Marco Rubio uses subcommittee gavel to challenge Obamaâs Cuba policy
Marco Rubio wanted an answer: Would the United States limit its meetings with democracy activists as a condition for the Cuban government allowing an embassy in Havana? The new Cuban-American chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committeeâs Western Hemisphere panel, in his first hearing with a gavel, was determined Tuesday to get a commitment from the State Departmentâs Roberta Jacobson that this would not happen as the U.S. steps toward normalizing relations with Cuba. Story Continued Below The potential 2016 presidential hopeful asked Jacobson three times to respond to remarks this week from a Cuban official who said one condition for opening a full-fledged embassy would be an agreement to restrict the movement of U.S. diplomats. Could Jacobson state definitively that the U.S. would never limit its meetings with democracy activists as part of a deal? âWe would not accept that condition,â Jacobson, the assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, said at first. âWe could not accept not meeting with democracy activists and with the broadest swath of people possible,â she added. This was not good enough for Rubio on what he called a âsimpleâ question. Yes or no? âI canât imagine we would go to the next stage of our diplomatic relationship with an agreement not to meet democracy activists,â Jacobson said. The exchange ended as Rubioâs round of questioning came to a close, in a hearing packed as tight as a subway car with reporters and Congress-watchers. But the senator wasnât done: He launched into another round of questions an hour later, then brought in democratic activists from Cuba as witnesses, including Rosa Maria PayÃ¡, the daughter of a dissident many believe was slain by the Cuban government. While Miriam Leiva, an independent journalist from Havana, backed President Barack Obamaâs goal of ending the trade embargo, PayÃ¡ was skeptical and urged the U.S. to focus as much on ordinary Cubans as it is on communicating with the Cuban government. âDonât turn your backs on Cubans again,â she said. Rubio missed last weekâs work in the Senate as he continued to test the waters for a presidential run. But the Florida Republican certainly made room on his schedule this week to capitalize on his new chairmanship perch as he mulls over a run for president, using his new status to directly take on Obamaâs policies. Indeed, he took aim at the efforts of Obama and a bipartisan group of senators now pushing to eliminate all travel bans between Cuba and the United States. Drawing a direct link among the owner of Cubaâs largest hotel chain, the Cuban military and the Castro regime, Rubio wondered aloud: Wouldnât we just be filling the coffers of a corrupt government by allowing Americans to travel there? âIsnât it fair to say if tomorrow an American gets on an airplane and travels to Cuba,â Rubio asked, âin essence, every penny they are spending in those facilities are more likely than not to end up in the hands of the Cuban regime?â âI know of no example where we have successfully promoted democratic change somewhere by going after travel,â answered Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. Asked by Rubio for an example of the current path on Cuba leading to democratic reforms in a repressed country, Malinowski responded: âWhen I look at Cuba today, it looks like my home country of Poland in the â80s.â Rubio was unmoved. âSo Poland is the example? Weâll examine that at a later date,â Rubio said flatly. Though he challenged his witnesses repeatedly, Rubio didnât appear explicitly partisan in questioning Jacobson and Malinowski on when they knew about negotiations with Cuba, whether dissidents were consulted on the release of prisoners and where travel money would flow if Americans began visiting in larger numbers. He even helped Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who breaks sharply with Rubio on Cuba, with her Spanish at one point. But even more notable was the criticism leveled at Obamaâs Cuba policy by a member of the presidentâs own party. Sitting across the room from Rubio was a fiery Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), whose criticism of the Obama administration was perhaps even harsher than Rubioâs own jabs. Menendez compared Cuba repeatedly to China, a country with which the United States has established stronger business ties but still views as repressive on human rights. Menendez scolded the Obama administration for not securing more concessions from the Cuban government as a condition for opening the government. âThey wanted exactly what youâve given,â Menendez said of the Cuban government. âAnd youâve elicited nothing, largely, in return.â Indeed, rather than staging a hearing that fell along traditional party lines, Rubio accentuated his own partyâs fissures on foreign policy by making his first hearing center on Cuba. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) rebutted Rubioâs line of questioning on travel, drawing out answers from officials about travel filling the pockets of ordinary Cubans. He then asked Malinowski whether thereâs any other country to which the U.S. government restricts its own citizens from traveling. When the answer was âno,â Flake appeared satisfied. âIf somebodyâs going to restrict my travel, it should be a communist, not my own government,â Flake said with a grin. Though there was some intraparty turmoil between Flake and Rubio, it wasnât presidential campaign-level friction. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who breaks sharply with Rubio both on Cuba and a larger view of foreign policy, isnât a member of Rubioâs subcommittee.