(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the news that an offshore oil well drilled in Cuban waters by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA failed to produce commercially viable oil.  Spain’s Repsol and a partnership between Malaysia’s Petronas and Russia’s Gazprom Neft have also failed to find any commercially viable sources of oil in Cuban waters. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"The Castro brother’s third attempt at becoming oil tycoons has come up dry once again.  The regime’s latest efforts to bolster their tyrannical rule through oil revenues was unsuccessful as Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA admitted failure and closed its oil exploration operations off the coast of Cuba, a U.S. designated State Sponsor of Terrorism. However, we must stay vigilant as the Cuban regime is continuing its futile search for oil in coordination with Russia’s state-run oil company Zarubezhneft that plans to begin drilling later this month in Cuban waters.

“The Obama Administration’s lack of action towards the communist regime’s oil exploration efforts has placed the fragile marine environment and economic well-being of the U.S. in the hands of the Castro brothers.  Despite these blatant safety and economic concerns, the Obama Administration sat idly by as the regime granted access to any able partner, including rogue regimes, looking to make money off the backs of the Cuban people.  The Administration must finally wake up and see the truth that an oil rich Castro regime is not in our interests.”

 NOTE: Ros-Lehtinen is the author of HR 6067, the Western Hemisphere Security Cooperation Act, which amends the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to deny U.S. visas to aliens contributing to Cuba’s ability to develop petroleum resources off its coast. The bill would also impose export sanctions and other penalties on persons and entities investing in the development of Cuba’s petroleum resources.