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Capitol Hill to host famed Cuban dissident blogger
Famed Cuban dissident blogger and human-rights activist Yoani Sanchez will make a stop on Capitol Hill as part of her world tour, her representative told lawmakers on Monday.
Sanchez, who is famous for her writings about the realities of life under communism on her blog Generacion Y, was recently granted a passport and the right to leave the island for a three-month international tour. The Castro regime last month eliminated the exit permits that have restricted Cubans' travel abroad for the past five decades.
“Due to the fact that Ms. Sánchez received a number of other invitations from various members of Congress following yours, rather than setting up a series of individual office visits, Ms. Sánchez’s preference is for a single, inclusive, and bi-partisan meeting with interested members of Congress,” Ted Henken, the president of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy at Baruch College, wrote to lawmakers. “She also requests that the meeting be open to members of the press.”
Nelson in a statement said he looked forward to the meeting and Sanchez's “unique view of the realities of life in Cuba.”
Sanchez's trip has sparked considerable controversy.
During her first stop in Brazil last month, she was met with leftist protesters who accused her of being financed by the CIA,The Miami Herald reported. On the other hand, she has called for the United States to drop its decades-old embargo against the island, calling it a failure, and said there was a “big difference” between new president Raul Castro and his brother Fidel.
