marta Fonseca, a victim of the Cuban repression who lives in a permanent 

state of unrest. En un desasosiego. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Falta de paz, de tranquilidad. 

INTERPRETER. OK. OK. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Los que se interesan por la realidad de Cuba, 

hemos podido ver los mı ́tines de repudio en su vivienda, como ella 

decı ́a, que se catalogan como terrorismo de estado. 

INTERPRETER. Those of you who are interested in the Cuban current affairs can see the acts of repudiation that took place at her 

home that could be characterized as state terrorism. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Lı ́der de una de las manifestaciones ma ́s 

mencionadas en los u ́ltimos tiempos en Cuba, que fue la 

manifestacio ́n que realizo ́ en la escalinata del capitolio en Ciudad 

de La Habana. 

INTERPRETER. She led one of the protests that has been most 

widely mentioned in Cuba in recent years, which took place on the 

stairs of the capitol building in Havana. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So does crossing the redline then mean gaining public space, gaining recognition for your peaceful activities inside of Cuba? That is what the regime does not permit? That is 

what gets you arrested? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. El re ́gimen cubano, lo que no quiere es perder 

espacios. El re ́gimen cubano, lo que no desea, es que la disidencia 

y la oposicio ́n se haga representativa de la sociedad. Y, cualquier 

intento que exista para ganarle espacios pu ́ blicos, cualquier intento 

que exista para hacerse representativo de esta sociedad cubana, el 

re ́gimen cubano lo considera estar del lado alla ́ de la lı ́nea roja no 

permisible. 

INTERPRETER. Any attempt to gain any kind of public space, any 

kind of activity by the dissidents or the opposition to try to get 

some kind of representation in society, any kind of attempt to do 

this is what the Castro regime does not allow, and that constitutes 

crossing the redline. 

38 

Senator MENENDEZ. So, to summarize, if you are a dissident and 

what you are doing is sending information about what is happening 

inside of Cuba to the rest of the world, you are oppressed, but you 

are not necessarily arrested. If you are a dissident, political activist, or independent journalist, and seek peaceful movement inside 

of Cuba internally and promote that internally and create the 

space in which that is known internally, that is what likely gets 

you arrested? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Sı ́, hasta cierto punto, sı ́. ®Por que ́ digo hasta 

cierto punto? Porque no todo en Cuba es blanco y negro. 

INTERPRETER. Yes, up to a certain point, it is. And why do I say 

up to a certain point? Because in Cuba, not everything is black or 

white. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Did Laura Pollan, the founder of the Damas 

de Blanco, cross the redline, and did that result in her death? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Laura Polla ́n con su liderazgo, logro ́ ocupar un 

espacio pu ́ blico que no se habı ́a ocupado nunca antes en Cuba. 

INTERPRETER. Laura Pollan, with her leadership, was able to 

gain a public space and occupy it in a way that had never been 

done before in Cuba. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Las marchas de las Damas de Blanco todos los 

domingos por la ce ́ntrica Quinta Avenida en Ciudad de La Habana, 

ha tenido repercusio ́n nacional y repercusio ́n internacional. Se han 

dado a conocer. 

INTERPRETER. The marches that take place and that the Ladies 

in White take place in every Sunday downtown Fifth Avenue in 

Havana are being known about nationally and internationally. 

They got the message out. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Y, es un ejemplo a imitar, de todas las 

organizaciones y de la sociedad civil cubana. Hay que tomar los 

espacios pu ́ blicos, porque si no, no seriamos representativos de esta 

sociedad. Hay que buscar la forma de ser representativos de la 

sociedad, para provocar los necesarios cambios. 

INTERPRETER. And this is a message that we need to send out to 

all of the Cuban people, all of the civil society organizations. We 

need to gain these public spaces. This is the only way that we can 

get the recognition that we need to get to the change that we all 

need. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Y, hacer este trabajo, es estar del lado de la 

lı ́nea roja que el gobierno no permite. 

INTERPRETER. But doing so constitutes being on the other side of 

the redline, and that is not allowed by the government. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Finally, before I turn to Senator Rubio, to 

our two witnesses from Havana, I want to ask them, one, we have 

seen a tremendous increase in arrests and detentions in Cuba over 

the last 6 months. What do you believe is the cause for that crackdown? 

