Does Nothing to Advance Lives of Ordinary Cubans

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after the State Department removed Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list:

“Today’s announcement does nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Cubans who continue to suffer with no political or economic freedoms.  Indeed, a Cuban worker at a foreign-owned resort receives as little as five percent of their pay check.  The rest is extracted from foreign businesses and invested in the security apparatus.  To date, U.S. diplomatic talks with Cuba have failed to advance the political freedoms of individual Cubans.  That has to change dramatically or the Administration will be giving a 50-year-old failed regime a new lease on life.”

###