Mario Diaz-Balart Takes Aim at Obama's Cuba Policy

With U.S. Sec. of State John Kerry raising the flag at the American embassy in Havana on Friday, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., called out the Obama administration for not inviting opponents of the Castro regime to the ceremony. 

"That a U.S. secretary of State would sideline Cuba's pro-democracy activists simply to avoid offending their oppressors is unthinkable,” Diaz-Balart said on Friday. “In Cuba, pro-democracy and human rights activists strive each day, at grave personal risk, to achieve freedom for the Cuban people. It is shameful that President Obama and Secretary Kerry have stooped so low as to publicly choose the Castro regime over the Cuban people, and exclude Cuba's brave leaders from a U.S.-hosted event at our post in Havana. Our U.S. mission in Cuba has always been a welcoming haven and symbol of liberty for those struggling for freedom in the midst of tyranny. The U.S. must remain unequivocal in its support for democracy, human rights and essential liberties, which necessarily includes standing by those struggling to achieve them."