And second, how can we help you to communicate and spread 

your message, your message for human rights and freedom inside 

of Cuba? 

Mr. PEREZ. Sı ́, ha, ha habido un aumento vertiginoso de 

represio ́n en los u ́ltimos 6 meses. 

INTERPRETER. There has been increase in crackdown on repression over the past 6 months. 

39 

Mr. PEREZ. Este aumento de represio ́n, se torna con ma ́s san ̃ a, 

con ma ́s violencia. 

INTERPRETER. This violent—this increasing repression has become harsher and more violent. 

Mr. PEREZ. Pero, sı ́ es cierto que ha habido un aumento en la 

represio ́n. Yo creo que ma ́s importante es significar el aumento del 

activismo. Es decir, que paralelo al aumento de la represio ́n, ha 

habido un aumento importante del activismo y de la protesta en la 

calle. 

INTERPRETER. But even more so important, in addition to this increase in repression, there has been an increase in activism that 

took place in parallel to this increase in repression, and we see that 

out on the streets. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, en lo que respecta a co ́mo ayudar, se puede apoyar 

y ayudar de muchas, de muchas formas. Se puede intentar 

promover lo que esta ́ ocurriendo en, en Cuba por todas partes del 

mundo, llevarles la realidad cubana a cada foro internacional, a 

cada encuentro. 

INTERPRETER. In terms of helping, well, there is many ways. One 

would be to promote what is going on in Cuba and disseminate 

information all over the world to take it to all of the international 

fora. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, en te ́rminos concretos, en este caso podemos 

hablar, por ejemplo, creo que la—fortalecer las emisiones de Radio 

Martı ́ y Radio Repu ́blica, serı ́an algo muy importante y efectivo. 

INTERPRETER. And more specifically, to strengthen broadcasting 

from Radio Marti and Radio Republica would be extremely important and effective. 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, a propo ́sito de radio, de Radio Repu ́blica, hay algo 

que nos ha preocupado—que preocupa, que preocupa mucho, tanto 

en la resistencia como en las filas de la oposicio ́n. Y, es que no, no 

entendemos co ́mo en momentos en que la oposicio ́n esta ́ ganando 

este espacio, en momentos que esta ́ este importante despertar. 

INTERPRETER. And there is in terms of Radio Republica, there is 

a very big concern among the resistance and among the opposition, 

and that is that we don’t understand how at this time when the 

opposition is gaining all of these spaces—— 

Mr. PEREZ. No entendemos por—co ́mo es posible que el gobierno 

de los Estados Unidos de Ame ́rica, nuestro aliado histo ́rico en la 

lucha por la libertad, por ejemplo, le haya privado a organizaciones 

tan importantes, tan cercanas a la causa del, del pueblo, del pueblo 

cubano, de los presos, de los familiares, a organizaciones— 

el directorio democra ́tico cubano con cede en Miami y plantado 

hasta la libertad y la democracia en Cuba, que han tenido 

tradicionalmente una serie de programas que han contribuido 

importantemente en el fortalecimiento de la, de la oposicio ́n y en 

el apoyo moral y de todo tipo, a lo que en Cuba lucha mucho. 

INTERPRETER. So we don’t understand how is it possible for the 

Government of the United States of America, who has been our historical ally in this fight for freedom, how it has denied private organizations that have such closeness to us that do such important 

work for the Cuban people, more specifically the Cuban Democratic 

Board, who has programs that have contributed to the increase in 

the opposition. 

40 

Mr. PEREZ. Creo que en ese tema, creo que he respondido ma ́s. 

®Alguna otra pregunta? 

Senator MENENDEZ. Could you ask him if he was referring to 

Directorio’s funds for the purposes of helping inside of Cuba, that 

they have—I understand that they have been ceased? 

INTERPRETER. ®Sara Marta quisiera opinar? 

Ms. FONSECA. No, lo mismo que tu ́. INTERPRETER. ®Se esta ́ refiriendo a los fondos del directorio 

destinados al interior de Cuba, que tengo entendido fueron 

incautados? 

