Cubans 'Throwing Themselves to the Sharks' to Find Freedom in Florida

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) gave a passionate speech about freedom and socialism on the floor of the House of Representatives about the plight of the Cuban people and their struggles with Communism,  further deepening the existing divide in Congress between Democratic Socialist members and other legislators.

“Every socialist is a dictator in disguise,” said Rep. Salazar before detailing the 60 years Cubans have been “ living in the socialist paradise” in Cuba.

Rep. Salazar reminisced of how prosperous Cuba was before the late-Dictator Fidel Castro came to power on the island, and pointed to how thousands of Cuban migrants risk crossing shark-infested waters in order to find freedom in the United States.

“So, today Cubans by the thousands throw themselves to the sharks in the straits of Florida looking for freedom on hoping to get to the district that I represent on this floor. and that's just in this hemisphere,” added Rep. Salazar.

Salazar, who is a daughter of Cuban exiles, continued, calling socialism a “lie” and dished out a glancing blow to her “far-left” and Democratic Socialist colleagues in the lower chamber.

“It is a lie that socialism will solve your problems economically or socialism, and if it's Democratic socialism is socialism, and socialism is always socialism,” said Salazar. “We cannot let this evil ideology take hold in this country. we are in the United States, a stronghold of freedom.

Last year, Salazar was the first to warn of the growth of socialism in Central America, in particular the country of Honduras.

The socialist-minded government in Honduras wants to back out of the free trade agreement it entered into with the U.S.

If Honduras backs out of the trade agreement, millions of dollars of American investment will be lost.

“The Honduran people have the right to economic prosperity like any other nation. Part of the United States’ commitment to building this prosperity requires embracing free market principles here and abroad,” said Rep. Salazar. The availability of ZEDEs creates a strong incentive for investment in Honduras, a country that would greatly benefit from increased economic development. The best way to fight socialism in Latin America is to embrace the economic liberties the Castro-Maduro-Ortega axis denies their own people. Expanding ZEDEs and similar economic projects do exactly that.”

Salazar’s colleague, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R) went as far as to threaten Honduras with sanctions, including the removal of visas.”

“If foreign government officials are illegally expropriating U.S. investment and undermining U.S. interests, then they should face serious consequences including, but not limited to, the removal of their visas,” stated Rep. Diaz-Balart.