U.S. Will Continue Pro-Democracy Work in Cuba and Wherever Freedom is Under Attack

WASHINGTON— Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) released the following statement after a recent report on USAID's democracy programs in Cuba.

"Efforts by the State Department and USAID to bring information to the Cuban people, and to find creative ways for the Cuban people to communicate with each other and with the outside world, are precisely the types of activities that the United States must vigorously pursue in closed societies. America's efforts during the Cold War helped to bring democracy to countries once isolated behind the Iron Curtain. Pro-democracy activities must be undertaken with discretion because the most innocuous acts are ‘crimes' in totalitarian states. It is outrageous that the AP abandoned all pretense of objectivity and published an overtly biased hit piece against a program that enjoys broad bipartisan support. Does it similarly object to pro-democracy efforts in other oppressed societies such as Iran, Belarus, and North Korea?

"The United States has a noble history of helping oppressed peoples achieve liberty. It will continue to do so in Cuba and every other corner of the world where freedom is under assault."