Mr. PEREZ. Me estoy refiriendo a los fondos para el Directorio 

democra ́tico Cubano. 

INTERPRETER. I am referring to those funds. The funds for the 

Cuban Democratic Board. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well—— 

Mr. PEREZ. A esos mismos fondos. 

INTERPRETER. And other organization—— 

Mr. PEREZ. Y, plantados a nuestra libertad a la democracia. 

Organizacio ́n que estaba conformada por ex presos polı ́ticos 

veteranos, presos polı ́ticos reconocidos, presos polı ́ticos que han 

tenido un muy serio y conmovedor trabajo con los familiares y con 

los presos, durante largos an ̃ os. 

INTERPRETER. Y, ®que ́? Plantados. This is an organization made 

up of ex-veterans and political prisoners, as they call them, who 

have done some serious work with their peers and their families 

for years—para la libertad y la democracia. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, with my thanks to Sara Marta Fonseca, Jorge Luis Perez ‘‘Antunez’’ and Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia for 

coming under very difficult circumstances and for once again exhibiting your courage and risking, I understand, the potential consequences from being willing to speak the truth about your reality 

and challenges in a simple public forum here in the United States 

via our satellite hookup, with enormous respect for your commitment to peacefully creating civil society and space inside of Cuba, 

you have the thanks of myself as the chairman, Senator Rubio, and 

the members of this committee. 

INTERPRETER. Quiero expresarles mi ma ́s profundo agradecimiento a Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, a Jos . . . Jorge Luis Pe ́rez 

Antunez y a Jose ́ Daniel Ferrer Garcı ́a, por haberse acercado en 

circunstancias sumamente difı ́ciles. Y, una vez ma ́s, haber 

mostrado este enorme valor e incluso a . . . arriesgarse a las 

posibles consecuencias que puedan llegar a sufrir. Y, por estar 

dispuestos a hablar de la ver . . . De la verdad, de la realidad y 

los desafı ́os que viven en Cuba. Mis ma ́s profundos respetos por su 

compromiso, de parte mı ́a y de parte del senador Rubio, y de todos 

los aquı ́ presentes. 

Senator MENENDEZ. With that and with our thanks to the U.S. 

Interests Section for facilitating our witnesses’ visit and for facilitating the ability to communicate here, with our thanks to Mr. 

Hernandez Gonzalez and to all, I think this has been a tremendous 

insight into the realities of life inside of Cuba, to the challenges 

that Cuban citizens face to enjoy the very basic fundamental freedoms that we observe here in the United States and, for that fact, 

most of the Western world. 

41 

It is a reality inside of Cuba that one can face repression, torture, or imprisonment simply for speaking one’s mind or simply for 

coming together in common cause to organize. Our witnesses, who 

have languished in Castro’s jails for years, are living witnesses to 

that reality. All the romanticism in the world cannot erase the reality that they have spoken of today. And so, they have our thanks. 

The record will remain open for 1 week. Any members who wish 

to ask questions may do so. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And with the thanks of the committee, this 

hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 1:10 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

RESPONSES OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY ROBERTA JACOBSON TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED

BY SENATOR BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

Question. ALAN GROSS: During your confirmation hearing last year, you pledged 

to continue to make Alan Gross’s release a priority during your tenure as Assistant 

Secretary. How has this commitment materialized? What concrete actions have you 

and your staff taken to bring Alan home? Has there been any progress? 

Answer. This administration views securing the immediate release of Alan Gross 

as an urgent priority. From the very beginning of his unjust detention, we have 

been careful to take our cues from, and respect the wishes of Mr. Gross’s family, 

who have been deprived of the presence of their loving husband, father, and son. 

Since Mr. Gross’s arrest, we have used and continue to use every appropriate diplomatic channel to press for his release, both publicly and privately. In addition to 

pressing the Cuban Government directly for his release, we have also urged governments around the world, prominent figures traveling to Cuba, and religious leaders 

to speak out on behalf of Mr. Gross. We strongly believe that Mr. Gross deserves 

to come home and be with his family, and we continue to press the Cuban Government to do the right thing and release him. 

