Republican Congressman of Cuban origin Carlos Giménez has expressed his opposition to visits by officials from the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Transport and the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs to United States Coast Guard facilitiesin a letter to the Minister of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
The visit, which is taking place this week, is part of the International Port Security Program.
“I, along with my colleagues, have sent a letter to @SecMayorkas condemning the invitation to a delegation of Castro agents to visit Coast Guard centers in the United States,” Giménez reported On twitter.
“This is a mockery of our community and a grave risk to our national security. #SOSCuba,” he criticized.
The letter was also signed by Mark Green, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee; Michael McCaul, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and María Elvira Salazar, Chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, also Cuban.
The politicians pointed out that Cuba “not only continues to be a state sponsor of terrorism with North Korea, Iran and Syriaappointed by the United States, but also that Cuba continues to pose a counterintelligence threat,” reads the letter, quoted by Radio Martí Noticias.
Mario Díaz-Balart, also a Cuban-American Republican Congressman for Florida, said that “port security cooperation with this vicious, anti-American dictatorship that has shown its support for terrorist groups like the ELN and the FARC , as well as its opponents, such as communist China, Russia, Maduro and Iran, is extraordinarily ruthless and dangerous,” the statement said.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio had sent a letter to President Joe Bidenin which he asked him to cancel the visit of the Cuban regime’s delegation.
“Inviting Cuban intelligence agents to sensitive national security installations to share with them our nation’s maritime and coastal security protocols is a egregious violation that betrays one of the most fundamental tenets of the oath you swore to protect Cuba’s U.S. from foreign enemies.” . said the US politician of Cuban parents.
The visit of a Cuban government delegation does not represent a change in US policy, a State Department official has clarified.
A State Department official said that the current visit by the Cuban regime’s delegation did not represent a change in U.S. policy, recalling that his country’s coast guard and Cuban border guard troops have maintained a cooperative relationship for decades, per an email to Radio Martí News .
“Reciprocal visits like this take place at many of our international partners around the world,” the official said.
“This coordination is not new, nor does it represent a change in US policy.‘ he clarified.
“The United States Coast Guard and Cuban Border Patrol have enjoyed a decades-long partnership that focuses primarily on maritime security. The last visit by a Cuban delegation as part of the International Port Security Program was in 2019,” he recalled.
The official added that Cuban regime officials have been told “that they cannot expect substantially improved relations with the United States without raising human rights concerns.”
He kept reminding me of that Washington has repeatedly urged the Cuban government, both privately and publiclyrelease all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.