Q: Will stricter sanctions against Cuba bring down the Castro regime?

Insight on the News, April 22, 1996 by Dan Burton, Roger W. Fontaine

Q: Will stricter sanctions against Cuba bring down the Castro regime?

Yes: New trade sanctions will deny Castro hard currency and empower pro-democracy groups in Cuba.

The passage of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, also known as the Burton-Helms or the "libertad" bill, represents a major blow for freedom of the Cuban people. The day the bill passed the House was one of the proudest of my congressional career.

With a bipartisan vote of 336-86--and a Senate vote of 74-22--Congress sent a clear message to Fidel Castro: Your time is up and we are determined to help the Cuban people achieve their long-delayed freedom. Such an unambiguous, united front on an important foreign-policy issue is bound to have maximum effect. We are gratified that President Clinton has signed the bill.

The most important part of the libertad law is the codification of the U.S. embargo. Until now, the embargo has existed only by virtue of executive order. Since John F. Kennedy, every president has honored it, but now it is law, and only a clear movement toward democracy in Cuba and congressional action will lift it.

The act also tightens the embargo through several avenues. It calls upon the president to seek an international embargo. It restricts international financing of the Castro regime, bars any American funds from supporting investment in Cuba and reduces aid to Russia by the amount it spends on any spy facility in Cuba. Every item in the bill will help promote the interests of the Cuban people and will help fill their strong hunger and thirst for freedom.

Congress instructs the U.S. Information Agency, or USIA, to begin broadcasting Television Marti on UHF frequencies. Since the mid-eighties, Radio Marti has provided the Cuban people with a reliable source of news, ideas and information. Broadcast from Washington and operated by USIA, Radio Marti plays a role in Cuba similar to the one played by Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe in the former communist bloc. Joseph Sullivan, the chief U.S. representative at the U.S. interests section in Havana, told me that Radio Marti is the most-listened-to broadcast in all of Cuba, a claim supported by numerous surveys. We believe strongly that Television Marti can and should play a similar role in promoting democracy in Cuba.

The effectiveness of TV Marti has been stunted by several factors. First, one of the engineers who helped create TV Marti was, in reality, an agent of Cuban intelligence. When he redefected to Cuba, he supplied the Castro regime with vital information that makes it easier to jam the signals.

Much criticism has been leveled at TV Marti because of its inability to reach large numbers of viewers effectively at convenient times. Due to technical considerations, broadcasting is limited to the wee hours of the morning. The critics of TV Marti argue that its inability to get through makes it a waste of money. If true, they ought to applaud efforts to enhance its effectiveness. UHF conversion will be a giant step forward.

TV and Radio Marti break the isolation of the Cuban people and expose them to what is happening in the outside world. Castro would like nothing better than to keep Cubans ignorant of the profound economic and political changes that have been occurring in Latin America and throughout the world.

Another provision in the act authorizes support to Cuban-democracy groups on the island. These brave men and women operate under difficult and dangerous conditions and are embattled, besieged and constantly harassed by the Castro regime.

In recent months, some 100 dissident groups united in a coalition called the Concilio Cubano, or Cuban Council. It comprises a wide array of groups holding various political philosophies dedicated to nonviolence and democracy. They asked the government for permission to hold a peaceful public meeting. The response of the Cuban government was to jail, detain or intimidate more than 100 Concilio leaders. It is clear the Castro regime is committed to only one goal: staying in power by force.

The toughest measures in the new law aim to deny the Castro dictatorship the hard currency it needs to survive. Since the end of Soviet subsidies, the Cuban economy has declined by 60 percent. This jeopardizes Castro's grip on power and explains why he has allowed joint ventures with foreign companies. Attracting foreign investment is crucial to Castro's survival. This is precisely why it is necessary to cut off that investment by legitimate means.

The libertad law will go a long way toward discouraging French, Spanish, Mexican, Canadian and British companies from investing on the island. First, it sets up a "right of action" in U.S. courts for American citizens whose property was confiscated by the Castro regime and is being exploited by unscrupulous foreign corporations. Second, it denies U.S. visas to officers and major shareholders of such companies.

Most of the shrill criticism by some of our friends abroad has centered on these latter provisions. While we always are interested in the views and opinions of our allies, we are unapologetic. We have the moral high ground on this issue. I cannot fathom how anyone possibly could believe they have the right to "traffic" in stolen property. I urge our allies to consider how they would feel if somebody stole their house and car, then profited by selling them to someone else who was fully aware he was buying stolen property.