Question. HUMANITARIAN GESTURES: I understand that many try to equate 

Alan Gross’s imprisonment with that of the so-called Cuban Five. I defy this. However, I did note that we recently allowed Rene Gonzalez, one of the Cuban Five, to 

travel from the United States to Cuba to visit an ailing relative. As you know, the 

Gross family has been calling for a reciprocal humanitarian gesture which would 

allow Alan to visit his ailing mother and daughter. I firmly believe the Cuban authorities should release Alan Gross and call on them to do so immediately. Have 

you discussed this ‘‘humanitarian gesture’’ with the Cuban authorities? If so, what 

was their response? 

Answer. The Cuban Government frequently attempts to compare Mr. Gross’s situation to the cases of the Cuban Five, five intelligence agents who were arrested in 

September 1998 and later convicted of a number of crimes in the United States. We 

do not equate the situations, and we continue to call on the Cuban Government to 

grant the request of Alan Gross to travel to the United States to visit his 90-yearold mother, Evelyn Gross. She is suffering from inoperable lung cancer and cannot, 

due to her condition, travel to Cuba. 

Regarding Rene Gonzalez’s travel to Cuba to visit his seriously ill brother, it was 

a U.S. district court that granted this travel request. While Mr. Gross’s situation 

is not comparable to those of the Cuban Five in any way, we strongly believe that 

the Cuban Government missed an opportunity to make a reciprocal humanitarian 

gesture and allow Mr. Gross to visit his mother. 

Unfortunately, despite Mr. Gross’s compelling humanitarian circumstances, the 

Cuban Government has thus far refused to grant or respond to Mr. Gross’s request. 

We continue to press the Cuban Government on this issue. 

Question. LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES: Obviously, Alan Gross’s mission, 

to expand Internet access to the Jewish community in Cuba, was a noble one. Yet, 

it went horribly awry and he and his family are suffering the consequences. What 

types of formal evaluation have occurred in the aftermath of Alan’s imprisonment 

that will prevent future mistakes of this magnitude and keep hardworking U.S. citizens out of harm’s way? Have you and your colleagues at USAID analyzed the 

‘‘lessons learned’’ from this tragedy and changed standard operating procedures for 

future programs? 

Answer. State and USAID have conducted reviews of all Cuba programs and continue to do so on a regular basis. However, carrying out democracy assistance proVerDate Nov 24 2008 09:22 Nov 20, 2012 Jkt 072394 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\HEARING FILES\112TH CONGRESS, 2ND\2012 ISSUE TEXT HEARINGS\060712-P.TXT
42 

grams in authoritarian states such as Cuba always carries some degree of risk. All 

grantees and contractors are well aware of such risks. 

Most organizations that carry out programs in Cuba have experience working in 

closed societies. Our grantees are aware of the risks of operating in the Cuban environment. We regularly communicate with grantees regarding developments on the 

island. 

During the grant application process, proposals are judged on an organization’s 

ability to achieve an objective and on past performance, among other criteria. For 

grantees applying for projects in Cuba, proposals that demonstrate a clear understanding of the Cuban context and an ability to operate in a restricted environment 

are generally viewed more favorably. 

To minimize the risks associated with carrying out programs in Cuba, we encourage grantees to limit travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens and permanent residents wherever possible. State and USAID advise grantees to carefully select the consultants 

and personnel they contract to implement programs in Cuba. 

RESPONSES OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY ROBERTA JACOBSON TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED

BY SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

Question. Secretary Clinton has reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to global Internet freedom and has made this part of her main platform. In a recent speech, she 

said that ‘‘the defense of a free, open, and interconnected Internet is a U.S. foreign 

policy priority. The State Department works to advance Internet freedom as an 

aspect of the universal rights of freedom of expression and the free flow of information.’’ 

Considering the importance of freedom of Internet, can you explain what the 

Department is currently doing to expand Internet freedom in the island? Has the 

State Department allocated any actual funding to help increase Internet availability 

in Cuba? What about connectivity within the island? 

