{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=d6c39dd4-8d06-4de3-8065-5cb27d865f1f", "Rubio Comments On Reports Of Change In U.S. Policy Toward Cuba, Release Of Alan Gross", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Marco Rubio", "R000595", "www.rubio.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding reports that President Obama is set to dramatically change U.S. policy toward Cuba following the release of Alan Gross, an American who was held hostage by the Castro regime in Cuba for five years:\r\n   \r\n\u201cToday\u2019s announcement initiating a dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Cuba is just the latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all cost.\r\n   \r\n\u201cLike all Americans, I rejoice at the fact that Alan Gross will be able to return to his family after five years in captivity. Although he is supposedly being released on humanitarian grounds, his inclusion in a swap involving intelligence agents furthers the Cuban narrative about his work in Cuba.\u00a0In contrast, the Cuban Five were spies operating against our nation on American soil. They were indicted and prosecuted in a court of law for the crimes of espionage and were linked to the murder of the humanitarian pilots of Brothers to the Rescue. There should be no equivalence between the two, and Gross should have been released unconditionally.\r\n   \r\n\u201cThe President\u2019s decision to reward the Castro regime and begin the path toward the normalization of relations with Cuba is inexplicable. Cuba\u2019s record is clear. Just as when President Eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Castro family still controls the country, the economy and all levers of power. This administration\u2019s attempts to loosen restrictions on travel in recent years have only served to benefit the regime. While business interests seeking to line their pockets, aided by the editorial page of The New York Times, have begun a significant campaign to paper over the facts about the regime in Havana, the reality is clear. Cuba, like Syria, Iran, and Sudan, remains a state sponsor of terrorism. It continues to actively work with regimes like North Korea to illegally traffic weapons in our hemisphere in violation of several United Nations Security Council Resolutions. It colludes with America\u2019s enemies, near and far, to threaten us and everything we hold dear. But most importantly, the regime\u2019s brutal treatment of the Cuban people has continued unabated. Dissidents are harassed, imprisoned and even killed. Access to information is restricted and controlled by the regime. That is why even more than just putting U.S. national security at risk, President Obama is letting down the Cuban people, who still yearn to be free.\r\n \r\n\u201cI intend to use my role as incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee\u2019s Western Hemisphere subcommittee to make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt by the President to burnish his legacy at the Cuban people\u2019s expense. Appeasing the Castro brothers will only cause other tyrants from Caracas to Tehran to Pyongyang to see that they can take advantage of President Obama\u2019s naivet\u00e9 during his final two years in office. As a result, America will be less safe as a result of the President\u2019s change in policy. When America is unwilling to advocate for individual liberty and freedom of political expression 90 miles from our shores, it represents a terrible setback for the hopes of all oppressed people around the globe.\u201d", 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://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=d6c39dd4-8d06-4de3-8065-5cb27d865f1f"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5261960215866566, "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"}