{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301153354/http://salmon.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/salmon-and-desantis-on-president-obamas-handshake-with-castro", "Salmon and DeSantis on President Obama's Handshake with Castro", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Matt Salmon", "S000018", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u2014Chairman Matt Salmon (AZ-05) of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06), Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, issued the following statements regarding President Obama\u2019s and President Castro\u2019s public handshake in South Africa:\n\u201cPresident Obama's handshake with Cuban dictator, Raul Castro, represents the first time in over 13 years a U.S. President has publically greeted a dictator of Cuba.\u00a0 It was an insult to the people of Cuba who are denied liberty and oppressed daily by the Cuban dictator.\u00a0 The White House claiming that the handshake was not planned further demonstrates the Administration's lack of a coherent and focused foreign policy. America has always been the beacon of hope for people who live under oppressive regimes, and the oppressed have always looked to the President of the United States to advocate for their freedom around the world.\u00a0 President Obama failed the people of Cuba with this very public handshake.\u201d\u2014Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere\n\u201cThe excitement exhibited in some liberal quarters regarding the embrace of Raul Castro by President Obama ignores the millions of victims of the totalitarian Castro regime. I urge the President to secure the release of American Alan Gross from Castro\u2019s prisons. The Cuban people have been denied liberty for more than 50 years and U.S. policy must be geared toward the establishment of a free and democratic Cuba.\u201d\u2014Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06), Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301153354/http://salmon.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/salmon-and-desantis-on-president-obamas-handshake-with-castro"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3600550591945648, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}