Press Release

Statement of Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, Co-Chair of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today released the following statement:

“Fidel Castro’s legacy has been one of hate, violence, repression of the Cuban people, and countless human rights violations. For the man who created a Caribbean gulag, history’s verdict will be as severe as his rule.

“Fidel Castro’s announcement merely represents a change in name only; the same repressive communist regime continues to rule Cuba. The Cuban people deserve to exercise the same fundamental rights as people in other Western Hemisphere countries: free elections, a free press, the right of workers to organize, independent political parties, freedom of speech and democratic institutions.

“A real transition to democracy cannot take place by cosmetic changes in the Cuban leadership or by the replacement of one dictator by another. Cuba’s bankrupt political system and its repressive security apparatus must be dismantled and all political prisoners must be released. Without freedom and fundamental human rights in Cuba, the same old Castro regime reigns.

“The Cuban people are tired of suffering. President Bush and the United States are on the side of the Cuban people and not the regime.”

Click here for Spanish version of statement.