Armando J. Ibarra
The Miami Young Republicans honor the veterans of Brigade 2506 on the 58th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and remember the heroes who gave their lives in pursuit of freedom in Cuba.
We thank President Trump and his administration for marking this anniversary by announcing historic policy changes and new sanctions on the dictatorships in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
These three countries are being held hostage by the same evil regime based out of Havana. For years, the Cuban dictatorship has exported its oppression to Latin America. Cuban military, intelligence, and security services keep Maduro in power, undermine the stability of the Western Hemisphere, and pose a direct threat to U.S. national security. The administration’s bold actions send a clear message that we will no longer tolerate tyrants in our hemisphere.
By activating Titles III and IV of the Helms-Burton law to allow US citizens to sue for properties seized by the communist Castro regime and ban from the US the people that traffic in the stolen property, we will help bring justice for the millions of people who lost everything to that cruel tyranny.
We applaud Ambassador Bolton for prohibiting “veiled tourism” to Cuba. If people must travel to the island, it should only be to visit family and definitely not to take romanticized photos in the ruins of confiscated mansions that symbolize the tragedy that fell upon millions of families.
Without tourism dollars and with the new $4,000 per person yearly limit on remittances to Cuba and additional sanctions on Venezuela’s central bank and Nicaraguan officials, we will cut those dictatorships off from the US dollars they need to stay in power.
Obama’s appeasement of the Castro-Canel and Maduro dictatorships was a betrayal and weakness that strengthened and emboldened them to increase violence and repression, and to tighten their grip on power. The people of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua paid the price.
President Trump has proven with his bold actions that he and the Republican Party will always stand with our community and with freedom-loving people across Latin America.
Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, and Gov. Ron DeSantis have shown incredible leadership in achieving these policy changes. A new chapter has opened in the history of our hemisphere.
Armando J. Ibarra President, Miami Young Republicans
