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- 10/21/08: Remarks by Henrietta Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance at the White House Development Summit
- 10/08/08: Remarks by Henrietta Fore, USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance at The President's Freedom Agenda
- 10/01/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at the Ceremony Marking the Full Operational Capacity of Africa Command (AFRICOM)
- 09/25/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at 2008 Millennium Development Goal Malaria Summit, New York - "U.S. Leadership in the Fight Against Malaria"
- 09/22/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at the White House Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy - "U.S. Commitment to Advancing Global Literacy"
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Remarks by Adolfo A. Franco
Assistant Administrator for Latin America & Caribbean
Cuba Symposium
University of Iowa College of Law
February 6, 2004
I want to thank Professor Enrique Carrasco and the University of Iowa for organizing this conference and for inviting me to participate. It is an honor to be here.
It is also a great pleasure for me to return to Iowa, where I spent my early years after arriving from Cuba at the age of four. I have fond memories of my years in Iowa. And I have to tell you that -- unlike most of my Cuban friends who grew up elsewhere-- I love the change of seasons and the invigorating winter weather we have here in Iowa.
I also admire the direct, no-nonsense, way in which Iowans address issues, whether those issues are economic, social or political. Iowans are quick to take advantage of opportunities. And the opportunities now are global. The State of Iowa's official web site correctly notes that "the new global economy has transformed many diverse world markets into an enormous marketplace accessible to Iowa companies." The Iowa Department of Economic Development has opened international offices in Frankfurt, Germany and Tokyo, Japan. I hope one day you will have an office in a free Cuba.
The University of Iowa is well placed to host a seminar on the future of Cuba. The International and Comparative Law Program here at the University teaches important courses in democracy and the rule of law, and most significantly, a course in comparative law in post-Communist countries.
The University of Iowa's Center for Human Rights has developed data bases that I am sure include recent reports by Amnesty International, Freedom House and Human Rights Watch concerning the Castro government's most recent human rights abuses - the summary execution of three young men for stealing a motor boat, and the imprisonment of 75 human rights activists, independent journalists and independent librarians. I know we all look forward to the day when a post-communist Cuba will join the ranks of free democracies, transformed by the rule of law.
As all of you know, Cuba has enormous development potential, with its rich soils, beautiful beaches, coral reefs, and the wonderful Cuban people. When a future Cuban government finally permits the Cuban people to establish true democracy and create a free-market economy, Cuba will develop into a good neighbor for the United States and the rest of the hemisphere and Cuba will become an important market for the machinery, chemicals, electronics and agricultural products for which Iowa is renowned.
I know Iowa -based cooperatives already sell corn, soybeans and other food products to Cuba, as U.S. law permits. This is consistent with U.S. foreign policy, as is the donation of food and humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people. But sales of food to the Cuban government must be for hard cash. We insist on cash sales, because the Cuban dictatorship is not a trustworthy trading partner. The Castro regime is bankrupt, burdened with 33 billion dollars of public and private international debt it has no intention of ever repaying. Cuba's external debt amounts to $3,000 for every man, woman and child on the island. That's the highest per capita debt in Latin America, with the possible exception of Argentina. The Cuban government hasn't paid principal or interest on this debt since 1986. So, we are absolutely opposed to providing any loans or loan guarantees that would provide credit to this bankrupt regime.
So, to address the theme of this symposium, where is Cuba headed? Clearly, without a fundamental change in leadership, without an end to Fidel Castro's dictatorship, without free market economic and political reforms, Cuba is headed for increasing political repression, deepening poverty, further environmental degradation, and eventual chaos and collapse. The people of Cuba sense this. That is why they are leaving by the thousands every year, by whatever means they can escape.
The Castro regime can no longer rely on confiscated properties and stolen wealth. Those assets have long since been depleted. The regime can no longer rely on the former Soviet Union to bail it out, with bartered petroleum and billions of dollars in annual subsidies. Cuba can no longer rely on a domestic sugar industry which even the Castro regime now acknowledges is unproductive and obsolete. Cuba cannot rely on exports of tobacco, lobster and nickel to pay for its basic imports. Cuba is forced to rely on remittances from those who have left families on the island while they labor abroad, and Cuba is forced to rely on state-owned, state-managed tourist enterprises which produce relatively low net returns.
Clearly, under the current regime, present day Cuba is headed for disaster. And no lifting of travel and trade restrictions by the United States would head off that disaster.
As President Bush said in his speech on October 10, 2003, "Cuba must change." This administration is determined to promote that change. Our goal is a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy and free enterprise in Cuba, and we will not rest until the Cuban people have completed that transition.
Fortunately, the transition has begun. It has not begun with Fidel Castro or his brother or with their closest associates. It has not begun within the Communist Party. It has not begun within the Cuban military. It has begun at the grass roots, in the neighborhoods of Havana, in the villages of Pinar del Rio, in the churches of Santa Clara and Santiago, in the winding streets of Camaguey, in the sea-side slums of Manzanillo, in the hills of Baracoa. From one end of the island to the other, a peaceful democratic opposition has quietly emerged, without violence, without rhetoric, without fanfare, but courageous and determined to reclaim Cuba for the Cuban people.
Thousands of Cuban human rights activists, independent journalists, and independent librarians have begun to create the foundations for an independent civil society - a society based on respect for basic human rights - the right to read without censorship, the right to worship freely, the right to free expression, the right to form political parties, the right to demand a referendum, the right to own and operate a small business.
The Castro government ceaselessly attacks these individuals, imprisons them, defames them, and struggles to strip them of every human dignity. But increased government repression only leads to increased resistance. Cuba's peaceful opposition is growing stronger every day. And it deserves our support.
Over the past 7 years, the USAID Cuba Program has provided that support. Through grants to U.S. universities and non-governmental organizations, USAID provides books, newsletters, video cassettes, short-wave radios, food and medicine to Cuba's human rights activists, independent journalists, independent librarians, and other independent groups to help empower them in their struggle for freedom and democracy in Cuba.
We also work closely with Radio and TV Marti, the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, and U.S. non-governmental organizations to reach out directly to the Cuban people, to provide them with accurate information on democracy, human rights, and free enterprise. Our objectives support the U.S. policy goal articulated by President Bush and Secretary of State Powell: to promote a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
In October of last year, President Bush also announced the creation of a Presidential Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios has made the work of the commission a priority for USAID. We serve on all five Commission working groups that are now preparing a report for submission to the President on May 1 of this year. You can follow the work of the commission on the Department of State's web page: www.state.gov.
The Commission's report will include specific recommendations for developing a comprehensive program of U.S. and international assistance to a post-Castro transition government in Cuba. A Cuban transition government which releases all political prisoners, schedules free and fair, multi-party elections, and begins to implement the United Nations Charter for Human Rights can earn our generous support.
That day cannot come too soon.
Thank you very much, and I hope we will have time for questions.
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