Diaz-Balart Calls on Obama Administration to Condemn Human Rights Abuses in Cuba and Express Solidarity with Hospitalized Activist Yuriet Pedroso González

WASHINGTON D.C. – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) released the following statement after reports that Cuban human rights activist Yuriet Pedroso González is gravely ill following a hunger strike.

"Human rights activist Yuriet Pedroso González has been on a hunger strike for 60 days to protest his unjust imprisonment and inhumane treatment. He is gravely ill in a state hospital in Santa Clara, Cuba. Many fear that he will not survive.

"The Castro dictatorship has been emboldened by President Obama's policy of proceeding with "normalization" despite the regime's continued brutal repression. The Holguin headquarters of the Ladies in White was recently burned, and political arrests continue to escalate.

"I call on the Obama administration to roundly condemn the egregious human rights abuses that are ongoing in Cuba, and to demand that Yuriet immediately receive the medical attention that he needs. The Castro regime has the blood of many innocents on its hands, and we must do all we can to prevent further loss of life."