Today’s hearing is on strengthening civil society in Cuba. Do you believe that freedom of the Internet and access to technology should be part of our focus in strengthening Cuba’s civil society? What is the State Department doing to promote Internet 

freedom and access in Cuba? 

Answer. The United States works to advance Internet freedom for people around 

the world, including in Cuba. Our support for strengthening Cuba’s civil society includes promoting Internet freedom and access to information and technology. 

In April 2009, the President directed the Departments of State, Treasury, and 

Commerce to take certain steps to increase the flow of information to the Cuban 

people. In response, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control 

(OFAC) made certain changes to its licensing policy, as reflected in the Cuban 

Assets Control Regulations (CACR), 31 CFR. 515. Among other changes, OFAC created a general license, authorizing transactions incident to the establishment of 

facilities to provide telecommunications services linking the United States and 

Cuba, including but not limited to fiber optic cable and satellite telecommunications 

facilities. Access to a freer flow of information will provide the Cuban people, including democracy activists and civil society, with information and tools that better prepare them to freely determine their own future and support communication between 

Cuba and the outside world. 

OFAC also created a general license authorizing contracts with non-Cuban telecommunications providers for telecommunications services provided to particular individuals in Cuba, provided that such individuals in Cuba are not prohibited officials of the Cuban Government or Cuban Communist Party as defined in the CACR. 

This move allows personal Internet communications service providers to reinstate 

services that some providers had terminated out of a desire to avoid a violation of 

U.S. sanctions against Cuba. 

The purpose of U.S. democracy programs in Cuba is to increase the free flow of 

information to, from, and within Cuba. Our U.S. Interests Section in Havana offers 

free high-speed, uncensored Internet access stations to the public, a popular service 

that generates more than 28,800 user hours per year. USINT also offers distance 

learning and other training to the Cuban public on information technology, Internet 

usage, social media, and online journalism to enable and support the free flow of 

information. The FY 2011 Congressional Notification for the Cuba Economic Support Funds outlines proposals to encourage the application of innovative technology 

to increase interconnectivity among civil society actors, to facilitate the flow of uncensored information, and to study ways to expand Internet access and connectivity 

within the island. These proposals also support using information communications 

43 

technology to tackle pressing issues in Cuba, such as documenting and publicizing 

human rights abuses, cyber security, impunity, and corruption. 

The United States supports Internet freedom for Cubans, as the free flow of information empowers individuals and strengthens civil society. We will continue to explore new technologies that hold the prospect of making uncensored Internet access 

a reality for the Cuban public in general. 

Question. The State Department gave a visa to Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariela, 

to speak at conferences in San Francisco and New York. Any nonseasoned Cuba observer knows that Mariela is currently the highest-profile spokesperson for her family dictatorship. She’s been traveling the world defending her family’s rule, insulting 

dissidents (calling them ‘‘despicable parasites’’) and justifying the arbitrary taking 

of an American hostage. 

Why would the State Department, despite the current visa ban on senior level 

Communist Party officials, grant an exception to Mariela Castro for this visit, where 

she predictably insulted my constituents and sought to discredit Cuba’s courageous 

dissidents? 

Shouldn’t the United States have been denying visas to these spokespersons of the 

regime until democracy activists are allowed equal time, and until American hostage, Alan Gross, is given an exit visa to come home to his family? 

Answer. As Director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education, Mariela 

Castro Espı ́n was invited to attend the 30th International Congress of the Latin 

American Studies Association (LASA) in San Francisco and to speak on Lesbian, 

Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender rights in California and New York. She last visited 

the United States in 2002, during the Bush administration. 

We cannot discuss specific details about Mariela Castro’s individual case because 

visa records are confidential under Federal law. However, the State Department 

places the highest priority on security and compliance with U.S. law and regulations 

when adjudicating visas applications. 

