Rubio Campaign Press Release - The Cuban People Deserve Freedom & Democracy

Freedom is the Goal

May 20, 2015

By Marco Rubio

As we mark Cuban Independence Day this Wednesday, we must never forget that the only true form of independence for the Cuban people is freedom and democracy, and we must recommit our state and nation to the goal of helping them achieve that vital objective.

I am the proud son of Cuban-American parents and was raised in a community of Cuban exiles. The trajectory of my life has been a product of their support, of true freedom, and of a uniquely American ideal: that where you come from does not determine where you can go or who you can be. Yet just 90 miles from the shores of our nation are men and women of my ancestry and heritage who still do not have freedom. Yet they look to this country for the hope that they someday will.

I believe we must not fail them. In the last decade and a half, every single country in the Western Hemisphere has had a free and fair election at some point except for one: Cuba. The United States has always stood on the side of peoples around the world who yearn for freedom. But today, our president has decided to take a different approach. Not only has he forsaken our duty to advocate for oppressed peoples, but he has traveled many miles in the opposite direction: going so far as to pay homage to the whims of the very dictatorial regime that denies the freedom of the Cuban people.

In defending his egregious concessions to the Castro regime, President Obama often makes the argument that if the embargo hasn't worked for 50 years, we should try something new. My question is: Why hasn't he tried making a similar argument to the Castro regime? For over 50 years, they've tried tyranny and Communism and it hasn't worked. The Cuban people today have a standard of living well below that of virtually every other nation in the hemisphere.

Click here to read the full Op-Ed at MiamiHerald.com