Speech #870270230

Representing the tobacco workers of Tampa and knowing that the lack of imported Havana tobacco has hit the tobaccomaking industry hard. this sacrifice now being made by U.S. workers to prevent dollars from flowing to Cuba. it is totally unconscionable that the administration would give backing to this indemnity ransom demand. which includes a preliminary Treasury Department ruling making contributions to the exiled prisoners committee tax deductible and refusal upon interrogation of the President to repudiate this scheme to provide dollars to Communist Castro. During the campaign. candidate Kennedy reiterated many times his intention. if elected President. to take firm action in Cuba. including specifically the recognition of a free nonCommunist governmentinexile. This has not been done to date and the Cuban refugees. who themselves. if properly unified behind an effective leader. could do more than anyone else both externally and internally to overthrow the CastroCommunist regime. for many months have been imploring the administration to take such a move so that all of the Cuban exiles and the present and prospective insurgents within Cuba would know that the United States is in support of a free nonCommunist government for Cuba and would have hopes of eventual victory. The floundering around today. including the split among the Cuban refugees as to who the proper leader should be. makes this solution to the Cuban crisis most difficult. The second step should be a declaration of policy by the United States announced to the Communist world the intention of this country to uphold the Monroe Doctrine reenunciated at Punta del Este and backed by the Organization of American States to prevent the inshipment in the future of any additional heavy war materiel in this hemisphere and specifically to Cuba and likewise to prevent the exportation from Cuba to any other hemisphere of revolutionary war materiel and/or forces. Troops were sent to South Vietnam to prevent Communist overthrow and attack from Laos. risking Russian and Red China oppositon but none developed.