As the United States, and the world, review the brutal legacy of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said that with honest negotiations the past need not be prologue with the Communist regime, now headed by Raúl Castro, so long as we all remain mindful of history when assessing future relations with the island nation.

     Smith noted that there will no doubt be those counseling the incoming President to continue the Obama Administration’s policy of concessions to the Castro brothers’ dictatorship without the regime making any substantive progress on human rights, but the Congressional foreign affairs expert counseled that political expedience and legacy building when placed ahead of human rights is a recipe for failure. Smith cautioned that the history of the regime demonstrates that it will never change if left to its own devices.

     “The passing of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is a reminder that death comes to us all, and that history will judge us for the good and the ill that we have done," said Smith, who Chairs a House panel on global human rights. “Unfortunately, Castro's legacy is one of human rights abuse, torture and murder. He harbored terrorists, such as Joanne Chesimard, convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper.

     “Castro’s legacy must not be whitewashed, as some no doubt will try to do. My prayer is for the Cuban people—that freed from the legacy of the Oppressor, they can now build a new free and democratic Cuba. The Cuba of tomorrow lies with the Women in White and so many other champions of democracy.

     “President-Elect Trump’s clear statements about the nature of the Castro regime indicate that he understands the need for a U.S. policy that does not coddle dictators, but puts the human rights of the Cuban people front and center.”

     Smith said that history can often provide a roadmap for the future, designed to prevent the problems of the past. “The history of Cuba under Castro has been the story of enslavement of a proud people, the story of a systematic and ruthless attempt to suppress most of what is noble and essential in the human spirit,” said Smith, who held his first hearing on Cuba in 1996. Smith noted that in the same year the State department described Cuba as ‘a totalitarian state controlled by President Fidel Castro,’ who ‘exercises control over all aspects of Cuban life.’ “As we look at the experiences of the Cuban people under Castro and his brother since my first hearing on Cuba, regrettably not much has changed.”

     The 1996 hearing was held to analyze an agreement between the Clinton Administration and the Castro regime which would forcibly return Cubans fleeing to the United States to find freedom from oppression, overturning more than three decades of U.S. foreign policy. The suffering of those who returned to face harassment by the government, or worse, must not be forgotten as the Obama Administration attempts to cement its legacy.

     In 2000, Smith chaired a hearing that looked into the case of Elian Gonzalez, a child residing with family in Florida after his mother perished while fleeing the oppression of Cuba. At the time the  State Department reported that the Cuban government “…utilizes a wide range of social controls; the state has assumed the right to interfere in the lives of citizens, even those who do not actively oppose the Government and its practices.” Ultimately, Gonzalez was returned to a government that called him a ‘possession of the Cuban state.’

     In total, Smith has held four standalone hearings on Cuba, the most recent being titled “Human Rights in Cuba: A Squandered Opportunity.” In addition, Cuba has been included in separate hearings focusing on human trafficking and other human rights violations.

     Smith is the author of several bills and amendments to improve the human rights situation in Cuba. Two of the most recent pieces of legislation include the Cuban Human Rights Act of 2015 (H.R. 1782), which links any improvement in ties with Cuba to the Castro regime meeting basic human rights milestones, and the Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster Justice and Extradition Act (H.R. 2189), which calls upon the Administration to prioritize the return of fugitives from justice such as Joanne Chesimard, convicted of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. 

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