Presidential Proclamation 5377 of October 4, 1985, and other applicable policies 

and requirements are duly considered in the adjudication of visa applications submitted by Cuban nationals. Presidential Proclamation 5377 suspends entry into the 

United States of certain employees and officers of the Government of Cuba and the 

Communist Party. However, the Proclamation does not contain a blanket prohibition on issuing visas to Government and Party officials and employees. For example, 

the Proclamation allows entry of Cuban officials to conduct official business at the 

Cuban Interests Section and the Cuban U.N. mission. Moreover, under section 2(c) 

of the Proclamation, the Secretary of State may designate certain cases or categories 

of cases to which the suspension does not apply. Secretaries have from time to time 

made such designations, including a 1999 designation that had the effect of focusing 

the Proclamation’s application mainly on high-level government and Party officials, 

including the Cuban President and Vice President, the National Assembly President 

and Vice President; Politburo members; certain high-level Communist Party officials; and senior military, intelligence, and police officials. In light of the 1999 designation, Mariela Castro’s visa request did not fall into any of the categories to 

which the Proclamation still effectively applies. 

We condemn her comments concerning brave dissidents in Cuba and her statements defending the indefensible imprisonment of Alan Gross. The administration 

is strongly committed to supporting the promotion of human rights and respect for 

fundamental freedoms in Cuba, as well as free flow of information to, from, and 

within Cuba. Unlike the Cuban Government, we respect the freedom of speech and 

are not threatened by viewpoints with which we disagree. 

In regard to Alan Gross, we have used, and continue to use, every appropriate 

diplomatic channel to press for Mr. Gross’ release, both publicly and privately. We 

have urged governments around the world, prominent figures traveling to Cuba, and 

religious leaders to press for Gross’ immediate release. We have made clear that he 

was, as the Cuban Government appears to admit, simply assisting Cuban citizens 

to secure Internet access. We have made clear that we will not accept any effort 

to equate him or his efforts with those of Cuban intelligence officers who were duly 

convicted of espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, and other crimes. We continue 

to work to free Mr. Gross so that he may be reunited with his family. 

Question. There’s a long history of physical and psychological intimidation and 

harassment by Castro regime officials toward U.S. diplomats stationed at the U.S. 

Interests Section in Havana. Recently, The Miami Herald reported that the Cuban 

regime has heightened its harassment of our diplomats and tightened travel restrictions, so they cannot leave Havana. Thus, obviously, the Castro regime is not reciprocating the goodwill of the State Department in granting numerous visas to Castro 

regime officials and letting them roam freely throughout the United States. 

44 

Can you share with me what the State Department position is with regard to 

this? Are we implementing security measures to avoid the harassment of our diplomats? 

Answer. We have been concerned for some time and strongly condemn the ongoing 

Cuban Government harassment of our personnel in Havana, who are often publicly 

criticized in Cuban state-run media for conducting their normal activities. The U.S. 

Interests Section regularly, as a matter of policy, engages with the broadest group 

of Cubans—including democracy activists and human rights defenders—to learn 

from their perspectives and to promote further cultural understanding, especially on 

the topics of democracy, fundamental freedoms, and human rights. USINT has encouraged and will continue to encourage other countries’ missions and diplomats 

and the media to focus on human rights conditions in Cuba. U.S. personnel perform 

their professional duties and carry out their challenging assignments in this restrictive environment despite the risks and harassment. We regularly encourage all 

members of USINT staff to report any acts of harassment so that we can promptly 

register our objections directly with Cuban authorities. 

In 2002, the Cuban Government imposed travel restrictions on USINT officials 

limiting their travel within Havana province. Current restrictions on travel outside 

Havana hamper our ability to fully carry out our obligations under the Migration 

Accords and other core activities, including protection of U.S. citizens in Cuba. The 

restrictions also severely limit contact by USINT personnel with all but a small 

number of Cubans outside of Havana. The State Department has implemented reciprocal travel restrictions on CUBUN officials to within a 25-mile perimeter of New 

York City, and CUBINT officials within the Capital Beltway perimeter of Washington, DC, absent specific permission by the Department on a case-by-case basis 

to travel outside these perimeters, for example, to conduct consular visits to Cubans 

incarcerated in the United States. 

Our Diplomatic Security (DS) staff is dedicated to providing a secure living and 

working environment for our personnel in Havana, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

They are responsible for developing and implementing security policies and programs that provide for the protection of all U.S. Government personnel on official 

duty within Havana and their accompanying dependents. 

Æ