Florida Senate - 2023 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. SR 1728
Ì611980,Î611980
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Senator Rouson moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 88 - 92
4 and insert:
5 That elected and appointed officers of local governments in
6 this state should take appropriate actions to avoid giving the
7 impression that they in any way condone the Cuban government’s
8 tyranny and cruel oppression of its people.
9
10 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
11 And the title is amended as follows:
12 Delete lines 3 - 84
13 and insert:
14 government while encouraging the elected and appointed
15 officials of local governments in this state to take
16 appropriate actions when meeting with Cuban officials
17 who represent a government with a history of brutality
18 to avoid giving the impression of condoning the Cuban
19 government’s tyranny and cruel oppression of its
20 people.
21
22 WHEREAS, on January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and his guerilla
23 army overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista’s government in
24 Havana, Cuba, and on February 16, 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn
25 in as Cuba’s prime minister, and
26 WHEREAS, after flirting with building relationships with
27 the United States and other nations, the Cuban government in
28 1960 officially became an ally of the former Union of Soviet
29 Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), with Fidel Castro officially
30 announcing the alliance on March 1, 1961, and
31 WHEREAS, Cuba’s relationship with the Soviet Union, a
32 country founded on communist principles that saw the closing of
33 churches and schools indoctrinating school-age children,
34 continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which
35 began the “Special Period” of financial and political crisis in
36 Cuba, and
37 WHEREAS, Fidel Castro engaged, and the regime continues to
38 engage, in abominable human rights violations, including the
39 execution or indefinite detainment of many persons opposing the
40 regime, and
41 WHEREAS, on February 24, 2008, Fidel Castro handed over the
42 reins of the Cuban government to his brother, Raul Castro, who
43 was elected president by the National Assembly, and today,
44 Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Raul Castro as president in
45 2018, serves in that capacity and as secretary of the Central
46 Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, and
47 WHEREAS, on January 12, 2021, the United States Government
48 officially listed Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism alongside
49 Iran, North Korea, and Syria, and
50 WHEREAS, the United States Secretary of State has
51 determined that Cuba repeatedly provided support for acts of
52 international terrorism, and
53 WHEREAS, on July 11, 2021, a series of protests against the
54 Cuban regime erupted on the island, marking the first time in 60
55 years that ordinary Cubans dared to publicly rise up against
56 their government over its political oppression, including the
57 arrests of thousands who were never heard from again, food
58 shortages, rising prices of goods and commodities, the lack of
59 access to medicines, and unreliable electricity, and
60 WHEREAS, Cubans all over the world joined their compatriots
61 in protests against the oppressive and tyrannical Cuban
62 government, shouting, “¡Patria y vida!” appropriating and
63 changing Fidel Castro’s slogan of “Patria o muerte,” made famous
64 during his takeover of Cuba, and
65 WHEREAS, on March 3, 2023, a group of Cuban officials, led
66 by Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, had a dinner meeting
67 with local Tampa officials and business leaders at an upscale
68 Tampa restaurant, and
69 WHEREAS, as word spread of the meeting, a protest erupted
70 at the restaurant, with outraged protestors confronting the
71 ambassador and her delegation, shouting at them and demanding to
72 know why tens of thousands of Cubans are being held as political
73 prisoners by their own government in violation of human rights
74 laws, and
75 WHEREAS, the Cuban delegation requested this meeting to
76 discuss travel restrictions and remittances to the island
77 nation, and
78 WHEREAS, the Cuban delegation and those in the meeting were
79 attempting to open the door to establishing cultural and
80 business ties with the United States in areas of this state
81 willing to entertain such exploratory discussions, and
82 WHEREAS, it may be important for local officials and
83 business leaders in this state to meet with representatives of
84 foreign governments to give them the opportunity to make their
85 case for improved relations and to foster better understanding
86 of their positions, which at times may require face-to-face
87 meetings to allow them to explore the possibility of forming
88 future relationships, NOW, THEREFORE,