Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Rips John Kerry as He Heads to Havana

U.S. Sec. of State John Kerry will be in Havana on Friday to raise the flag as the American embassy opens. That doesn’t sit well with U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., one of the leading congressional Republicans when it comes to foreign affairs. 

"John Kerry’s presence in Havana on his global capitulation tour is yet another example of the Obama administration’s desire to pursue deals at any cost,” Ros-Lehtinen said on Thursday. “While the Castro brothers will roll out the red carpet for Secretary Kerry, the people of Cuba will continue to be met with violence and detentions. While Secretary Kerry just changes the sign on the door at our post, he forgets that the Castro regime tries to prevent the people of Cuba from even reaching our building.  While political prisoners languish in Castro’s gulags, Secretary Kerry will be shaking hands with their oppressor. The arrest of more than 100 pro-democracy leaders just days before Kerry’s visit should provide proof enough that the Castro regime has no intention of changing, so why should our policies change?

“From a dangerous Iran deal to being weak against North Korea to giving in to the demands of the Castro brothers, this administration has demonstrated it imposes no moral bar to negotiating with tyrannical regimes,” Ros-Lehtinen added. “It is a shame we continue to give away so much in exchange for nothing since the White House was unable to ensure democratic freedoms for the people of Cuba, the return of fugitives from American justice, or compensation for illegally confiscated properties. Our country stands for so much more than the pittance it has accepted from the Castro regime.”