Va. Republican challenges McAuliffe to meet with dissidents in Cuba

Va. Republican challenges McAuliffe to meet with dissidents in Cuba
By Laura Vozzella January 2 at 1:41 PM

MIAMI — On the eve of his three-day trade mission to Cuba, Gov. Terry
McAuliffe (D) on Saturday pushed back against a Republican legislator's
demand that he meet with dissidents while on the island.

Del.-elect Jason Miyares, the first Cuban American elected to Virginia's
General Assembly, called on McAuliffe to spend time with the Ladies in
White and others at odds with Cuba's communist regime. Miyares's family
fled the country in 1965.

"As Governor McAuliffe decides to ring in the New Year in the only
non-democratic nation in the entire Western Hemisphere, perhaps he
should keep in mind the thousands of dissidents that are harassed,
beaten and imprisoned each day in Cuba simply because they yearn for
freedom," said Miyares, who in November won a House seat, representing
Virginia Beach.

"As Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe holds the same seat as Thomas
Jefferson, and as such he has a special responsibility during his Cuba
trip to speak out on behalf of the timeless universal truths of his
predecessor; the self-evident truths that 'all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights'
including the Right of 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuant of Happiness,'"
Miyares said in a written statement issued late Friday night. "Mr.
Jefferson was able to utter those words to the mighty British Empire 240
years ago, surely Governor McAuliffe can advocate these same timeless
principles to the Castro regime today."

[McAuliffe, at the midpoint of term, sets sights on Cuba and other
foreign markets]

McAuliffe heads for Cuba on Sunday for a three-day trip intended to
promote exports of Virginia products at a time of warming relations
between the two countries. His public schedule for the trip, dominated
by meetings with the various government officials who do the buying for
Cuba's centrally planned economy, gives no indication that the governor
plans to meet with dissidents.

McAuliffe's spokesman said the governor's job in Cuba is to promote
trade, but noted that an improved U.S.-Cuban relationship offers hope
for progress on human rights.

"The purpose of the Governor's trip is to open new markets for Virginia
products," McAuliffe's spokesman, Brian Coy, said via email in response
to Miyares's statement. "He believes opening trade relations is a key
strategy to create new economic activity and opportunities for families
in Virginia and Cuba alike.

"For the first time fifty years, the US and Cuba have a formal
diplomatic relationship and a process — agreed to by both governments —
for discussing human rights. The Governor is pleased with this
significant achievement as he believes it, along with greater commerce
and trade activities, will pave the way for better relations between the
US and Cuba, something that citizens of both countries support."

McAuliffe will be the fourth sitting U.S. governor to travel to Cuba
since President Obama announced plans just over a year ago to begin
normalizing relations with the communist country. He follows New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) and Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott (R).

None of the others met with dissidents during their trips, said John
Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, which
provided information to McAuliffe and other governors ahead of their trips.

"Generally we have suggested that when governors go down, that they
steer away from anything that is truly going to be provocative for the
Cubans, because they're supposed to be there as chief marketing officers
for their states," Kavulich said.

"I think there's a different role for a United States senator or a
member of the House of Representatives," he added, noting that unlike
governors, members of Congress have an official role in making foreign
policy.

But Kavulich said that McAuliffe is in an awkward spot because he has
close personal ties to former president Bill Clinton and current
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.

"It's tough because that delegate does have a point — you're an elected
official, you're a very visible official, you've got that tie to the
Clintons," he said. "So maybe you should say, 'I'm here trying to get
business as a state official, but as a human being, as a father, as a
husband, I think it's important that anyone who comes to a country not
gloss over issues just because they're inconvenient.' "

Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post.

Source: Va. Republican challenges McAuliffe to meet with dissidents in
Cuba - The Washington Post -
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