Edward Snowden, Cuba and Ecuador Draw Fire From Florida Congresswoman

Over the weekend, as the world wondered where Edward Snowden, the former CIA analyst who leaked NSA information to the press, is headed, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., ripped into the Cuban regime. Snowden was expected to be headed to Cuba but he was not on a flight to that communist nation on Monday.

It would not be surprising if the NSA leaker finds safe haven in Cuba or Venezuela, two regimes that have a longstanding history of giving refuge to fugitives from U.S. law, Ros-Lehtinen said on Sunday. Let us not forget that Phillip Agee, former CIA agent, leaked classified information about CIA personnel and fled the U.S. to seek refuge until he passed away in 2008 in Cuba.

The cruel irony is that there are no press freedoms in either Cuba or Venezuela, yet Snowden -- who supposedly stands for transparency in government -- seeks refuge in police states like these two countries, she added. Those who misrule over Cuba and Venezuela, Raul Castro and Nicolas Maduro, do not allow independent free press, do not cooperate on terrorism-related issues, disregard due process and an independent judicial system.

Cuba a U.S. designated State Sponsor of Terrorism =- is currently harboring over 70 fugitives, including Joanne Chesimard who is on the Federal Bureau of Investigations Most Wanted Terrorist list. The Cuban regime has also used our senior health care system, Medicare, to scam the American people in order to funnel funds to the Castro thugs, Ros-Lehtinen continued. Im concerned that Castro or Maduro can use the NSA leaker as a bargaining chip to get more concessions from the Obama administration. Cuba has a sophisticated espionage service that controls the Venezuelan regime and undermines U.S. interests. If the NSA leaker shares our intelligence capabilities with either authoritarian state, it would further jeopardize our national security.

Ros-Lehtinen, a member of the House Western Affairs Subcommittee, also offered harsh words for the regime in Ecuador. It was rumored over the weekend that Snowden could have been headed to that Latin American nation.

New reports indicate that NSA leaker Snowden may be headed to Ecuador, Ros-Lehtinen said. If true, then Snowden will be in a nation where press freedoms are trampled upon. In the Ecuador of Rafael Correa, editors and journalists pay huge fines and are sent to jail for articles or reports that supposedly injure Correas character. It's pathetic that whistleblower looks to press oppressor nations for transit and refuge.

Correa is a well-known friend of those who wish to bring harm to America, Ros-Lehtinen insisted. Last year, he offered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asylum. Correa has also led the effort to try to weaken and undermine the Inter-American Human Rights Commission at the OAS. The Obama administration must let Correa know that his actions will have consequences and the administration must not renew the trade preferences with Ecuador that expire next month.

The reality is that Correa is Chavez-lite with nicer suits but an oppressor of an independent press and an advocate for the weakening of democracy protecting institutions in our hemisphere, she said in conclusion.