III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 354 

Honoring the life of dissident and democracy activist Wilman Villar Mendoza 

and condemning the Castro regime for the death of Wilman Villar Mendoza. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2012 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. NELSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life of dissident and democracy activist Wilman 

Villar Mendoza and condemning the Castro regime for 

the death of Wilman Villar Mendoza. 

Whereas, on Thursday, January 19, 2012, 31-year-old Cuban 

dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza died, following a 56-day 

hunger strike to highlight his arbitrary arrest and the repression of basic human and civil rights in Cuba by the 

Castro regime; 

Whereas, on November 2, 2011, Wilman Villar Mendoza was 

detained by security forces of the Government of Cuba 

for participating in a peaceful demonstration in Cuba 

calling for greater political freedom and respect for 

human rights; 


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•SRES 354 IS 

Whereas Wilman Villar Mendoza was sentenced to 4 years in 

prison after a hearing that lasted less than 1 hour and 

during which Wilman Villar Mendoza was neither represented by counsel nor given the opportunity to speak in 

his defense; 

Whereas, on November 25, 2011, Wilman Villar Mendoza 

was placed in solitary confinement after initiating a hunger strike to protest his unjust trial and imprisonment; 

Whereas Wilman Villar Mendoza was a member of the Unio ́n 

Patrio ́tica de Cuba, a dissident group the Cuban regime 

considers illegitimate because members express views critical of the regime; 

Whereas security forces of the Government of Cuba have harassed Maritza Pelegrino Cabrales, the wife of Villar Mendoza and a member of the Ladies in White (Damas de 

Blanco), and have threatened to take away her children 

if she continues to work with the Ladies in White; 

Whereas Human Rights Watch, which documented the case 

of Wilman Villar Mendoza, stated, ‘‘Arbitrary arrests, 

sham trials, inhumane imprisonment, and harassment of 

dissidents’ families—these are the tactics used to silence 

critics.’’; 

Whereas Amnesty International stated, ‘‘The responsibility 

for Wilman Villar Mendoza’s death in custody lies 

squarely with the Cuban authorities, who summarily 

judged and jailed him for exercising his right to freedom 

of expression.’’; 

Whereas Orlando Zapata Tamayo, another prisoner of conscience jailed after the ‘‘Black Spring’’ crackdown on opposition groups in March 2003, died in prison on February 23, 2010, after a 90-day hunger strike; 


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•SRES 354 IS 

Whereas, according to the Cuban Commission on Human 

Rights, the unrelenting tyranny of the Castro regime has 

led to more than 4,000 political detentions and arrests in 

2011; and 

Whereas Cuba is a member of the United Nations Human 

Rights Council despite numerous documented violations 

of human rights every year in Cuba: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Cuban regime for the death 

3 of Wilman Villar Mendoza on January 19, 2011, fol4 lowing a hunger strike to protest his incarceration 

5 for participating in a peaceful protest and to high6 light the plight of the Cuban people; 

7 (2) condemns the repression of basic human 

8 and civil rights by the Castro regime in Cuba that 

9 resulted in more than 4,000 detentions and arrests 

10 of activists in 2011; 

11 (3) honors the life of Wilman Villar Mendoza 

12 and his sacrifice on behalf of the cause of freedom 

13 in Cuba; 

14 (4) extends condolences to Maritza Pelegrino 

15 Cabrales, the wife of Wilman Villar Mendoza, and 

16 their children; 

17 (5) urges the United Nations Human Rights 

18 Council to suspend Cuba from its position on the 

19 Council; 


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•SRES 354 IS 

1 (6) urges the General Assembly of the United 

2 Nations to vote to suspend the rights of membership 

3 of Cuba to the Human Rights Council; 

4 (7) urges the international community to con5 demn the harassment and repression of peaceful ac6 tivists by the Cuban regime; and 

7 (8) calls on the governments of all democratic 

8 countries to insist on the release of all political pris9 oners and the cessation of violence, arbitrary arrests, 

10 and threats against peaceful demonstrators in Cuba, 

11 including threats against Maritza Pelegrino Cabrales 

12 and members of the Ladies in White (Damas de 

13 Blanco). 

Æ 


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