ENROLLED
2015 Legislature SM 866
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3 A memorial to the President of the United States and
4 the Congress of the United States expressing profound
5 disagreement with the decision of the President to
6 restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba, opposing
7 the opening of a consulate or any diplomatic office in
8 this state, and urging the upholding of the embargo.
9
10 WHEREAS, on December 17, 2014, the President of the United
11 States announced that this country would restore full diplomatic
12 relations with the nation of Cuba after more than 50 years of
13 unconcealed hostility, and
14 WHEREAS, Cuba has been under the crushing oppression of a
15 brutal communist dictatorship since 1959, led first by Fidel
16 Castro and more recently by his brother Raul, and
17 WHEREAS, the actions of the Castro brothers have resulted
18 in the impoverishment of the Cuban people and a complete and
19 blatant disregard for human rights and democratic principles by
20 the government of that nation, and
21 WHEREAS, under the Castro brothers, Cuba has been an active
22 and ominous threat to the vital interests of the United States
23 and all peace-loving nations, as members of Cuba’s military and
24 diplomatic corps have worked assiduously to promote violent,
25 anti-democratic revolutions across the globe, and
26 WHEREAS, the diplomatic initiative announced by the
27 President involved the release of U.S. government subcontractor
28 Alan Gross by Cuba after 5 years of detention due to the absurd
29 and unfounded allegation of the Cuban government that he was a
30 spy, and the release by the United States of three Cuban spies
31 convicted in the United States of conspiracy to commit espionage
32 and conspiracy to commit murder, including the murder of at
33 least three United States citizens, and linked to terrorist
34 activities in this country, and
35 WHEREAS, numerous respected public officials, both
36 Democratic and Republican, at the federal and state levels, have
37 denounced this restoration of diplomatic relations and strongly
38 believe that it will do nothing to free the Cuban people from
39 the poverty and injustice they have suffered for more than a
40 half century and that it will only serve to support a tottering,
41 bankrupt dictatorship, and
42 WHEREAS, the residents of this state are all too familiar
43 with the viciousness of the Castro regime due to the presence of
44 millions of Cuban-born men and women who fled from a regime
45 intent on stealing their property and putting them at the
46 service of a brutal military government, as they outlawed
47 religious expression, and indoctrinated children to engage in
48 espionage against their own family members, and
49 WHEREAS, these men and women are heartbroken over how the
50 Castro brothers have destroyed the culture and economic vitality
51 of their beloved island homeland, and
52 WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper for the members of the
53 Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives to
54 express profound disagreement with the decision of the President
55 of the United States to restore full diplomatic relations with
56 Cuba, NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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60 That we express profound disagreement with the decision of
61 the President of the United States to restore full diplomatic
62 relations with Cuba, oppose the opening of a Cuban consulate or
63 any diplomatic office in this state, and urge the Congress of
64 the United States to uphold the embargo until such a time when
65 this arcane dictatorship is no longer in power and the most
66 basic human and civil rights are once again recognized in Cuba.
67 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
68 dispatched to the President of the United States, the President
69 of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of
70 Representatives, and each member of the Florida delegation to
71 the United States Congress.