{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://ros-lehtinen.house.gov/press-release/ros-lehtinen-disappointed-santos-calling-us-concessions-brutal-castro-regime", "Ros-Lehtinen Disappointed that Santos is Calling for U.S. Concessions to the Brutal Castro Regime", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Ileana Ros-Lehtinen", "R000435", "ros-lehtinen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Ros-Lehtinen Disappointed that Santos is Calling for U.S. Concessions to the Brutal Castro Regime\n\u201cInstead of the U.S. softening its policy toward Cuba, it should be the Castro brothers who must end their oppression of the Cuban people.\u201d\n(WASHINGTON) \u2013 U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement regarding the recommendation made by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to have the U.S. change its policy toward the Castro regime. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:\n\u201cI\u2019ve always been a friend of the people of Colombia and led the effort to pass the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Plan Colombia to help this important ally combat terrorism and fight narco-trafficking. However, I\u2019m disappointed that now President Santos is suggesting that the U.S. change its policy toward the Castro regime, saying that the U.S. needs to be \u2018more understanding\u2019 and that it should make \u2018some type of concession.\u2019 It\u2019s foolish to believe that Cuba, a U.S.-designated State Sponsor of Terrorism and a staunch supporter of the FARC, will be an honest broker for these so-called peace negotiations between Colombia and the FARC. \u00a0\n\u201cInstead of the U.S. softening its policy toward Cuba, it should be the Castro brothers who must end their oppression of the Cuban people. The Castro regime is a cold-blooded dictatorship committed to maintaining absolute control against the democratic aspirations of 11 million Cubans and it seeks to distract the international community from the fact that harassment, beatings and unjust detentions against pro-democracy advocates have intensified in recent years.\n\u201cPresident Santos should condemn the abusive tactics of the Castro regime, stand in solidarity with the brave Cuban opposition yearning for freedom, and not support the Castro dictatorship in its attempt to obtain even more concessions from the Obama Administration.\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": ["http://ros-lehtinen.house.gov/press-release/ros-lehtinen-disappointed-santos-calling-us-concessions-brutal-castro-regime"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5027618501335382, "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"}