Statement by Governor Perry on Restoration of Diplomatic Relations Between the U.S. and Cuba

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry today released the following statement regarding the announcement that the United States and Cuba will restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in their respective capitals:

"The reopening of U.S. and Cuban embassies is the latest step in President Obama's normalization of relations with the Castro regime, and the most recent example of this president's foreign policy that ignores reality in exchange for surface level political "wins." The truth is that since the Castro brothers assumed power in 1959, their policies have changed very little. The Cuban people today are not any freer politically or economically, and President Obama has failed to account for what the Castro regime has done in the last several years that warrants such an enormous shift in a longstanding U.S. policy of economic embargo and diplomatic isolation. There is no indication that further normalization will do anything to actually liberate the Cuban people or advance American interests."