Hillary Clinton on Cuba

SECRETARY CLINTON ON CUBA SECRETARY CLINTON SUPPORTS ENDING THE CUBAN EMBARGO AND NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH CUBA Secretary Clinton: “I Recommended To President Obama That He Take Another Look At Our Embargo…It Wasn’t Achieving Its Goals, And It Was Holding Back Our Broader Agenda Across Latin America.” “Near the end of my tenure, I recommended to President Obama that he take another look at our embargo. It wasn’t achieving its goals, and it was holding back our broader agenda across Latin America. After twenty years of observing and dealing with the U.S.-Cuba relationship, I thought we should shift the onus onto the Castros to explain why they remained undemocratic and abusive.” [Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices, 6/10/14] Secretary Clinton On The Cuban Embargo: “I Think It Has Propped Up The Castros.” “Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Fusion’s Jorge Ramos that she thinks the Cuban embargo has been a failure. In an interview last Friday, the possible presidential candidate was blunt in her assessment. ‘I think it has propped up the Castro’s because they can blame everything on the embargo…everything is blamed on the embargo,’ she said. When Ramos asked Clinton if she would consider visiting the island for a ‘Nixon goes to China’ moment, she responded in the affirmative. ‘You know, some day I’d like to go to Cuba. I would someday, yes,’ she said.” [America With Jorge Ramos, Fusion, 7/29/14] MSNBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald: “Clinton Tells [Jorge Ramos] The Cuban Embargo Was A Failure And That She’d Like To Visit The Country One Day.” [@aseitzwald, Twitter, 7/29/14] Secretary Clinton On Cuban Relations: I Would Like To See Us Move Towards Normalizing Relations Eventually.” [America With Jorge Ramos, Fusion, 7/29/14] Secretary Clinton: “Someday I’d Like To Go To Cuba.” [America With Jorge Ramos, Fusion, 7/29/14] SECRETARY CLINTON WORKED TO FREE ALAN GROSS AND ADVOCATED FOR HIS RELEASE Secretary Clinton On Alan Gross: “One Of My Regrets As Secretary Was Our Failure To Bring Alan Home.” “True to form, in December 2009, the Castros created new problems by arresting a USAID contractor named Alan Gross for bringing computer equipment to the small, aging Jewish community in Havana. Cuban authorities subjected him to a rump trial and then sentenced him to fifteen years in prison. One of my regrets as Secretary was our failure to bring Alan home.” [Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices, 6/10/14] Secretary Clinton: “I Spoke Out Publicly About Alan [Gross] And Asked Numerous Other Countries To Intervene With Cuba.” “The Department and I stayed in close touch with [Alan Gross’] wife, Judy, and his daughters. I spoke out publicly about Alan and asked numerous other countries to intervene with Cuba. But despite the direct engagement with Cuban officials and numerous efforts by third parties, the Cubans refused to release him unless the United States released five convicted Cuban spies serving time in prison.” [Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices, 6/10/14] Secretary Clinton: “Despite The Direct Engagement With Cuban Officials And Numerous Efforts By Third Parties, The Cubans Refused To Release [Alan Gross] Unless The United States Released Five Convicted Cuban Spies Serving Time In Prison.” “I spoke out publicly about Alan and asked numerous other countries to intervene with Cuba. But despite the direct engagement with Cuban officials and numerous efforts by third parties, the Cubans refused to release him unless the United States released five convicted Cuban spies serving time in prison. It is possible that hard-liners within the regime exploited the Gross case as an opportunity to put the brakes on any possible rapprochement with the United States and the domestic reforms that would require. If so, it is a double tragedy, consigning millions of Cubans to a kind of continued imprisonment as well.” [Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices, 6/10/14]

Secretary Clinton On Negotiations With Cuba Over Alan Gross: “We've Made No Deals, We've Offered No Concessions And We Don't Intend To Do So.” “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States has made no deal or concessions with Cuba to free imprisoned American Alan Gross…Clinton said, in her words: ‘We've made no deals, we've offered no concessions and we don't intend to do so.’” [Associated Press, 2/29/12] Secretary Clinton: “First Of All, Mr. Gross Should Not Even Be Incarcerated In Cuba. Mr. Gross Was Not A Spy, Mr. Gross Was Not An Intelligence Agent.” “First of all, Mr. Gross should not even be incarcerated in Cuba. Mr. Gross was not a spy, Mr. Gross was not an intelligence agent, Mr. Gross worked for a development group that was helping Cubans principally in their small Jewish community in Cuba, to have access to the internet. And Mr. Gross, in our view, is being held without justification and has been detained already far too long. So, there should be a decision by the Cuban government to release him, and we would like to see that happen as soon as possible.” [CNN, Youtube, 5/9/12] Secretary Clinton: “We Are Well Aware That The Cuban Government Wants To See The Release Of Their Intelligence Agents, Five Cuban Spies Who Were Lawfully Arrested, Tried, And Convicted For Espionage.” “Now we are well aware that the Cuban government wants to see the release of their intelligence agents, five Cuban spies who were lawfully arrested, tried, and convicted for espionage. One has already served his sentence in prison, he’s continuing to finish out his parole, another will be up for parole, all within the regular order of our system, a system that provides due process, rule of law protections, does not have a record of arbitrary arrests and detentions like the Cuban government does.” [CNN, Youtube, 5/9/12] Secretary Clinton On Imprisonment Of Alan Gross: “I Would Like To See That Resolved.” [America With Jorge Ramos, Fusion, 7/29/14] SECRETARY CLINTON DID NOT THINK CUBA WAS READY TO JOIN THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES DURING HER TENURE AS SECRETARY OF STATE Secretary Clinton On Cuba Not Being Ready To Join The Organization Of American States: “We Do Look Forward To The Day When Cuba Can Join The OAS... [But] We Owe It To Each Other To Uphold Our Standards Of Democracy And Governance.” “We do look forward to the day when Cuba can join the OAS…But we believe that membership in the OAS must come with responsibility. And we owe it to each other to uphold our standards of democracy and governance that have brought so much progress to our hemisphere. It’s not about reliving the past; it’s about the future and being true to the founding principles of this organization.” [Hillary Clinton, Hard Choices, 6/10/14] Wall Street Journal: Then-Senator Obama “Voted Two Times To Cut Off Funding” For The “Pro- Democracy Broadcasting Network Radio Y Television Marti” While Then-Senator Hillary Clinton Supported The Funding. “Mr. Obama split with his main 2008 rival Hillary Clinton over ongoing federal government funding of the pro-democracy broadcasting network Radio y Televisión Marti. TV Marti airs pro-democracy broadcasts into Cuba. Mr. Obama voted two times to cut off funding for the organization, while Mrs. Clinton supported it.” [Wall Street Journal, 12/17/14]