Cuban-American Lawmakers In New Jersey Oppose Renewing Relations
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- High-ranking Cuban-American lawmakers in New Jersey are speaking out against U.S. plans to normalize full diplomatic relations with Cuba.
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez called the release of an American aid worker, which preceded President Barack Obama's announcement, "a moment of profound relief'' for the man's family.
But Menendez, whose parents came to New York from Cuba just before he was born, assailed the deal, saying "President Obama's actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.''
Many Cuban Immigrants In Union City Voice Displeasure With Policy Change
Menendez said the deal with Cuba is unlikely to lead to any ideological changes there.
"What makes you think that the Castros that have had a tight trip on Cuban society for nearly six decades now just suddenly want to give it up?" he said.
Mendendez added that he thinks "it stinks" that, as Foreign Relations Committee chair, he was not aware of the negotiations until Obama announced the deal.
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, a Cuban native who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 11, said Wednesday he fears normalizing relations will strengthen the Cuban regime and "cement its permanency.''
Menendez Blasts US Move To Renew Relations With Cuba
Prieto says he knows "firsthand'' the Cuban regime's poor record on human rights and its resistance to democracy.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., said that while the news is "momentous," he shares the concern of Menendez and others that the quick normalization of relations "are only rewarding the Cuban government for decades of bad behavior and gross violations of human rights."
"I will be monitoring these developments closely and must insist that any opening of relations comes side by side with an opening of the Cuban government's political system from totalitarianism to one that respects democracy, human rights, and personal freedoms -- that is the only Cuba we can recognize," Pascrell said in a statement.
Cuban-American Lawmakers In New Jersey Oppose Renewing Relations
"This is a moment for U.S.-Cuban relations and today we say yes to the potential for change, but we must say no to an immediate halt of sanctions on Cuba," Pascrell added.
Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations and an easing in economic and travel restrictions on Cuba, but the longstanding economic embargo would have to be overturned by Congress.
Former Cubans now living in New Jersey also voiced displeasure with the president's plans. Among them was Roberto Martinez Gonzalez, a 73-year-old Union City resident who was among the thousands who fled Cuba during Mariel boatlift in 1980.
"I want Cuba to be free,'' Gonzalez said Wednesday. "All of my family is in the U.S. except for one of my half-sisters, so there's nothing for me to do there. The only thing I want is for those two (former leader Fidel Castro and current President Raul Castro) to go away.''
Another Union City man said the only ones who will benefit will be those in the Cuban government, not the average Cuban resident.
"The day-to-day Cubans are still going to be suffering the same way that they've suffered for many, many years," he told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria.
Tony Calgano, who came to the U.S. from Cuba as a child, said there are still hard feelings.
"They threw us out, and now all of sudden we're supposed to forget?" he said, adding that at the end of the day, the Cuban people are still oppressed by a totalitarian regime that doesn't believe in human rights.
Alberto Rodriguez said after 50 years of isolation this change was just a matter of time, but he has mixed feelings about the announcement and doubts it will help the Cuban people.
"Things will change in Cuba when you have reelections, when people can travel freely, when people can organize," Rodriguez said.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there were so many Cuban immigrants in Union City it became known as "Havana on the Hudson," D'Auria reported.
The re-establishment of diplomatic ties was accompanied by Cuba's release of American Alan Gross and the swap of a U.S. spy held in Cuba for three Cubans jailed in Florida.
The three Cubans are part of the Cuban Five — a group of men who were part of the "Wasp Network" sent by Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. The men, who are hailed as heroes in Cuba, were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents in the U.S.
Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences.
"Trading Mr. Gross for three convicted criminals sets an extremely dangerous precedent," Menendez said. "It invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans serving overseas as bargaining chips. I fear that today's actions will put at risk the thousands of Americans that work overseas to support civil society, advocate for access to information, provide humanitarian services, and promote democratic reforms."
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