Sen. Rubio: For Cuban Government ‘It’s All About Control’

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) gave a speech in front of Congress discussing how the Cuban government is to blame for the problems afflicting the Cuban people, and that their government will force the Cuban people to suffer as long as they can remain in control.

Rubio addressed the idea of sending items to the Cuban people, noting that all products will first be handled by the Cuban government. He said, “You can open up all you want. We can pass a bill here that says, ‘Open to Cuba. A hundred percent open.’ Full free trade, you can do whatever you want. At the end of the day, the Cuban regime will control that opening. It’s not just what we want to do, it’s what they want to do.”

“You want to do tourism?” Rubio continued. “We tried that in 2015 [with] the Obama changes and you know what they did, they said, ‘Thank you. We love the fact you’re coming here as [tourists].’ Guess what? All the tourist sites are owned by a holding company named GAESA controlled by the Cuban military, so everything comes through [their] hands.”

“You want to send them food?” He said. “That’s great. Guess who gets it? Acopio, which is a government military-owned agriculture company. You can’t sell it to a small grocery store in Cuba, or even a food wholesaler. It goes to the Cuban government.”

“You want to send money?” He continued. “They take it. You know why? Because socialism is about control, and all of these things —  tourism, food, money, medicine — it’s all about control.”

“You want to do humanitarian aid?” Rubio continued. “Let’s get Red Cross, any of these vetted NGOs in the world should be allowed going to Cuba. They won’t allow it, because it’s embarrassing to them.”

Rubio added, “They will use any opening as a tool — as a weapon — against their people because that’s what socialism does. That’s what these Marxists do in Cuba. They will use anything as a weapon against the people of Cuba.”