U.S.-Cuba deal only enriches 'a tyrant and his regime' - Rubio

Rubio: U.S.-Cuba deal only enriches 'a tyrant and his regime'
Published January 16, 2015 EFE

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the U.S. lawmakers who is most
hostile toward the Cuban government, said Thursday that the announced
economic aid from Washington to Havana will only serve to enrich "a
tyrant and his regime" as well as to finance the repression of the Cuban
people.

"This is a windfall for the Castro regime that will be used to fund its
repression against Cubans, as well as its activities against U.S.
national interests in Latin America and beyond," said the Cuban-American
senator in a communique after the announcement of easing the
restrictions was made public.

Rubio, a possible presidential candidate in 2016, said that, taking into
account U.S. law and Washington's current policy toward Cuba, this
series of regulations results in at least one "major question" about
U.S. President Barack Obama's legal authority to take these measures.

"Yesterday I requested answers from Secretary Lew on how this new Cuba
policy would be implemented without violating the letter and spirit of
several U.S. laws, and without increasing the moral and financial risk
to the American taxpayer and financial system of doing business through
Cuba's government-controlled financial system," he added.

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday announced amendments to the program of
sanctions against Cuba whereby the restrictions on trade with and travel
to the communist island will be eased, as promised by Obama on Dec. 17.

The Commerce Department and the Treasury announced the changes to the
Cuban Assets Control Regulations and Export Administration Regulations,
which will go into effect on Friday.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a press release that the
changes "will immediately enable the American people to provide more
resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon
the state-driven economy, and help facilitate our growing relationship
with the Cuban people."

The agreement was the result of 18 months of secret negotiations between
the U.S. government and Cuba, talks that were facilitated and mediated
by Pope Francis and Canada.

Source: Rubio: U.S.-Cuba deal only enriches 'a tyrant and his regime' |
Fox News Latino -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2015/01/15/rubio-us-help-for-cuba-only-enriches-tyrant-and-his-regime/