WASHINGTON, D.C.–Hispanic Leadership Fund President, Mario H. Lopez, issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s speech today in Miami on Cuba policy:

“The Hispanic Leadership Fund applauds President Trump for working to ensure that U.S. funds are not channeled to a government that fails to meet the most fundamental requirements of a free and just society.  We have always maintained that the Cuban military and security apparatus, which are the instruments that the communist government uses to oppress the Cuban people, should not benefit from U.S.-derived revenue. 

“The Obama’s Administration’s ‘opening to Cuba’ was a shameful surrender to the demands of Castro and his communist dictatorship.  We call on Congress to uphold current U.S. law which sets conditions for the lifting of sanctions on the island, and we look forward to the day when there is real change in Cuba that brings freedom and opportunity to people who have suffered under a brutal communist regime.”