Mr. Speaker, the U.S. legislation to punish Cuba and those who do business with Cuba is just another example of the inequity and inconsistency of the United States in such matters.
The U.S. continues to carry out a policy to isolate and punish Cuba despite the fact that the cold war is over, the Soviet Union has ceased to exist and Cuba is in no way a military threat to the United States.
How does the U.S. justify such a policy when at the same time it is cosying up to China and Vietnam, which are both communist countries and have much worse human rights records.
The shooting down of the two U.S. planes was indeed a deplorable incident. Both sides claim to be right. Consequently, that is a matter for the International Court and not one for unilateral reprisals.
The current U.S. legislation punishes those who do not deserve it and further exacerbates the situation.