Sanders’ Co-Chair Refuses To Denounce Cuba, Venezuela Regimes

MRC Latino | July 8, 2019
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JORGE RAMOS, HOST, AL PUNTO: I don’t understand, really, in all honesty…

CARMEN YULÍN CRUZ, MAYOR OF SAN JUAN (D):  No, I know, I know…

RAMOS: I don’t understand why you don’t want to criticize Cuba or Venezuela when we broadly know that (we’re talking about) two dictatorships where human rights are violated, where there are political prisoners, where there is no freedom of the press.

CRUZ: There were political prisoners...the last political prisoner from Puerto Rico was released on January 17th, 2017.

RAMOS: Of course, OK, so I know that you don’t want political prisoners in Puerto Rico, But can you say the same, then, that you don’t want political prisoners in Cuba or Venezuela.

CRUZ: I can tell you the following: as long as Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, my efforts will totally be directed towards the elimination of poverty in Puerto Rico, where 1.3 million people need nutritional assistance in order to put food on the table…

RAMOS: I get what you’re saying but wanted to see how far you wanted to go there, and I understand that that’s the limit, right?

CRUZ: ...that’s where all my energy is, and look, one of the things that the Vatican asked for and that (UNHCHR) Michelle Bachelet asked for is for conversation and not confrontation, and one can ask other countries to have conversation and not confrontation, and I understand that you had a personal experience…

RAMOS: Yes, (it was) complicated, to say the least…

CRUZ: Complicated, to say the least...we in Puerto Rico endure that complicated experience on a daily basis as a colony of the United States.

RAMOS: We’ll end on that note. 

CRUZ: We’ll end on that note. 

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