During the first night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) Cuban-American businessman Maximo Alvarez took the stage and spoke of how his family has a history of fleeing communist regimes and how the message coming from today’s left reminds him of the “promises” that made them leave both Spain and Cuba.
After speaking very passionately on Monday evening about how his family has prospered from being in America, Alvarez gave a very stern warning about the messaging and actions coming from the left.
I’m speaking to you today because I have seen people like this before. I’ve seen movements like this before. I’ve seen ideas like this before and I am here to tell you, we cannot let them take over our country.
I heard the promises of [late Cuban dictator] Fidel Castro. And I can never forget all those who grew up around me, who looked like me, who suffered and starved and died because they believed those empty promises. They swallowed the communist poison pill.
While you could tell that Alvarez was emotional throughout his speech, there was one part in particular that saw the Sunshine Gasoline Distributors founder and president fight back tears as he spoke.
“I may be Cuban born, but I am 100-percent American,” Alvarez said. “This is the greatest country in the world. And I said this before: If I gave away everything that I have today, it would not equal one percent of what I was given when I came to this great country of ours, the gift of Freedom.”
For Alvarez’s full speech, watch below: